Adam Rittenberg, ESPN senior writer
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — When Penn State quarterback Drew Allar talks about a game he mastered, tears well up in his eyes and start rolling down his face until he doesn’t. Master the game again.
Alar showed marked improvement in his second year as Penn State’s starting quarterback in Thursday’s 27-24 loss to Notre Dame in the College Football Playoff semifinals at the Capital One Orange Bowl. College, he struggled for much of this game. But after giving Penn State the lead midway through the fourth quarter, he had a chance to win the game when the offense took possession with 47 seconds left to tie the game at 24-24.
Then, at the Penn State 28-yard line, Alar looked downfield for wide receiver Omari Evans, but missed badly and Notre Dame’s Christian Gray dived to intercept the ball. The Irish then struck first, setting up Mitch Jeter’s 41-yard field goal with seven seconds left.
“I was going through my progression and getting to the back, to be honest, I just wanted to get it on his feet,” Alar said. “Because of the situation we were in, when I felt like the first two processes couldn’t be opened, I should have thrown it away.”
Alar completed 71.6 percent of his passes during the regular season and helped lead Penn State to the Big Ten championship game, but he completed just 12 of 23 attempts for 135 yards Thursday. Penn State only converted on three of 11 third-down opportunities and did not complete any passes to its receivers. Thursday was the only game in the past 20 seasons in which Penn State failed to complete a pass to a wide receiver.
Notre Dame ranks fifth nationally in third-down conversion rate at just under 30 percent, while Penn State ranks 15th nationally in third-down conversion rate at 47 percent. On third-and-goal late in the first quarter, Alar’s pass to running back Nicholas Singleton fell just short of him and bounced off his hands, preventing a possible touchdown.
“I think we have a really good plan,” Alar said. “I thought [offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki] The offense had a really good plan for normal plays, third downs and the red zone, but I missed a couple of throws, so it came down to execution. Of course, credit goes to Notre Dame for making this difficult, but I think if we just execute on those moments, we’ll put ourselves in a better position. It started with me throwing some balls. “
Despite winning a franchise-record 13 games, including the first two CFP victories in school history, Penn State squandered two leads and fell just short of advancing to the national championship game. Coach James Franklin, who went 1-15 against AP top-five opponents, pointed to Penn State’s struggles on third downs on both ends of the court — Notre Dame converted on 17 chances. 11 times – and the final minutes of the first half. The start of the second half was the biggest factor in deciding the outcome.
“He’s hurt right now, he should be hurt, we’re all hurt, it’s not easy,” Franklin said of Allar. “He’s going to handle it well. He’s going to be injured tonight, he’s going to be injured tomorrow, he’s going to be a little less injured than the next day and so on. But he’s a loyal guy and he’s going to do it right. way.”
Kotelnicki said the team had a “fight to win” mentality and wanted to be aggressive until the final minute. After Singleton rushed for 13 yards on the first possession, Penn State tried to use the pace to complete the unfortunate pass.
“He’s going to take it upon himself, but he doesn’t have to,” Kotelnicki said. “I’ve got to do a better job for him and our offense to make sure that no matter what we’re doing, no matter what play we call, our guys have a chance to get separated and get him in a position where he feels more comfortable so I just Tell him, ‘It’s not your responsibility.'”
Alar’s interception was his first in the CFP and his eighth all season. He has struggled with accuracy through four postseason games — the Big Ten Championship Game and three CFP games — completing just 58 of 109 attempts (53.2 percent) while throwing for six touchdowns and 3 interceptions.
The 6-foot-5, 238-pound junior announced last month that he intends to return to Penn State for the 2025 season rather than enter the NFL draft.
“We didn’t win the game so the performance wasn’t good enough, I think that’s simple,” Alar said. “So I’m going to learn from it, do the best I can, get better from it and grow from it.”
Franklin called Alar’s growth “remarkable” starting in 2023, his first year as Penn State’s starter.
“He said it might not feel like it right now, but he’s going to learn from it and he’s going to be better for it and so will we,” Franklin said.
