It wasn’t flashy. It wasn’t even his best statistical performance, but Sean Clifford was steady and reliable on Saturday afternoon en route to Penn State’s first win of the season.
Finishing the game with 163 yards passing on a 17-of-28 effort, Clifford took what he was given and, most importantly, avoided turnovers for the first time all year. After a season plagued by fumbles and interceptions, Clifford wasn’t asked to do much down the field — his longest completion went just 22 yards to Parker Washington who did much of the work after the catch — but Michigan was hard pressed to find many turnover opportunities against a quarterback that had thrown two interceptions, of which he culpable for to varying degrees, in three games this year.
The reasons were multi-faceted. Clifford was efficient on the run, rushing for one score and 73 yards overall. The junior also managed to get nearly 170 yards on the ground from a duo of true freshmen as well as nine receptions from increasingly dependable true freshman Washington, who posted 93 yards with some of those yards coming well after the catch.
And while Clifford wouldn’t admit to being rattled in earlier games this season, there was something to be said what was going on between the ears for the returning starter who won 11 games at the helm of the Nittany Lion offense in 2019.
“I’m actually minoring in psychology, and one thing we’ve talked about is when an athlete gets in their state of flow,” Clifford said. “It’s definitely a game-changer and it’s fun when you can just play loose. After a couple losses this year, I feel like it’s been tough to find that. But today I just kinda let loose and had fun with my teammates, and was back to the Sean that I used to be.”
While coach James Franklin didn’t explicitly state anything to confirm this, the Penn State offense also seemed somewhat more straightforward on Saturday, Clifford tasked with easier throws and few deep chances or throws in complex coverages. If Clifford was looking for a game where he could take what the defense gave him, Michigan obliged and Penn State didn’t ask its quarterback to do anything overly complex.
How long that game plan works is unknown, but with a fairly unimposing slate of game remaining, it might get the Nittany Lions through 2020 with a few more wins.
“He’s a true warrior,” defensive tackle PJ Mustipher said. “He’s faced adversity this season, but he’s never quit and never given up. He’s led this team through ups and downs, and that’s a sign of a true leader. He had a great performance today, and I know he’s gonna continue to play great football. That’s what I expect from Sean Clifford.’
It’s impossible to ever truly gauge the confidence a team has in its starting quarterback, but one imagines that a season not short on miscues and turnovers would shake the general confidence a team might have in its quarterback. Of course the good news for Clifford is that he isn’t the only one who has struggled this season so the finger can be pointed in many directions other than simply at No. 14.
Whatever the case might be, Saturday may have gone a long way toward rekindling any lacking confidence teammates could have had with the main man. Even if they never want to admit it.
“I’ve never wavered in Cliff’s ability,” Penn State center Michal Menet said. “I’ve never stopped trusting or lost any faith in him whatsoever. He was playing confident and was careful with the football, and I’m not gonna sit here and act like I’m surprised. To see him back to himself and just having fun out there, it just made me so happy.”
In the long run, Penn State was fortunate that Clifford’s mid-game injury scare didn’t turn out to be an actual ailment. For all his struggles, Clifford’s resume and comprehension of the playbook far surpasses even backup and something of a tandem-starter Will Levis. Unless Penn State were to go transfer portal hunting in the offseason, Clifford will continue to be the No. 1 option and better to have the option healthy than waiting to return.
While his woes of 2020 might rub fans the wrong way, his performance on Saturday was a step in the right direction towards winning everyone back in his corner.
And in sports when ‘what have you done for me lately?’ is the focus of the day, Clifford can respond with a far more presentable result.
