Did One Drive Save Penn State's Season?
- Matt McLaughlin
- Sep 6, 2022
- 5 min read
It’s been almost a week and I still don’t believe what happened in the fourth quarter between Penn State and Purdue really happened.
Somehow, some way, Penn State defeated Purdue 35-31, despite giving up 14 unanswered points in the third quarter AND Sean Clifford throwing an interception returned for a touchdown while Penn State led 28-24 in the fourth.
Image via Nittany Lions Wire.com
Oh, and did I mention the Nittany Lions punted on every drive in the third quarter?
But what matters more is what the season represents for a program that’s been one of college football’s biggest enigmas.
Unfortunately, Penn State plays in Pennsylvania where something ALWAYS goes wrong for its sports teams.
Don’t believe me? Just look at this past year.
The Penguins had to trot out a third-string goalie for six games in a playoff series before putting in Tristan Jarry IN A GAME SEVEN ON THE ROAD who hadn’t played SINCE APRIL.
The 76ers are coached by Doc Rivers who, in one of the dumbest coaching decisions in NBA history, left Joel Embiid in Game 6 of the first round series against the Toronto Raptors while leading by 29 POINTS with less than four minutes to play, only for Embiid to get nailed in the face by absolute scumbag and bush league player Pascal Siakam.
Back to the point, watching a Pennsylvania team play is essentially walking on eggshells. You’re waiting for something to go horribly wrong so that you can give up and complain about how the season is already over before the second game is played, which has summed up Penn State’s recent play.
Last year, the team was led by a fierce defense that was winning games on its own, but that was the problem. The offense just couldn’t score to save its life after starting quarterback and AARP member (seriously, this guy has been at Penn State for over half a decade, how is this legal?) Sean Clifford was injured in Week 6 against Iowa.
To his credit, Clifford did his best to come back two weeks later against Illinois in that miserable, nine-overtime loss where apparently no one wanted to win, and threw over 300 passing yards in three of six starts the rest of the season, but for a program that could’ve been in the College Football Playoff just a few years ago, it’s not enough.
Penn State fans have been left with a bitter taste of “what if?” and untapped potential the last few years.
Since the 2019 campaign when James Franklin led the Nittany Lions to an 11-2 record and a Cotton Bowl win (AKA the good ol’days), Penn State has posted an 11-10 record over the last two seasons.
Bonafide NFL studs like Saquon Barkley, Chris Godwin, Mike Gesicki, Micah Parsons, Jahan Dotson, all coming through Beaver Stadium at one point or another yet no national championships to show for it, and for better or worse the quarterback position has been the target for most of fans’ criticisms.
That’s why the 2022 season matters so much for not just Penn State but Clifford specifically. To prove that he can stay healthy and become the face of an explosive offense capable of going toe-to-toe with the Ohio State’s, Michigan’s and Alabama’s of the college football world because when’s the last time a team without a dynamic QB won a national title?
But somehow, in one drive, Clifford erased any doubt of his starter status.
For now.
Before Clifford’s masterful final drive where he completed 6/7 passes for 72 yards and the game-winning dime to Keyvone Lee, he was 14/30 for 210 yards and three scores (and one possible diarrhea trip), but also threw a potentially backbreaking pick-six to give the Boilermakers a 31-28 lead.
Yet somehow college football’s residential old man pulled off a small miracle and did enough to secure a Week 1 conference win.
So…did one drive already save Penn State’s season?
Well, depends on what you define as success for the Nittany Lions. Is a conference title enough? Do they have to make the College Football Playoff?
Penn State hasn’t won a Big Ten title since 2016, so winning a conference that boasts Ohio State, Michigan, Iowa, and Michigan State as the top dogs would be a HUGE step, but an appearance in the CFP?
That changes the game. A chance to win a national title in the format that has four spots (for now) would make Franklin the most successful Penn State head coach since Joe Paterno.
Yes, I said that because of how incredibly difficult it is to convince the committee to give an outsider a chance.
Since it was created in the 2014-15 season, the CFP has featured only 13 different teams. Alabama leads the way with seven appearances, but more importantly, the non-SEC and non-ACC teams have gotten destroyed.
In total, non-SEC and non-ACC teams are 4-13 with NO national championship appearances, which produces the perception that the SEC and Clemson are on such a greater level than any other program or conference that no one can hang with them.
*cough* *cough* Notre Dame *cough*
Sorry, allergies are killing me this time of year.
Speaking of the Fighting Irish, Notre Dame has lost both its appearances by a combined 44 points. Michigan got crushed by Georgia last season, losing 34-11. Cincinnati, the first Group of Five program to appear in the CFP, only scored six points against Alabama last year.
So, could Penn State win enough this season for the CFP to put Franklin and co. on a nationally televised game and pray to the Lord they don’t get another dumpster fire of a semifinal?
Maybe.
Penn State faces three of its most daunting opponents, Auburn, Michigan, and Michigan State, all on the road this season. Meanwhile, Beaver Stadium will host Ohio State this season.
Assuming Penn State beats all four of those opponents, that is perhaps the most impressive resume in the country short of Alabama or Georgia, assuming those two programs go undefeated.
A win against an SEC team? Check.
A win in the Big House? Check.
An in-conference win at home against Ohio State? Check.
A revenge win over Michigan State in East Lansing in late November? Check.
That’s a very hard resume to dispute with, ASSUMING PENN STATE WINS ALL THESE GAMES.
But that’s why this comeback win over Purdue matters so much. It could be the spark that starts the fire. If Penn State loses in West Lafayette, any hope for a championship evaporates.
But now, the Nittany Lions enter Week 2 with a 1-0 record with Ohio on the horizon in the season’s home opener.
While Penn State has areas to work on, especially the defensive side, (how do you make CHARLIE JONES look the second coming of Cooper Kupp?) this two-minute drive was a Heisman-level moment for Clifford in a season that will define his legacy in Happy Valley, both good and bad.
Will he go down as a mediocre scrambler or as a guy with ice in his veins that led Penn State to its first CFP appearance?
Whatever happens, Penn State fans will be biting their nails and possibly throwing a riot or two in State College along the way, but it all comes down to No. 14 under center the white and blue.
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