The Story Behind the Longest Touchdown Pass in Rose Bowl History
PASADENA, Calif. | Penn State receiver KeAndre Lambert-Smith had the celebration cued since Sunday night. He had seen some NFL receivers, notably Minnesota's Justin Jefferson, fake a hamstring injury while scoring a touchdown, and Lambert-Smith liked the idea.
Eighty-eight yards later, Lambert-Smith was grabbing a hamstring in the end zone, temporarily freezing Penn State's coaching staff in terror. "It's a popular move right now," he said after Lions' 35-21 win over Utah in the Rose Bowl.
It certainly wasn't popular with his head coach.
"I wanted to kill him because, because literally, [associate head coach] Terry Smith said on the headset to me, 'I think KeAndre pulled his hamstring,'" Penn State coach James Franklin said. "Whatever he's watching, stop watching it."
But the longest touchdown catch in Rose Bowl history deserved a unique moment and certainly carried a great back story. It starred Lambert-Smith, an immensely gifted receiver who Franklin has tried to nurture through consistency lapses during his career.
It also starred quarterback Sean Clifford, the Rose Bowl offensive MVP, who capped his career with his highest single-game rating (209.3) of the season. "He's a Penn State legend," said Clifford's brother Liam, a second-year receiver.
And behind the scenes was Penn State offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich, who improvised the play call outside its normal spot on the Lions' game sheet. Yurcich had a host of other third-and-medium passes prepped for Utah, which he used successfully. But in that situation, at that time, Yurcich went big.
"And it ended up working out," he said.
Clifford's pass to Lambert-Smith broke a 45-year-old Rose Bowl record, set in 1978 when Michigan's Rick Leach hit Curt Stephenson for a 76-yard touchdown. Considering the high-octane quarterbacks and high-scoring games the bowl has produced, it's stunning that no one crashed the 80-yard touchdown threshold before Monday. It's even better that Clifford wrote the story.
He's been loved and maligned over the past four years, the quarterback who got Penn State close but never delivered a truly huge win. This time, Clifford was central to the Lions' 35-point surge, completing 16 of 22 passes for 279 yards and two scores.
In particular, Clifford was brilliant on third down. He completed six of seven third-down passes for 183 yards and five conversions. That included a 5-for-5 start during which Yurcich completed quick slants and other safe conversion throws in third-and-medium situations.
But on the first play of the fourth quarter, Yurcich looked deeper on his call sheet. He had the double-move to Lambert-Smith in the cue but not for this situation (3rd-and-4).
Utah, however, was in what Yurcich called a "bear front" with seven players in the box and a "Cover 1" look, with one defender designed to take away short routes.
It was the perfect situation to give Lambert-Smith an opportunity to flex his route. So Yurcich said, "OK, this is a good one. Let's call it and hope for the best."
Clifford loved it. He had taken one deep shot earlier, to receiver Mitchell Tinsley in a tempo offensive set, that fell incomplete. The quarterback liked getting Lambert-Smith free, particularly after the receiver got open on a scramble drill for an earlier third-down conversion.
He also liked this particular play, considering what Utah's defense had shown him all night.
"It was up for debate whether we wanted to take a shot," Clifford said. "... I'd been seeing the same look all game, so I was definitely a proponent for taking that shot, and I know KeAndre wanted it, too. Great players make great plays, and KeAndre got [open]. Anybody could have thrown that one. Kudos to Dre."
Franklin delivered kudos as well. He consistently has highlighted Lambert-Smith's talent and potential to become a No. 1 receiver but often noted how the receiver needed to become more consistent.
Lambert-Smith was most proud of the double move, which went five steps, sell the glance and go vertical. After that, "Sean put the pass on the money, and I did the rest."
Lambert-Smith jumped off the page in Penn State's regular-season finale against Michigan State, making five catches for 83 yards and a touchdown. He also threw a touchdown pass.
With Parker Washington and Mitchell Tinsley off to the NFL, Penn State needs an alpha to step forward in the receivers' room. Lambert-Smith announced his first step in the Rose Bowl, catching three passes for 124 yards and the score.
Franklin will want him to rethink the celebration, though.
"I think KeAndre is a great story," Franklin said. "I think all these players, they come to Penn State and they kind of have in their mind this vision of how it's going to go, and it very rarely goes that way. And KeAndre has just trusted the process and persevered. He's extremely talented.
"I just think he has such a bright future. To see him have such a big night is great because there's so many lessons that are being taught through the game of football, and I'm really proud of KeAndre and how far he's growth, both personally and professionally."
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