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Drew Allar bristles at question about College Football Playoffs after Penn State loss to UCLA

FaceProfileby: Thomas Goldkamp10/05/25
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Penn State quarterback Drew Allar and the Nittany Lions will look to "let it rip" this weekend against Villanova. (Photo credit: Steve Manuel/BWI)

Following Penn State‘s loss to previously winless UCLA on Saturday, Nittany Lions quarterback Drew Allar was presented with a tricky question. Is Penn State still in the hunt for the College Football Playoffs?

The team already has two losses and has a tough slate ahead. Plus it’s now got what will undoubtedly be scored as an ugly loss when the season ends.

But Allar didn’t flinch when asked. In fact, he seemed rather surprised at the question.

“What do you think?” he asked the reporter, flipping things back on him. The reporter chimed in, “I don’t know.”

Almost before the reporter could get the words out, Drew Allar finished the question off for him. Definitively.

“Yes,” he said. You can view video of the brief interaction below.

UCLA takes down No. 7 Penn State

Drew Allar and Penn State got out to a slow start and UCLA raced out to a 27-7 halftime lead under new interim coach Tim Skipper, following a couple of staff changes in the last couple weeks. They certainly paid off.

The offense was reinvigorated and quarterback Nico Iamaleava looked like the guy many expected him to be when he initially signed with Tennessee out of high school. He simply did it all in the win, using his legs to get the Penn State defense off-balance and then hammering home some key shots with his arm after that.

When the dust settled, Iamaleava had run for 128 yards and three scores, while he threw for 166 yards and two touchdowns.

Penn State woke up after halftime, at least putting up a fight offensively. But it was too little too late.

Drew Allar finished the game 19-of-26 passing for 200 yards and two touchdowns, without an interception. He also ran for a team-high 78 yards. But Penn State failed to do much outside of him, putting too much of the pressure on him to deliver. That’s something the Nittany Lions will have to figure out going forward if they hope to make a playoff run still.