You ever feel that moment right before something snaps? That uncomfortable pause where the silence says more than the noise? That’s where James Franklin is right now. One throw. That’s all it took to shift Penn State’s entire vibe. A 13-3 dream season, wrecked in the blink of a pick-six. Drew Allar’s Hail Mary-esque tight window throw against Notre Dame? Caught—by the wrong team. Irish knocked in a walk-off field goal, and just like that, the Lions’ title hopes went up in smoke. The clock didn’t just hit zero—it hit reset. Now Allar’s on trial for that, and Franklin’s right there with him.

Drew Allar isn’t just playing football this season—he’s chasing redemption. After leading Penn State to its winningest year in school history, the expectations couldn’t be higher. But when the biggest game of the season ends with your QB handing the ball to the other team, people forget all those wins. That’s why 2025 is make-or-break. Allar has tools—he’s got one of the strongest arms in college football, no doubt. The talent’s there. The hesitation? That’s what’s holding him back.

Rece Davis broke it down on June 18th with Pete Thamel: “I have him preseason No. 2, and I think he’s going to be very good. Yeah, I think he’s going to be very good. The question I have is: will he be able to turn it loose?” Davis was blunt. “I want to see Drew Allar — this is the one where I could say it’d be easy to say, ‘What an idiot,’ if he develops a little more of the trait of my number two guy. If he develops a little more of the, ‘I can get this one in there. I know I can get it in there…I don’t care if they think they’re going to intercept it. I’m going to throw the ball, and I’m going to throw a touchdown.’”

The only setback with Drew Allar is that he holds back when it’s time to rip that pigskin. Make no mistake — he can easily flick it 55–60 yards, thanks to his size and all the offseason adjustments he’s been working on. Good news, he doubled his yards-per-attempt from 6.8 in 2023 to 12.6 in 2024, second-best nationally. But deep-ball consistency? Still a mystery. One scout clocked him at just 26.9% on passes over 20 yards in 2023. In 2024, the number barely ticked up. Even worse? He only attempted 32-ish of them all year. For comparison, Jaxson Dart and Garrett Nussmeier both aired it out 75+ times.

Penn State did their part this offseason. Franklin didn’t sit back. He added Devonte Ross from Troy—1,000 yards and 11 touchdowns. Trebor Pena came in from Syracuse, another deep threat. Add that to the returning backfield duo of Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen, and you’ve got serious firepower. And new offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki? He’s already worked magic. Allar’s mechanics are tighter, his pocket awareness sharper, and his accuracy climbed from sub-60% to 66.5% last season. He threw for 3,327 yards and 24 touchdowns. Vegas has him at +1400 for the Heisman. But none of it matters if he can’t take chances when it counts.

This isn’t just about throwing a pretty spiral. It’s about commanding an offense, trusting the pocket, and hitting the shot when everything’s on the line. If Allar stays safe, plays not to lose? Penn State might rack up wins again—but come January, it’ll be heartbreak all over again. It’s on him now to let it rip.

James Franklin sees major shift coming with new enforcement

While Drew Allar works on his deep ball, James Franklin is juggling a whole different storm behind the scenes. The NCAA’s grip on college football is shifting fast, and Franklin’s watching a brand-new system roll into town—the College Sports Commission. The House v. NCAA settlement just got final approval, and now comes the real shake-up.

The new watchdog, led by former MLB executive Bryan Seeley, is designed to bring order to the chaos. No more multi-year cases dragging on while coaches get fired and replacements deal with old messes. “This is not going to be one of these things that we’ve all kind of grown up with under the NCAA where it goes on for two years and a lot of times, the coach is gone and the next coach is coming in and having to deal with it. … This is going to be something where decisions are going to be made and made swiftly.” Franklin told Urban Meyer. “Decisions will be made swiftly. Very similar to an MLB or NFL model.”

Franklin’s cautiously optimistic. He sees the vision: clear rules, fast decisions, less bureaucratic mess. But he’s also been around long enough to know that what sounds good in theory doesn’t always land clean in reality. “As we both know, the theory of it and the reality are two different things,” Franklin said. “There’s going to be some growing pains.”

The College Sports Commission won’t fully replace the NCAA, but it’s got teeth. Revenue-sharing models, new NIL regulations, even membership rules—everything’s in flux. One major rule? Schools must waive their right to sue the Commission. Step out of line, and your membership could be at stake. Franklin admitted he hadn’t seen every policy yet, but emphasized how important signing on will be. “They’re still working through the details,” he said. “Even when we were at Big Ten meetings, that still [was not] something that was out there for all of us to see, that they’re still working through the details.”

For now, Franklin’s walking a tightrope. On one side, he’s trying to win a national championship with a quarterback under pressure. On the other hand, he’s adjusting to a college football world that’s rewriting its rulebook in real time. But if Penn State is going to rise above just being a near-miss program, both Franklin and Allar have to hit their stride—fast. Because the window’s open, and in this new era, it won’t stay that way for long.