Drew Allar had The Interception Fairy pay him a visit at the worst possible time on Thursday.
The Penn State junior quarterback Allar cost his team dearly with a brutal interception in the fourth quarter of their College Football Playoff semifinal game at the Orange Bowl against Notre Dame. After forcing a Notre Dame punt, Penn State had the ball at their own 28-yard line with 40 seconds left and the score tied 24-24.
On 1st-and-10, Allar got pressured by the Notre Dame pass rush and heaved an ill-advised throw down the middle trying to get the ball to receiver Omari Evans. Instead though, the pass was picked off by Notre Dame cornerback Christian Gray, giving the Fighting Irish possession in Penn State territory.
Notre Dame picks off Drew Allar late in the fourth pic.twitter.com/F0SZvM5fFa
— ESPN (@espn) January 10, 2025
Notre Dame went on pick up 19 yards over the next five plays, and kicker Mitch Jeter won the game for them with a 41-yard field goal. As a result, the Fighting Irish advanced to the CFP title game (against either Texas or Ohio State) while the Nittany Lions saw their season come to an end.
Social media was ruthless to Allar, who was on the receiving end of some rather cruel memes. Take a look at a few below.
Drew Allar with the game on the line pic.twitter.com/WiiC292PgK
— Footballism (@FootbaIIism) January 10, 2025
Penn State fans watching that Drew Allar throw:pic.twitter.com/65sLdZr051
— ESPN BET (@ESPNBET) January 10, 2025
Drew Allar when Penn State needs him to make a play pic.twitter.com/TP2V7NclWj
— Underdog (@UnderdogFantasy) January 10, 2025
drew allar pic.twitter.com/zbQx3pDVPw
— ruby (@rubythevalley) January 10, 2025
“Drew Allar drops back to pass” pic.twitter.com/BkytffhPJ1
— Hater Report (@HaterReport_) January 10, 2025
The 20-year-old Allar was a driving force behind Penn State’s success this season, completing 66.5 percent of his passes for 3,327 yards and 24 TDs. He had also managed to play himself into first-round-pick consideration (though Allar already announced his draft decision last month).
But Allar ended up falling on his face in Thursday’s Orange Bowl, going 12/23 for 135 yards with no TDs and that one awful interception (along with two other interceptions in the game that were wiped away by penalties). It looks like Allar could still benefit from staying in school for another season to work on his game.
