For Penn State's Sean Clifford, a Night of 'Heart and Soul'
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. | Really, Sean Clifford said, Penn State should have scored on its opening possession and run past Minnesota from the jump. But receiver Mitchell Tinsley didn't "knife" his run after a third-down catch and was stopped short of the first down.
Heck, Clifford was so sure Penn State would go for it on fourth down, he kept the offense out there. Which meant that, for a few moments, more than 20 Lions were on the field.
"You can ask Mitch Tinsley, I'm sure he would agree," Clifford said late Saturday night at Beaver Stadium. If he would have just knifed and gotten that first down, I don't know if we're even close [early]. ... I thought we played a really clean game, to be honest with you."
Few players entered Saturday's Penn State-Minnesota game more confident than Clifford, the quarterback who made his 40th career start. Clifford withstood some initial bumps, including a first-quarter interception, to throw for 295 yards and four touchdowns in the Lions' 45-17 win.
Even after leaving the loss at Michigan game with an injury, Clifford left no doubt last week that he would start against Minnesota. Head coach James Franklin, who's tuned to his quarterback's rhythms and moods, said he knew that Clifford would start once he was cleared medically.
From there, Franklin said, it was about pain management. And Clifford can manage pain, physical and otherwise.
About the first-quarter booing. Franklin wouldn't comment on it. "I have no reactions to those types of things," he said. Clifford chose not to hear it, training his focus instead on the tight ends and receivers he knew would be significant to the game plan.
"We have a passionate fan base. I understand that," Clifford said. "They can think what they want to think, but I’m going to focus on what I can do on the field."
At Penn State this season, Clifford fatigue has bubbled forth during early three-and-outs, pitched higher with each incompletion and crescendoed with the interceptions. The quarterback might have limitations but isn't confined by them.
Saturday marked Clifford's best game of the season, considering what preceded it and what awaits. Clifford labored against a Michigan defense that made him try to beat it, which he couldn't. The injury allowed him to reset.
What followed, according to receiver Parker Washington, was a Monday quarterbacks-and-receivers meeting during which the group addressed their lapses. Penn State completed 12 passes against Michigan — two weeks after completing just 10 in a storm against Northwestern — and seemed wrapped in an offensive inertia.
And yet, as Washington said, "He has confidence in us, and we have confidence in him."
Clifford has run this race before, often in the same game. He rises and stumbles, ebbs and flow and rides streaks in both directions. Clifford completed his first four passes against Minnesota for a total of 18 yards. He threw the interception. He missed Tinsley on first-and-five.
Then Clifford completed 12 of his last 15 attempts. Six went for 17+ yards. Three went for touchdowns. His completion percentage (74.2) and passing yards (295) represented season-highs. Clifford finished with a quarterback rating of 190.25, by far his highest of the season — which followed a rating of 89.89 at Michigan, his lowest of the season
"If you look around the country, there are a lot of programs that would be super excited and happy about Sean Clifford being the quarterback and what he was able to do tonight against one of the better defenses in the country," Franklin said.
Clifford told a story after the game that illustrated his confidence. He and Minnesota quarterback Tanner Morgan, who did not play Saturday, have been friends since playing against each other in middle school. Now they're sixth-year seniors with a carer record of 2-2 vs. each other.
"So no one gets bragging rights," Clifford said. "Maybe in the league we’ll see."
Before that, Clifford gets one more chance at a legacy game. Penn State on Saturday hosts No. 2 Ohio State, a team it hasn't beaten since 2016. Clifford has posted some numbers vs. the Buckeyes the past two seasons (642 yards passing, 64.6-percent completion rate, four touchdowns) but is 0-3 against them.
Before leaving Beaver Stadium late Saturday, Clifford said that Ohio State would see a prepared and confident team. What happens post-snap remains to be seen, but Clifford is determined to get the Lions pre-snap ready.
"I’m going to give my heart and my soul every single time I step on that field," he said, "and nobody can take that away from me."
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