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By Neil Rudel
nrudel@altoonamirror.com
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- James Franklin called it a "character win," and it's tough to argue.
On a season-opening night against a dangerous opponent with a great passing game, Penn State lost its momentum, then found a way when it mattered most and emerged with a 35-31 win over Purdue before 57,307 at Ross-Ade Stadium.
With two minutes to go trailing, 31-28, Sean Clifford engineered an eight-play, 80-yard drive capped by his fourth touchdown pass, a 10-yarder to Keyvone Lee.
It was the seventh and final lead change, and Penn State's defense made it stand up with its fourth-straight stop in the fourth quarter.
"We battled, and we were able to get sacks when it mattered," Franklin said.
Though Clifford brought the Lions back, he did so while being fitted for goat horns.
Leading 28-24, Clifford overshot a wide-open Mitchell Tinsley, a miscue that Purdue safety Chris Jefferson turned into a 72-yard crushing interception return for a touchdown that put the Boilers back up 31-28.
Twitter, of course, exploded -- even former players were calling for a quarterback change -- but after two more empty possessions, Clifford completed 5-of-6 on the Lions' game-winning drive.
Franklin cited Clifford's "experience and confidence" as the difference.
He said the team rallied behind Clifford -- "I was proud of how our sideline and our whole organization supported him (after the interception)," Franklin said.
Franklin admitted the offense "needs to be more consistent -- we'd either go three-and-out or drive for touchdowns."
And he noted several drops not only by the Nits' receivers but a couple on the defensive side, too.
Still, he said, "to be able to win the game in the last two minutes," will go a long way to helping to shape the season.
"It's much better to learn these lessons after a win," he said.
Franklin's game management, at times, has been called into question, but the staff executed the two-minute drill perfectly, not to mention handling it well in the last minute of the first half.
Following a key defensive stop at the Penn State 20, leading 14-10, the Lions had the ball and three timeouts.
Instead of taking a knee, Franklin, Mike Yurcich and Clifford were aggressive.
They went downfield and drew a pass interference penalty, and then found tight end Brenton Strange, who looked like John Mackey in breaking tackles and rumbling in for a 45-yard score, hiking the lead to 21-10.
"With three timeouts, we wanted to see if we could get something going," Franklin said. "A lot of times early in the season, you burn timeouts (for various reasons) but we had three left."
The emotional swing, however, was negated when Clifford did not come out for the second half due to cramping.
With Clifford in the locker room, freshman Drew Allar played one series and completed 2-of-4 for 26 yards, showing his strong arm and decisiveness and whetting the Nittany Nation's appetite for more.
Franklin praised Allar and said he would also play next Saturday against Ohio U.
After receiving extended IV treatment, Clifford returned and was inserted, but the swagger the Lions played with in the first half was gone.
The defense gave up two scores as Purdue took a 24-21 lead before Clifford hit KeAndre Lambert-Smith for a 29-yard score, bumping the Lions' lead to 28-24.
After the four-hour game, the Lions lifted off at 1-0, having played a ton of younger guys and without having to endure an early-season quarterback controversy.
"The guy (Clifford) has had a roller-coaster career, but he's won a lot of games," Franklin said.
Equally resilient was a Penn State defense that held up against Aiden O'Connell and finally got a couple sacks and pressures -- even by backups -- in the last minute.
"I'm determined to develop depth," Franklin said. "We didn't do it last year, and it cost us."
Rudel can be reached at 814-946-7527 or nrudel@altoonamirror.com.