Nittany Lions right ship with ‘complete game’
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UNIVERSITY PARK -- What a difference a week -- and an opponent -- can make.
If last week's drubbing at Michigan was Penn State at its worst, Saturday night's turnaround and 45-17 victory over Minnesota at Beaver Stadium showed the Nittany Lions at their best.
Sustained blocking and crisp tackling, absent at the Big House, returned to an encouraging level as the defense generally had its way, and the offense enjoyed its most efficient passing day of the season.
Sean Clifford was booed upon his introduction in warm-ups and after each of his first three series, which ended with two punts and an interception.
Just as it seemed he was candidate for an early hook in favor of freshman Drew Allar, Clifford composed himself and finished 23-of-31 for 295 yards and four touchdowns.
Clifford met the media afterward and chose his words carefully relative to the fan reaction.
"I really just have a lot of trust and care for the people in the program -- coaches and players," he said. "Realistically, we have a passionate fan base. I understand that. They can think what they want to think. I'm going to focus on what I can do on the field, I'm going to give my heart and my soul every time I step on the field, and nobody can take that away from me."
Clifford did not finish the Michigan game after sustaining a third-quarter shoulder injury. He missed a day of practice, but was cleared when it was determined there was no structural damage.
James Franklin, whose pre-game introduction also was mixed, once again stood by his veteran quarterback.
Franklin had "no reaction" to the boos, but added, "I'm proud of Sean. He's a battler, he's resilient, and he's tough. If you look around the country, there are a lot of programs that would be super excited about Sean Clifford being the quarterback and what he was able to do tonight against one of the better defenses in the country."
Clifford's receivers did their share. Parker Washington caught seven passes for 70 yards, including a spectacular 35-yard touchdown, and Mitchell Tinsley added four for 58 yards and a TD.
And, finally, the tight ends became more part of the offense. They were led by Theo Johnson's five catches for 75 yards and 25-yard touchdown, while fellow tight end Tyler Warren's 44-yard TD gave the Lions a 10-3 lead.
"I thought we had a lot of diversity in our play calling tonight," Franklin said.
Clifford called it "probably our most complete game of the year."
The defense was just as impressive.
Other than allowing touchdown drives late in the second quarter and early in the fourth, it bounced back strong from last week's horrific showing.
"No guys hung their heads," safety Ji'Ayir Brown, who made seven tackles to go with an interception he returned 35 yards, said. "When we watched the film last week, we knew that wasn't us as a defense. But we didn't let the loss drag."
Of course, Minnesota is not Michigan. The Gophers were without their starting quarterback, Tanner Morgan, and are now riding a three-game losing streak.
Still, the Lions didn't let Gopher star running back, Mo Ibrahim, take over and though he did wind up with 102 yards, he needed 30 carries to earn them.
Minnesota came in leading the nation in third-down efficiency -- on offense and defense.
Penn State checked Minnesota to 2-of-13 on third down, made seven tackles for loss, intercepted a pass, broke up six other passes and was credited with six quarterback hurries.
"The biggest thing that stood out to me was third down," Franklin said.
The White Out crowd, a season-high gathering of 109,813, did its part, too, rattling the Gophers into five false start penalties and two offside in the first half alone.
"The crowd had a huge impact tonight," Franklin said, adding the Lions will need that again this week when No. 2 Ohio State comes calling for a noon start.
The Buckeyes spent Saturday afternoon mopping up Iowa, 54-10.
Franklin implored PSU fans to leave folks wearing red without seats.
"Don't allow anybody to get our tickets," he said. "Let's dominate that stadium again with our fans, make it a real challenging environment."
Since he brought up Ohio State, somebody wondered if he and the players watched the Buckeyes during their down time before Saturday night's kickoff.
Franklin said no. Ditto Clifford, who said he took a nap.
"Our analysts have gotten a head start on them, but no (he didn't)," Franklin said. "They're a good football team, and we're going to have to be ready to play, but we'd like to enjoy this for a few minutes."
Fair enough.
The Lions will have six more days to focus and talk about Ohio State -- and even that might not be enough -- but at least they can prepare in an atmosphere of renewed hope.
Rudel can be reached at 814-946-7527 or nrudel@altoonamirror.com.