Penn State's Drew Allar Was Pressing. He Got to 'Really Fix it' Vs. Villanova

But where is Allar now? Penn State coach James Franklin has seen glimpses, as has everyone, but is looking for the third-year starter to make plays more repeatably.

"When you talk about touchdown-to-interception ratio, he's one of the best all-time in Penn State history," Franklin said. "But we've got to help him get into a rhythm. And I think the third downs are a big part of that. We got to be better on third down as coaches. Drew has to be better, and all
the guys have to be a little bit better. I think we’ll attack it this bye week, but we’re not getting into the rhythm that I think we are capable of getting in."

Making progress in his progressions

Before the season-opener vs. Nevada, CBS sports analyst Gary Danielson said he saw some parallels between Penn State's 2025 and 1994 teams, notably at quarterback. "If Drew grows as much as Kerry [Collins] did from his junior to his senior year, with this loaded team, we're looking at something special," Danielson said.

That growth has been fitful so far this season. Allar made a superb touchdown pass Saturday to Trebor Pena, fitting the ball through a keyhole. He also overthrew receiver Kaytron Allen on an easy checkdown pass for his first interception of the season.

Following the FIU game, Allar evaluated himself as making easy plays less than easily. He thought he shored up that issue, with a few lapses, against Villanova.

"Overall I felt better about my performance," Allar said. "We’ve just got to string together a couple things more on the offensive side of the ball, finish some drives in the end zone instead of settling for three all the time. There’s a lot of things to clean up, but I’m glad there are things to clean up."

Where Allar has been sharp is Penn State's 2-minute drills. He led the Nittany Lions on a seven-play, 70-yard touchdown drive in just 36 seconds at the end of the first half against Villanova. Allar complete four straight passes, including the dot to Pena, stamping his expertise in Penn State's hurry-up offense.

"I think we’re really good at 2-minute and tempo [offense] in general, because it’s plays that we know how to run like the back of our hand," Allar said. "... I think it’s just about eliminating unforced errors, and I think that will help us carry into more rhythm throughout the game."

That's where Allar can get stuck. When he gets out of rhythm, Penn State's offense become easier to defend. Teams can load their coverage up front, limit the short passing game and dare Allar to beat them long. Penn State ranks 88th nationally in pass plays of 30+ yards.

"I think we go in spurts," Allar said. "I think we started the game really hot, obviously going down and scoring a touchdown on the opening drive, which is what you always want to do. But sometimes the rhythm gets out of sync. The times that we were out of rhythm today, we hurt ourselves more than anything. I think it’s just eliminating the bad ball aspect of it, whether it be missed assignments, missed reads or whatever the case is on any particular play. It’s just eliminating those little things. If we limit those things, it will flow better throughout the game."

After the game, Allar was asked whether he's comfortable with his passing projections. It wasn't his favorite question. "I think I'm going through my progressions just fine," he said. Instead, he sees a passing that has given itself enough mendable film before facing Oregon.

"I know the frustrating part about it is we have things to clean up, but the best part about is they’re all very correctable," Allar said. "I’d rather have stuff pop up in the first three weeks of the year and not be perfect, so to speak, because then you know you still have things to get better at. So I think we’re at a good point as an offense. Now it’s just about going into this week, getting better, and then the next game carrying what we’ve been doing throughout the first three weeks and building on it."