Back-breaking Drew Allar INT costs Penn State shot at a title: Best memes, tweets

The Penn State Nittany Lions cruised their way to an 11-2 regular season to not only finish as the runner-up to No. 1 Oregon in the Big Ten, but to earn a No. 6 seed in the first-ever 12-team College Football Playoff. Despite being a No. 6 seed, their path to the semifinal was rather easy.

First, they took care of business on their home turf, dismantling No. 11 SMU by a final score of 38-10. They continued their dominant play, defeating No. 3 Boise State by three scores to earn their spot in the semifinals. It'd get a lot tougher with No. 7 Notre Dame standing between them and a CFP National Championship Game berth, but they were slight favorites to win this game.

Penn State led this game at halftime and regained a seven-point lead on a Nicholas Singleton touchdown run with just under eight minutes to go in the fourth quarter. Penn State fans could sniff a National Championship appearance before disaster struck.

Drew Allar, a player known for taking great care of the ball, threw a back-breaking interception at the worst possible time to give Notre Dame a chance to steal this game. Steal it they did. The Fighting Irish are National Championship Game bound.

Drew Allar cost Penn State National Championship chance with back-breaking interception: Best memes, tweets

Fittingly, Greg McElroy of ESPN went out of his way to say Penn State should be aggressive in an attempt to win the game thanks to Allar's decision-making. Certainly, the sure-handed Allar who had just seven interceptions this season and had nine total in three seasons compared to 53 touchdowns wouldn't put the ball in harm's way, right?

Well, we can argue whether it was the right call for Penn State to be aggressive with that in mind or not, but you won't find a greater jinx than that.

Prior to this game, there was buzz that if Allar had reconsidered his decision to return to Penn State and instead declare for the NFL Draft, he would be selected in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft. Well, going 12-for-23 for 143 yards in the biggest game of his career and throwing that interception certainly would result in his draft stock taking a massive hit.

As if that interception wasn't ugly enough, Allar's lateral to officially seal the deal for Notre Dame might've been even worse. Sure, it was virtually impossible for Penn State to pull this game out, but Allar never gave them a chance with that toss.

Of course, there can never be bad quarterback play and not have that be linked to the two New York NFL teams.

Penn State's roster is stacked. Unfortunately, James Franklin's history in big games is shaky at best, and Drew Allar shrunk in the biggest game of his life. They had everything but the two most important positions filled for their playoff run, and that's why they're forced to watch the National Championship on their couches.

On the bright side for Nittany Lions fans, Allar's interception just cost them what would've likely been their ninth straight loss against Ohio State assuming the Buckeyes advance to the National Championship.