Penn State QB Allar on ill-fated attempt: Should have thrown it away - ESPN

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Tears welled in Drew Allar's eyes and began to fall down the Penn State quarterback's face as he spoke about a game that was in his grasp, until it wasn't.

Allar, who showed clear improvement during his second year as Penn State's starting quarterback, struggled for much of Thursday's 27-24 loss to Notre Dame in the College Football Playoff semifinal at the Capital One Orange Bowl. But after helping Penn State take the lead midway through the fourth quarter, he had a chance to lead a game-winning drive as the offense took possession with 47 seconds to play and the game tied at 24-24.

Then, on first down from the Penn State 28-yard line, Allar looked downfield for wide receiver Omari Evans but badly misfired, and Notre Dame's Christian Gray dove to intercept the ball. The Irish then picked up a key first down, setting up Mitch Jeter's 41-yard field goal attempt, which he converted with seven seconds left.

«I was going through my progression, got to the backside, and honestly, I was just trying to dirt it at his feet,» Allar said. «I should have just thrown it away when I felt the first two progressions not open, because of the situation we were in.»

Allar, who completed 71.6% of his passes during the regular season and helped Penn State reach the Big Ten title game, connected on only 12 of 23 attempts Thursday for 135 yards. Penn State converted only 3 of 11 third-down chances and didn't complete any passes to its wide receivers.

Notre Dame entered the game fifth nationally in third-down conversion defense at a shade under 30%, while Penn State was 15th nationally in third-down conversions at 47%. On third-and-goal late in the first quarter, Allar's pass to running back Nicholas Singleton went a bit