For Penn State's Offense, a Glaring Lapse Vs. Central Michigan
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STATE COLLEGE, Pa. | Sean Clifford probably should have felt better about Penn State's 33-14 win over Central Michigan and his performance in it.
He completed his first eight passes, threw for three touchdowns, finished with a completion rate of 65 percent and even tossed his first pass to brother Liam (whom he didn't even realize was on the field).
But Clifford wasn't thrilled with his inconsistency, his stretches of misses or his inability to beat the cover-0 look that Central Michigan showed him often. Not terrible, he said, and the Lions won by 19. But the sixth-year quarterback asked more from himself.
"I thought [the offense] was inconsistent, starting with myself," he said. "... We won the game by a decent amount, but at the same time, it's our standard, and we didn't meet it today."
Following a pair of effective games vs. Ohio and Auburn (72 percent completion rate, no turnovers), Clifford didn't take advantage of Central Michigan's defense Saturday. He recognized that immediately afterward, as did head coach James Franklin.
Clifford was effective on short- and medium-yardage passes, going 11-for-12 on attempts of 5-14 yards. But then Central Michigan began stacking nine defenders near the line of scrimmage, and playing no deep safeties, to stop Penn State's run and short-passing game. The offense didn't respond.
Clifford was 1-for-10 on attempts of 15+ yards. And he was 1-for-5 on attempts of 20+ yards, completing a 29-yard pass to Mitchell Tinsley.
"We have to be able to hurt people when they line up in that defense," Franklin said. "Although we were effective, we didn't hurt people."
Clifford praised the Chippewas for orchestrating what he called a "great gameplan." But he also said that he recognized every instance of the cover-0 defense that Central Michigan ran. So those completion stats irritated him.
"We were in the right play, we've just got to make the play," Clifford said. "I saw it every single time. I knew what to get into. Just have to execute."
Franklin added that Penn State didn't execute well early in the run game, which, when coupled with the deep-passing issues, led to stalled drives. If not for short fields (the Lions scored touchdowns on drives of 7, 15 and 34 yards), this game might have been tighter.
" I think for us on offense, we have to be able to run and pass effectively," Franklin said. "When we get out of whack and do one too much compared to the other, that is where we are not at our best. We have to continue to mix in the run. ... We need to continue doing all those things, but it is not specific to one position or one guy. It is all of it."
For Clifford, Saturday's game represented a unique end of a career arc. He concluded his career as a starter with a 12-0 record in August and September games. And Penn State is 21-1 in that same stretch since 2017.
Yet he's well aware of what that meant in the 2019 (9-0) and 2021 (5-0) seasons. "It's a good stat, but...," Clifford said.
The Lions host Northwestern on Oct. 1 before beginning the true centerpiece of the schedule with games at Michigan, at home vs. Minnesota and at home vs. Ohio State. The season will hinge on that stretch. Clifford knows it.
"This team is in a good place," he said. "Not satisfied with what we did today but hungry for the future."
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