Another big game, another Drew Allar interception to end it.

Penn State football came so close to a thrilling comeback win over the Oregon Ducks at Beaver Stadium in the White Out on Saturday night, but Allar’s pick to Oregon defensive back Dillon Thieneman in Penn State’s second overtime possession killed all hope instantly.

The interception very clearly echoed how Penn State’s 2024 season ended in Miami in the College Football Playoff semifinal against Notre Dame. The Nittany Lions had possession of the go-ahead drive against the Fighting Irish in the final minute of regulation before Allar was picked off by Christian Gray with 33 seconds left. Notre Dame won with a 41-yard field goal moments later.

Fast forward eight and a half months, and Allar just ended another monumental matchup with the same grievous mistake.

Penn State’s offense as a whole had a rough outing in the opening three quarters against Oregon outside of Allar. The Nittany Lions only mustered 109 total yards in the first 45 minutes of Saturday’s game before exploding in the fourth quarter for 142 and pounding in the game-tying scores. However, all of that ended up for naught as Penn State failed to secure the win with Allar’s interception.

“Obviously, we just got to take care of the ball at the end of the game… I don’t prepare all week to come out and lose the game, so obviously it hurts,” Allar said postgame.

Allar said that he’s looking forward to the opportunities down the road where he can fix his mistakes and that there’s no other way than forward for the Nittany Lions.

Despite the clear frustration from the loss and the way events unfolded at the end of overtime, the team is choosing to rally behind Allar as it looks past Oregon.

James Franklin framed Allar’s struggles in a way that painted a portrait of the offense as a whole. It’s no secret that the main storyline following the Nittany Lions so far in 2025 is the offense’s lack of domination. It scores points, but it always takes a while to rev up and go instead of firing off from the jump.

Franklin said it’s tough to get the offense in a groove when it’s consistently finding itself in 3rd-and-long situations, as it did for the majority of the first half against the Ducks. The lack of a running game also put Allar in a bind as he tried to extend plays over and over.

“Obviously, the turnover at the end. Drew’s [Allar] been as good as any quarterback in the country when it comes to touchdown-interception ratio over his time, but obviously that was a critical one,” Franklin said.

Allar’s brightest spots easily came in the final frame of Saturday’s contest. He led a four-play, 1:55-minute touchdown drive that culminated in a picture-perfect 35-yard play-action touchdown pass to Devonte Ross in the back of the end zone.

The Penn State signal caller’s connection with Ross was on full display with that score. Allar and Ross previously connected on a 42-yard touchdown pass against FIU in week two, showing that their main chemistry lies in the deep passing game.

Despite the game-ending interception, Ross went to comfort Allar immediately.

“We all love Drew [Allar]. We not looking at him no differently. As soon as it happened, I went up to him, I told him I love him,” Ross said postgame. “Same thing for everybody else. We love Drew [Allar]. We got his back no matter what. This game comes down to a lot of plays, but one moment doesn’t define him.”

Ross isn’t hung up on the loss or whatever implications are coming Allar’s way in the future. He’s focused on fostering their connection on the field and moving forward.

“Obviously, we didn’t get the outcome we wanted,” Ross said. “But Drew’s an amazing quarterback and an amazing person, so we all just rally behind him. Then we just go back to work tomorrow and be better.”

While Ross had possibly his best game in the blue and white so far, running back Nick Singleton continued his lackluster season against the Ducks. He finished with 11 carries for 21 yards as he once again lived in Kaytron Allen’s shadow.

The lack of a consistent run game has been a key component of Penn State’s offensive struggles, but it definitely isn’t the main talking point after the loss to the Ducks. Despite his own rough game and built-up frustrations, Singleton is also focused on the next step after Allar’s game-losing interception.

“I just told him to move on. He’s gotta move on, that’s really it,” Singleton said. “Everybody makes mistakes and all that. Just move past them.”

Singleton also noted that while a lot of the locker room’s focus was on supporting Allar after the game, the team made sure everybody was alright after getting off the field. He said the team is picking each other’s heads up because they can’t dwell on what can’t be changed.

That sentiment really summarizes how Penn State and Allar will move forward as it prepares for its first road trip of the season in week six.

“Get back to work. What can we do? It’s over, right?” Nick Dawkins said postgame. “UCLA now. So, go home and watch this and watch UCLA.”