It was a growing-up game for Penn State football’s quarterback Drew Allar.

In the Nittany Lions’ 33-30 overtime win over USC on Saturday, the junior gunslinger threw a career-high three interceptions, including one inside his own 30-yard line.

As for the other two interceptions, one was returned 42 yards to put the Trojans in field goal range and the other came off a Hail Mary at the end of regulation.

Throwing three picks in a game doesn’t sound like Allar grew up. In fact, it sounds like he regressed or even cost his team the game. However, it was how Allar responded to the turnovers that showed his growth and development.

Allar didn’t shy away from throwing the ball after his mistakes, and it paid off for Penn State. But this wasn’t the first time Allar revealed a new side of his character.

In week one against West Virginia, Penn State fans saw a different, more confident side of Allar. In the first quarter, the baby-faced captain got heated with a referee after a missed no-call on the Mountaineers caused a premature snap that resulted in a fumble recovered by the home team. Later in the game, Allar stiff-armed West Virginia linebacker Josiah Trotter and appeared to have some choice words for Trotter after the play.

It was a side Allar never showed in his first year as Penn State’s starter, and certainly not on national television. Against the Trojans, Allar revealed more of his character, but in a more mature way.

With just under six minutes to go in the game, Allar and the offense took to the field in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum for perhaps the final time. The Nittany Lions were down 30-23 after knotting the game two times before and needing to do it for a third time.

In the biggest drive of his collegiate career, Allar went 5-for-10 for 56 yards and hit Nick Singleton out of the backfield for the game-tying touchdown to force overtime.

The drive also included two clutch catches by Julian Fleming. The Ohio State transfer suffered two bad drops earlier in the game and in a season where Fleming has struggled to play a significant role in the offense, he was one of the last receivers expected to make the two game-saving grabs.

On 4th-and-7 on his own 44-yard line, Allar stepped up and fired his pass 17 yards down the field and Fleming came down with the catch with USC corner John Humphrey draped over him to keep the game alive. Less than a minute later, Penn State was in another fourth and long situation.

This time it was 4th-and-10, and the Trojans’ blitz broke through the Penn State offensive line. Allar scrambled to his right and threw across his body to Fleming, who beat Humphrey again over the middle for a 16-yard gain. Penn State tied the game two plays later.

“I think it’s really a testament to [Allar’s] confidence and our whole receiver unit,” Fleming said. “Everything we continue to do throughout the season is to build confidence with him, to build confidence within our unit, and, just confidence catching the ball.”

“I know [Fleming] had that drop earlier in the game, but I think it shows the type of player he is and the type of person he is to keep battling back,” Allar said. “Those two fourth-down plays were obviously huge for us and tying the game back up. Those were two of the most impressive catches I’ve seen.”

It was refreshing to see the former five-star quarterback overcome his shortcomings and still get the win. Against Ohio State, Michigan, and Ole Miss in the Peach Bowl last season, Allar was asked to play at an elevated level and failed to reach the mark.

In those three games, Allar completed a measly 46% of his passes for 556 yards, four touchdowns, and one interception.

Allar was one of, if not, the most turnover-adverse quarterback in college football in 2023. However, he struggled to make big plays in big games and looked flustered in those moments.

Against USC, Allar was the opposite. He completed 70% of his passes for 391 yards and two touchdowns, despite throwing three picks. His 30 completions, 41 attempts, and 391 were also career-highs.

“I get it. At Penn State, we’ve got really high expectations, and [Allar’s] just got better and he’s gotten better in every single area,” James Franklin said.

Allar made big plays against the Trojans, and it came at the price of three turnovers, but when you have a stout defense like the Nittany Lions do, turnovers aren’t the end of the world.

Allar’s first mistake came in the second quarter. The offense had the ball at midfield on third down and had tight end Tyler Warren wide-open in the flat, who almost definitely would’ve had the first down. Instead, Allar fired one for Liam Clifford over the middle with five Trojans in the area.

“I could have hit Warren in the flat to pick up the first down. Just got greedy,” Allar admitted.

His second interception was in the third quarter after Penn State tied the game at 20-20 and the defense forced USC to punt. Allar tried to hit Khalil Dinkins with three Trojans around him but the ball was tipped and intercepted at the Nittany Lions’ 24-yard line.

However, Penn State’s defense held USC to just a field goal after each of Allar’s first two interceptions.

“The defense had my back when I had those two turnovers,” Allar said.

“Obviously, I don’t want to make those types of mistakes again, but I think the biggest thing for me is I bounced back from it,” Allar added. “Coach [Kotelnicki] and coach Franklin never lost faith in me and allowed me to keep playing.”

Allar watched Ryan Barker’s game-winning 36-yard field goal in overtime from the sideline and his cool and calm demeanor was replaced with raw emotion. He gave a heartfelt message about Franklin in a post-game interview on the field and hugged Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics Pat Kraft with tears in his eyes.

“I think Drew was just a really good example of what I think our team did all day long. It just kept battling and overcoming adversity,” Franklin said.

“Keep shooting, no matter what. Some things aren’t going to go your way, but it’s just how you bounce back for them,” Allar said.