It's the end of the road for quarterback Drew Allar's collegiate career. On Saturday, Allar sustained a lower left leg, ankle injury in the final few minutes of the game against Northwestern. In his postgame press conference, former head coach James Franklin said that Allar is officially ruled out for the rest of the season.
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During his final quarters of his time with Penn State football, Allar put together a bleak performance. Considering the rest of his 2025 season, though, it was relatively average and the loss was not entirely on him.
Allar threw for 137 yards on 13 completed passes for a 65 completion percentage. While he didn't have a passing touchdown, he logged his first and only rushing touchdown of the season. He had an additional six rushing attempts for 25 yards on top of his pass game.
His run game was okay at best, but not as impactful as his performance at UCLA. Allar was not a standout offensive player, like he was in Week 6, but his game was not riddled with errors either.
In Allar fashion, his game was not complete without an interception. On the Nittany Lions' first drive of the game, the offense was steady and had promise to make it into the end zone and put up the first score of the evening for either team.
Looking for wide receiver Liam Clifford, Allar was picked off by defensive back Ore Adeyi in the end zone. Allar didn't appear confident in his decision when the ball released from his hand. It's possible that his split second of uncertainty caused the throw to be a fraction of a second late, but that interception was not 100 percent on him either way.
Clifford had no vision of any defender in his vicinity, who was right in front of him, and looked shocked when Adeyi came in between him and the ball. He stuttered and wandered off instead of winning over top or coming back towards the front of the end zone. If Clifford did his job and the interception did happen, then it's Allar to blame. That's not the case.
DREW ALLAR IS PICKED OFF
— College Football Report (@CFBRep) October 11, 2025
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In terms of decision-making, Allar did pretty well. He didn't allow his early-game interception to cloud the rest of his judgment. On a third-and-five scenario when Penn State was down, he overcame the high-stress situation and connected with wide receiver Devonte Ross for a 67-yard completion. His decision-making and decent level of confidence spread into other areas of the offense. His trust in running back Kaytron Allen was evident and even his trust in Nicholas Singleton was too when he got his chance on the field.
Over his last two games, Allar was on the right path to becoming that stable third-year starter the Nittany Lions were promised. The confidence was ramping up, the mistakes were getting left in the past, and things started clicking for the offense overall. It took a while, longer than it should have absolutely, but signs were pointing in the right direction for Allar to maintain and average or better performance for the remainder of the season. Whether that won big game and championships is another question that, unfortunately, won't be answered.
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Now it's time for backup quarterback Ethan Grunkemyer to step into that starting role. The redshirt freshman has yet to play meaningful snaps. On Saturday, he finished off the final offensive drive turning over the ball on downs as Allar was carted off the field. There's not much to grade there. For Grunkemeyer, it's only up from here.