Drew Allar is one of the top quarterbacks in college football and, in a lot of ways, the face of Penn State’s program. PennLive sat down with Allar for an extensive interview last month. This is the first story in a miniseries stemming from our one-on-one conversation.

Drew Allar spent the night of Jan. 19 in his bedroom, glued to what was unfolding on the TV in front of him.

Allar, 10 days removed from ultimate heartbreak, was trying to multitask with some schoolwork. But his eyes were focused on the national championship game between Notre Dame and Ohio State.

“It was hard watching that game, knowing that it could have been us,” Allar told PennLive. “I was definitely watching. But it was a hard watch, I can’t lie.”

Allar couldn’t shake the feeling that, if not for a couple mistakes in the College Football Playoff semifinal loss to Notre Dame on Jan. 9, it could have been Penn State facing Ohio State. His team could have had another shot at the Buckeyes. His team could have been playing for the national championship.

Allar doesn’t dwell on those Orange Bowl mistakes now. He’s focused on what Penn State can achieve in 2025. But those hours after the CFP semifinal were fraught with emotions.

“It was not fun at all,” Allar said. “When it comes to that point, you got so close to the thing you really ultimately want to achieve and came up short. And kind of just how everything played out, I took it hard. I took it, I mean, it wasn’t fun at all. But it really took me until after the national championship game to move on from that.”

That’s more than understandable. The Nittany Lions really were that close to beating Notre Dame. Some would argue Penn State was the better team that night at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami. At the very least, James Franklin’s team had early control.

After a few drives of feeling each other out, the Nittany Lions broke through with the first big play of the night. An interception by Zakee Wheatley gave Allar and the offense the ball around midfield. They mounted a drive and faced a third-and-goal at Notre Dame’s 3-yard line.

Offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki dialed up a throw to the flat to Nick Singleton. He was open, but Allar and Singleton couldn’t connect. Could Singleton have caught it? Perhaps. But Allar’s throw made it difficult for him to secure the ball with his body going the other way.

“If I didn’t leave that ball behind Nick, we go up seven,” Allar said. “It could have been a completely different game from that point.”

The Nittany Lions settled for a field goal. Allar and the offense then rattled off a 15-play, 90-yard touchdown drive the next time they got the ball. They had a 10-0 lead, and the defense was playing lights out. It didn’t appear as though Allar’s misfire would haunt them.

But momentum shifted quickly. Notre Dame finished the first half with a field goal and came out of the second half with a statement touchdown drive to level the score. From that point on, the Orange Bowl became a game of swings. Jeremiyah Love’s bruising goal-line run gave Notre Dame a lead. Dani Dennis-Sutton’s interception set up Penn State’s go-ahead score. Jaden Greathouse’s 54-yard touchdown catch-and-run was shocking.

Meanwhile, Allar wasn’t at his best. Penn State’s success came through Singleton and Kaytron Allen, who combined for 166 rushing yards. Allar’s stat line — 12 of 23 for 135 yards — served as a fair reflection of how he was playing without any dynamic wide receivers.

Still, Allar had a chance to have his moment. The former five-star recruit, the NFL draft prospect, the subject of scrutiny had a chance to go win it.

40 seconds on the clock. Tied game. Penn State had the ball at its own 28-yard line with two timeouts. The opportunity to get into field goal range was there.

Allar stepped back, surveyed the field, drifted to his left and released the ball as he was about to get hit.

Allar’s pass over the middle, intended for Omari Evans, was intercepted by Notre Dame’s Christian Gray. The Irish celebrated as Allar put his hands on his head in disbelief. Moments later, Mitchell Jeter snuck his 41-yard field goal attempt inside the right upright, and that was that. Notre Dame was off to the national title game, and Penn State was going home.

Coming to grips with that was difficult for Allar. In the hours after the loss, few acknowledged the strides he made in 2024 or the role he played in Penn State’s run to the CFP semifinal. On TV, the interception played on repeat. On social media, Allar was crushed.

In the days that followed, Allar leaned on those closest to him.

“Between my parents, Coach Franklin, Coach K, Danny (O’Brien), my roommates (Drew Shelton and Dominic Rulli) and my girlfriend back home, I have a really good support staff,” Allar said. “So that made it easier. But I wouldn’t wish that on anybody.”

Allar took some time before revisiting the Orange Bowl. About a week after the CFP semifinal loss, he sat down with quarterbacks coach Danny O’Brien and went over the film. Allar also met with Franklin and Kotelnicki. Nothing was sugar coated. Nothing was ignored.

“What did I do well in that game? What did I not do well? What did we do collectively as an offense that worked and didn’t work? And why did those things work and not work? We had honest conversations about all those things, and I think there were a lot of positives that came out of it. Because it’s not like we were outmatched. We just came up short in critical moments.”

From those conversations and that time of reflection came motivation — motivation for winter workouts, motivation for spring ball, for summer sessions and, ultimately, the 2025 season.

Allar is a main character on a team with national championship aspirations yet again. Singleton, Allen, Dennis-Sutton and others are back, too. That has inspired optimism, in Happy Valley and nationally, that Penn State has what it takes to finish the job after coming so close last year.

But Allar knows that won’t happen without him eliminating the mistakes that plagued Penn State not only against Notre Dame, but also against Ohio State and Oregon last fall.

Allar, after wrestling with his costly mistakes and moving on, knew improvement was needed after the CFP semifinal loss. Now, he’s carrying that throughout the offseason with hopes of another opportunity to shine on the biggest stage.

“For me personally, it’s making one or two more plays and eliminating one or two more mistakes I made throughout the games that could be the difference,” Allar said. “That’s what I’m harping on as I go through these summer workouts now, trying to make everything as game-like as possible. So when those situations do come around this year, I’m able to capitalize.”