The Penn State Nittany Lions entered the 2025 college football season in an unusual place, being one of the biggest favorites to win a national championship. With a ton of talent returning, as well as arguably the best pair of coordinators in America, there is a lot to love about James Franklin’s Nittany Lion squad. The talent is immense, and this is the deepest roster we have seen in Happy Valley in some time. 

There won’t be a game this year that the Nittany Lions won’t arguably have the most talent on the field, but at the end of the day, this team will only go as far as senior quarterback Drew Allar will take them. This program has invested heavily in building around Allar, both in terms of retaining top talent and bringing in more pass catchers via the transfer portal this offseason. 

Allar just doesn’t have many excuses remaining for not living up to the expectations, or underwhelming compared to the hype. Yet, the inconsistencies continued during the team’s 34 to 0 victory over the FIU Golden Panthers on Saturday. 

On the surface level, Allar’s performance didn’t look awful. He finished the contest 19 of 33 for 200 yards and two touchdowns on the day, but for those who watched the contest, it was anything but spectacular. Allar’s accuracy was spotty, decision making was slow, averaged only 6.1 yards per attempt, and he took two sacks as well. This game against the Golden Panthers was viewed as a bit of a confidence builder for the senior signal caller.

Whenever you play against inferior competition, it is about putting together solid performances, and get better prepared for the bigger challenges on the horizon.

Some will come back to the usual excuse: “It is just one game.” Sure, but when one player or area is the part of the team with the biggest question marks, it is understandable why there is an uneasy feeling after this type of performance from your “star” signal caller.

Allar has consistently underwhelmed in the biggest moments of his career, in those money moments against top competition. For those who want to believe that the 6-5, 235-pound passer can get things turned around in those moments, you want to see him make the easier matchups look just like that, easy. You always feel good about getting the victory, but Coach Franklin and the Penn State program aren’t preparing to beat FIU. No, they are trying to win it all, against some of the better programs in college football.

Over the last two years, everyone has continued to yell about everything that Allar doesn’t have. For whatever reason, nobody wants to mention the tremendous offensive line he has been gifted, the dynamic running back duo he has had, or the All-American tight end that was just a top-15 selection in the 2025 NFL Draft. Now in his third year, the shakiness we see from Allar on a snap-to-snap basis is unsettling.

All we hear about are the physical gifts that Allar possesses, but at some point, that talent needs to actualize into on-field production. His biggest moment of the day was Devonte Ross making a sick adjustment for a touchdown, a ball that wasn’t very good from Allar. He just wasn’t very crisp, and the excuses are running out.

This program has invested a lot in Allar, so he will ultimately be judged by what he does look like in those big moments. It is hard to feel confident about those opportunities that are on the horizon based on the underwhelming performance that Allar put out this weekend.

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