It’s been an odd year for the top quarterbacks in college football this season. Arch Manning highlights the list of overrated quarterbacks in the 2025 season and that list seems to be growing each week. The latest name to get on that list just might be Drew Allar. Allar could have gone to the NFL last year and opted to return to Happy Valley.
Things aren’t too happy for him or Penn State, which once again lost a game to a big opponent, in the whiteout game no less. I won’t dive into the other quarterbacks that have faltered this season because that’s not what this story is about. Instead the likes of Allar and some of the other struggling quarterbacks could be playing their way to the bench if they mess up again in Week 6.
Drew Allar, Penn State Nittany Lions
It will take more than one bad game for James Franklin to pull the plug on Drew Allar, which is why another miserable game in Week 6 will prompt him to seriously think about who should be the quarterback of this team. Keep in mind, Allar doesn’t have a single game with over 220 passing yards. Penn State has played Nevada, Villanova and Florida International this year before Allar’s worst performance of the season against Oregon.
This season, Allar was supposed to prove he was one of the best quarterbacks in college football and best NFL Draft prospects. Instead, he proven why he needed another year of college football and why he may not be a high draft pick. Penn State has a cake walk through the rest of conference play with just two more ranked opponents.
He can’t afford to not take over the game like he hasn’t the first five games of the season. Penn State went and added Trebor Pena from Syracuse and that hasn’t helped this passing offense improve. That’s less on Pena and more on Allar.
Nico Iamaleava, UCLA Bruins
Nico Iamaleava has essentially gotten two coaches fired four games into his tenure at UCLA. DeShaun Foster was the first casualty and Tino Sunseri is the most recent as the Bruins are scrambling. The only person left to blame for UCLA’s pending implosion is the one that caused all of this in Iamaleava.
It’s only a matter of time before UCLA realizes they have to move on from Iamaleave before he makes the decision for them. This team was supposed to be 4-0 and knocking on the door of contending in the Big Ten. Instead, they look like a team that’s about to be winless with a quarterback that played in the College Football Playoff a season ago.
Iamaleava has 783 passing yards, four touchdowns and three interceptions against four inferior opponents this season. UCLA is going to find out that they need to stop blaming everyone else and point the finger at the real culprit: Iamaleava. His days aren’t just numbered in southern California, they’re numbered as a starting quarterback in 2025.
DJ Lagway, Florida Gators
Florida’s off week was a wake up call for quite a few people. Billy Napier is realizing that maybe he’s not as bulletproof as he thought even though the person that can fire is presumably one of his closest friends. DJ Lagway realized he’s simply not as good as everybody assumed he would be this year.
Lagway has looked horrible, throwing for 690 yards, five touchdowns and six interceptions in his first four games. Against FBS opponents this year, the offense he leads hasn’t scored more than 16 points in a game this year and has scored exactly one touchdown in each of the last three games. This offense is bad and while Napier may have a long leash, Lagway won’t.
The only saving grace Napier might have is if he turns to true freshman Tramell Jones Jr. or seniors Harrison Bailey or Clay Millen. Whatever decision he makes, one has to be made because Lagway is proving he’s not the answer. We all thought it was Napier and it turns out Lagway deserves just as much blame for Florida’s miserable start.
Cade Klubnik, Clemson Tigers
The only reason Dabo Swinney might not bench Klubnik is because there aren’t many great options behind him. Christopher Vizzina is probably the most likely option, but there’s no guarantee he’s any better than what Klubnik is right now, which says a lot. Klubnik has Clemson at 1-3 to start the year and winless in the least powerful of the Power 4 conferences, the ACC. He doesn’t deserve to start if he continues to lead this team to the depths of the ACC.
Klubnik has just one game with 300 passing yards and it was against Syracuse in the fourth game of the season. His worst game of the season came against arguably the worst opponent on Clemson’s schedule. Before the Syracuse game, he had three touchdowns and three interceptions with 633 passing yards.
He was once a Heisman favorite and now he’s most likely a game away from being benched. Swinney is having the worst start to any of the 17 seasons he’s coached at Clemson. Swinney can’t let Klubnik continue to plummet this team. Klubnik is closer to being benched than he might realize and a bad game against North Carolina should be the final straw.