Penn State’s dismal year continued on Saturday with another shocking loss, this time on homecoming weekend against Big Ten opponent Northwestern.
Despite entering the game as 22-point home favorites, the Nittany Lions once again fell short of expectations. Making matters worse, they have lost starting quarterback Drew Allar for the rest of the year.
With Penn State trailing 22–21 with just a few minutes left to play, the Nittany Lions offense faced third-and-4 from their own 32-yard line. Allar took the snap, looked to pass, and seeing nothing, did his best to run for the first down. He made it a yard before getting clobbered by Northwestern linebacker Mac Uihlein.
Allar stayed down on the play, and did not return to the field, leaving backup quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer to attempt to pick up the team’s critical fourth down to keep their hopes alive. Allar was carted off the field, and Grunkemeyer and the Nittany Lions offense turned the ball over on downs.
Drew Allar is being carted into the locker room after this tackle. pic.twitter.com/552cTxxZoE
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) October 11, 2025
From there, Northwestern would pick up two more first downs to ice the game, and kneel the final seconds away in victory formation.
After the game, coach James Franklin told reporters that Allar’s injury would keep him out for the remainder of the year, officially bringing his college career to an end.
It is just the latest disappointment in what has quickly unraveled into a nightmare season for Franklin and Penn State. Entering the year as the No. 2 team in the country—and with national championship ambitions—the Nittany Lions lost a double-overtime heartbreaker to Oregon two weeks ago.
Rather than pull out of the tailspin, they have now dropped back-to-back games as three-touchdown favorites to a previously winless UCLA side and at home against Northwestern. With games against Ohio Stata and Indiana still to come, their season doesn’t look to be getting easier any time soon.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Penn State QB Drew Allar Out for the Season After Ugly Injury Late vs. Northwestern.
