Jordan Rodgers places pressure on Drew Allar to take over game, win vs. Oregon

All eyes are going to be on Happy Valley this weekend for the White Out game between the Penn State Nittany Lions and the Oregon Ducks. There, the two sides will clash in one of the most interesting quarterback matchups of the season, headlined by potential future-NFL Draft pick Drew Allar.

Throughout his career, Allar has flashed talent but struggled at times in big games. Even with that, the Nittany Lions were able to make it to the semifinal of the College Football Playoff last season. Still, Penn State is hoping to make even more noise than that in 2025.

For ESPN analyst Jordan Rodgers, the time is now for Drew Allar to step up and help get Penn State over the hump. As he explained on Get Up ahead of the game, it’s going to fall on his shoulders to get the win over Oregon.

“Penn State needs to win because of Drew Allar,” Jordan Rodgers said. “Not with Drew Allar, not in spite of Drew Allar, which is a lot of what we saw at times last year. Take a look at the Playoff games that they won last year. Drew Allar didn’t have more than 13 completions in those games. He only had 12 completions against Notre Dame when they lost, and not one of them to a wide receiver.”

Drew Allar initially came to Penn State as a five-star recruit in the Class of 2022. He was the 28th-ranked player overall and the third-ranked quarterback in that recruiting cycle. After mostly playing the role of backup as a freshman, he took over as the starting quarterback in Happy Valley in 2023. Now, through three games in 2025, Allar is completing 64.8 percent of his passes for 626 yards and four touchdowns to one interception.

One major criticism of Penn State during the James Franklin era has been an inability to win big games. Since he got there in 2014, Franklin is 5-3 in New Year’s Six or CFP games. They’re 1-1 in the Big Ten Championship. On top of that, they’re just 15-28 against AP Top 25 opponents. That’s created the perception that he’s a big-game loser. Changing that narrative, according to Rodgers at least, will fall on Allar.

“So, if James Franklin and Penn State are going to get over the hump of these big games, it’s going to be because of their quarterback Drew Allar has to make big throws. Last time these two teams matched up, he had two interceptions and they lost by seven. So, it’s all on Drew Allar’s shoulders,” Rodgers concluded.

If Drew Allar is able to lead Penn State to a win here, the Nittany Lions are going to be in a good spot to both make the Big Ten Championship Game and the College Football Playoff. It could also help boost Allar’s profile nationally with a big game and help change that narrative around the program.