Greg McElroy criticizes performance of Drew Allar in Orange Bowl loss

An interception from Penn State quarterback Drew Allar in the final minute of regulation led Notre Dame kicker Mitch Jeter to nail the go-ahead field goal to kick the Fighting Irish to the national championship game.

Allar finished the game with 135 passing yards and didn’t throw a touchdown pass. ESPN’s Greg McElroy, who was on the call for the matchup alongside Sean McDonough, was critical of the Nittany Lions quarterback’s performance during the Orange Bowl.

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“Drew Allar has come such a long way. He has become a great football player and has done a lot of really nice things this season as the quarterback of the Nittany Lions, but tonight was a game where it required top-level accuracy, and he just missed too many throws,” McElroy said after the game. “… You think later to the interception that he threw that was bailed out by the pass interference, that was underthrown by six yards.”

When Allar ended up throwing the interception which allowed Notre Dame the chance to kick the eventuall game-winning field goal, McElroy said during the broadcast that it’s never smart to throw back across the middle late in a play. Allar ended up having to pay the price for the throw.

“That is a throw that you absolutely, under no circumstances, can make as a starting quarterback that is played now two full seasons as the starter,” McElroy said. “Can’t happen. It’s an inexcusable mistake, and one that he will agonize over for a very, very long time.

“Drew Allar has a lot to be proud of. I thought he battled, that they did a lot of really impressive things. But that was a mistake there that will absolutely stick with him for a very long time and I hate it for him. I hate it because he’s too good a player and he had too good of a year for it to end the way it ended.”

During his three seasons and two as the starter at Penn State, he’s scored 64 total touchdowns compared to 10 interceptions. He’s also thrown for over 6,000 career passing yards with over 500 rushing to boot.

Allar, a junior, has the choice to return to school for one more year or head off to the 2025 NFL Draft.