COLUMBUS, Ohio — Sean Clifford has always worn his emotions on his sleeve during his three years as the Penn State starting quarterback. The redshirt senior’s feelings, whether positive, negative or somewhere in between, are usually easy to read.
So it’s been clear over the past few weeks that Clifford has been playing through pain, even if he said he expected to be 100% for Saturday night’s game at Ohio State. His grimaces, his adjustments, his sometimes-ginger movements on the football field reveal a little more than his words sometimes.
In No. 20 Penn State’s 33-24 loss at No. 5 Ohio State on Saturday night, Clifford once again turned in a hard-nosed effort. He took hits, he made plays, he made mistakes and he tried to put the Nittany Lions in the best position to pull off the upset against the Buckeyes. He fell short, and it was clear he’s still working through pain, both old and new.
But Clifford, the first three-time team captain in program history, knows what role he occupies for his team. And he wanted to be on the field, no matter what it took.
“It wasn’t hard,” Clifford said. “I have a lot of determination because of the guys that are around me, so it’s easy when you love the guys that you go to war with.”
Read more: 4 Penn State takeaways after No. 20 Nittany Lions drop third straight, 33-24, at No. 5 Ohio State
Overall, Clifford was solid, and he helped the Penn State offense rebound from an overall nightmarish outing in the nine-overtime loss to Illinois last week. Clifford finished the game 35 of 52 for 361 yards with one touchdown and one interception.
He was sacked four times and finished with minus-11 yards rushing, but he used his legs much more against the Buckeyes than he did against the Fighting Illini, and it added something different to the Nittany Lions offense.
Clifford, though, didn’t play a perfect game, and in facing a deep and talented opponent like Ohio State, Penn State needed its quarterback essentially be perfect. His fumble in the second quarter was returned for a touchdown by Buckeyes defense tackle Jerron Cage. In the fourth quarter, he launched a pass off his back foot in the direction of wide receiver Jahan Dotson, and Ohio State cornerback Cameron Brown was there to gather the underthrow.
The Buckeyes turned Clifford’s two turnovers into 10 points. The Nittany Lions won by nine points.
“I thought he battled,” coach James Franklin said. “He took some shots. He made some big-time throws in traffic, stepped up in the pocket and made some very accurate throws.
“But we just got to eliminate turnovers. Turnovers are costly. It’s hard to win when you turn the ball over.”
Read more: No. 5 Ohio State outlasts No. 20 Penn State, 33-24: game balls, turning points and more analysis
Clifford said he felt “100%” and “left it all on the field” Saturday night. He took a hard hit on a sack in the second half and was seen working out his arm, but he said it was just a “good hit.”
It’s been 11 quarters since Clifford exited the Iowa game after a hard hit. The four against Ohio State were Penn State’s best since that moment in Iowa City.
“I know it’s been tough on him,” Dotson said. “It’s never easy going through an injury. For him to be out here battling, giving it his all, showing no signs of weakness, it’s huge for us. I know it’s tough for him, but we got his back no matter what. Just try to pick him up every single play, every single day, literally, just trying to go out and fight for him.”
Read more: As it turned out, Penn State had plenty of fight left, but Ohio State again was too much | Jones
Clifford shot down the idea of a moral victory — “We lost the game,” the Cincinnati, Ohio, native said — even though Penn State was a three-score underdog on the road against Ohio State. He wants to win, he said. That’s his goal every week.
And Clifford, combined with Penn State’s stingy bend-don’t-break defense, had the Nittany Lions in position to potentially do just that. Ultimately, though, Penn State fell short, and another gutsy outing by Clifford was for naught as the losing streak stretched to three games.
“That’s the worst part is you feel like you’re getting better, but it’s just not enough,” Clifford said. “It’s always on myself. I feel like I could have done so much more just to change the outcome. That’s the toughest part of being a leader is just battling through your own adversity as well as the team’s, and I love these guys to death.”
Daniel Gallen covers Penn State for PennLive. He can be reached at dgallen@pennlive.com. You can follow him on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Follow PennLive’s Penn State coverage on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.
The Link LonkOctober 31, 2021 at 05:06PM
https://www.pennlive.com/pennstatefootball/2021/10/sean-clifford-turns-in-hard-nosed-outing-for-penn-state-but-turnovers-derail-upset-bid-at-ohio-state.html
Sean Clifford turns in hard-nosed outing for Penn State, but turnovers derail upset bid at Ohio State - PennLive
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