Penn State Football Haunted by James Franklin’s Beau Pribula Blunder as Drew Allar Struggles
This season was supposed to be different for Penn State Football.
Penn State was expected to be stronger, smarter, and finally ready to leap from perennial contender to national powerhouse.
Instead, Saturday night’s 30–24 double-overtime loss to No. 2 Oregon told a familiar story: the Nittany Lions remain college football’s most consistent nearly-there team, a team good enough to challenge the elite, but not quite good enough to beat them.
Much of the blame falls once again on the offense.
A unit hyped in the offseason as one of the best under James Franklin crumbled under pressure.
The offensive line allowed eight tackles for loss and two sacks, with multiple blown assignments that disrupted Drew Allar’s rhythm. The quarterback himself struggled with accuracy and consistency for three quarters before sparking two late touchdown drives that nearly forced the upset.
But in the second overtime, the familiar nightmare returned. Allar threw a game-sealing interception, erasing Penn State’s hopes of a statement win.
In the unforgiving college football world, one mistake is all it takes to rewrite the narrative, and this one has put Franklin’s quarterback decision-making back under the microscope.
Did Franklin Back the Wrong Horse?
For two years in Happy Valley, Beau Pribula wore the headset more than the helmet.
Pribula was Dew Allar’s backup, the local kid from York who could run a little, throw a little, and give the offense a spark in garbage time or the occasional wildcat wrinkle. The staff framed him as a “change-of-pace” option. The future, we were told, belonged to Allar, the blue-chip recruit with the NFL arm, the one Penn State could finally ride deep into the College Football Playoff.
Fast forward to 2025, and the conversation among Nittany Lion fans has shifted from certainty to regret. Because while Allar continues to fight his way through another season of inconsistency in big games, Pribula is thriving at Missouri and it begs the obvious question – did Penn State bet on the wrong quarterback?
Penn State’s Drew Allar Gamble
James Franklin staked a lot on Drew Allar and on paper, the decision made sense.
Allar is built like an NFL prototyp, 6’5”, 243 pounds, big arm, five-star pedigree. Through three years, his stat sheet is impressive enough as he has amassed more than 7,000 passing yards and over 50 touchdowns.
In 2024, he threw for 3,327 yards with 24 TDs and added six rushing scores.
But the promise has always been greater than the product.
In marquee matchups like Ohio State, Michigan, the playoff semifinal vs. Notre Dame, and most recently Oregon, Allar has often looked tentative, forcing balls into the dirt or settling for check-downs.
In this year’s double-overtime loss to Oregon, he finished 14-for-25 for just 137 yards, with two touchdowns and one back-breaking, game ending, devastating interception.
Big games have consistently highlighted the flaws – slow starts, inconsistent accuracy, and an inability to elevate when everything is on the line. For a quarterback groomed as the face of the program, the gap between hype and execution is glaring.
The Blind Comparison That Sparked Debate
On ESPN’s College GameDay last Saturday, analysts ran a blind quarterback comparison that lit up social media.
- Quarterback A: 84 QBR, 11 total touchdowns, 4-0 record.
- Quarterback B: 39 QBR, 4 total touchdowns, 3-0 record.
The reveal? A was Beau Pribula, B was Drew Allar.
The contrast could not be sharper.
Against UMass, Pribula went 26-for-29 for 241 yards with a touchdown and an interception, while adding poise and control to Missouri’s offense.
Allar, on the other hand, threw the interception that sealed Penn State’s fate versus Oregon in double Overtime.
It was a damning split-screen moment, and it reignited the debate regarding James Franklin’s decision to back the wrong quarterback.
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The Resurgence of Beau Pribula
Once Franklin’s backup QB, Pribula transferred to Missouri after three years in State College.
Now he’s thriving. Through five games, he has completed 75.9% of his passes for 1,203 yards, 9 touchdowns, and just 3 interceptions, while adding 121 rushing yards and 3 rushing TDs and has a QB rating of 161.9.
His dual-threat ability has given Missouri’s offense a new dimension. He’s improvising, making tight-window throws, and moving the chains with his legs, the very qualities Penn State fans have long begged for in big games.
In contrast, Allar’s 2025 line tells a different story: 62.8% completion rate, 763 passing yards, 6 touchdowns, and 2 interceptions. Solid, but unspectacular for a quarterback expected to lead a playoff-caliber team to a potential national championship.
When Allar announced he was returning for his senior year, Penn State fans were ecstatic. He carried a 21–5 record as a starter, had NFL Draft buzz, and was about to enter his third season under center. By every conventional measure, he was the safer bet.
The Case for Pribula
Still, you don’t stake the program’s immediate future on safe plays and in this case it looks like Franklin missed badly.
Pribula’s dual-threat skill set was a better fit for second year offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki’s scheme. In limited time at Penn State, he rushed for 571 yards and 9 touchdowns on just 94 attempts. The Wisconsin game in 2024 proved his upside when thrust into action after Allar was injured. Pribula completed 84.6% of his passes, threw a touchdown, and led Penn State from a 10-7 halftime deficit to a 28-13 win.
To some, that performance was a clear preview of what he could become if given the reins.
I get the hype around Allar’s potential but production always trumps hype and when Pribula got opportunities to produce, he did. This program needed a gamer, a certified winner. Does anybody feel the words “gamer” and “winner” are synonymous with Drew Allar if we’re being honest with ourselves?
Fan Frustration Boils Over
The contrast in play and production has been impossible for fans to ignore.
- On Reddit: “Just watched his game at Mizzou. Wow. He can really play. Good kid from York, Pa. Shame we lost him.”
- On Twitter/X: “Penn State would be the best team in the country if they kept Beau Pribula instead of Drew Allar.”
- On Rivals’ Penn State forum: threads bluntly titled “Allar SUCKS.”
Every Allar misfire fuels the what-if narrative. Every Pribula highlight clip becomes a painful reminder of what Penn State let walk.
The Tale of Two Quarterbacks
Beau Pribula (Missouri, 2025)
- 75.9% completions
- 1,203 yards, 9 TD, 3 INT
- 121 rushing yards, 3 rushing TDs
- QBR: 84.0
Drew Allar (Penn State, 2025)
- 62.8% completions
- 763 yards, 6 TD, 2 INT
- Costly OT interception vs. Oregon
- QBR: 39.0
A Decision That Could Keep On Haunting Happy Valley
James Franklin built his program’s hopes on Drew Allar, the big, polished, five-star passer with the NFL frame. But as each big game slips away, the questions get louder and the regrets sting harder.
Pribula’s efficiency and flair at Missouri make it look like Penn State may have chosen the wrong man to lead them deep into the Playoff era.
Allar was always the safe choice, but safe hasn’t been enough so far.
With the season already taking its first big hit last Saturday night, Franklin’s decision to back Allar and let Pribula walk may prove to be the misstep that defines this team and this multi-year wasted era of Penn State football as the ghosts of Beau Pribula haunt Penn State for the remainder of the Allar tenure.
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It was at PRISM where Staszak produced live games and began his career as an on-air reporter.
After a couple of brief stints with CBS-3, WB-17 and WGAL-8 in Lancaster, PA, Staszak began a 12 year stretch at FOX 29 where he became the lead sportscaster in 2007. It was there that Staszak found himself in the middle of Philadelphia Phillies World Series Championship coverage that earned him an Emmy nomination for best sports reporter in 2008.It was one of five Emmy nominations that Staszak earned over the course of his career.
All told Staszak covered three World Series, two Stanley Cup Finals, an NBA Finals and one Super Bowl during his television run.
Staszak left the TV business for 97.5 The Fanatic in 2013, where he enjoyed eight years bloviating his beliefs on how a professional football team should be run.In 2018 when he fortunate enough to be the first sports talk host in the city, along with cohort Zach Gelb, to provide post-game coverage of the first Super Bowl Championship for the city’s beloved Philadelphia Eagles.
Staszak was also a writer for 97.5 The Fanatic along with 4 Philly Sports and now covers Penn State athletics for NittanyCentral.com.
- Penn State Football Haunted by James Franklin’s Beau Pribula Blunder as Drew Allar Struggles - October 1, 2025
- Why James Franklin’s Penn State Future Could Belong to Manny Diaz - September 30, 2025
- Another Big Game, Another Penn State Letdown | Why James Franklin’s Seat Just Got Hotter - September 30, 2025
