![]() ![]() But I’d like to enjoy (this win) for a few minutes. “We’re going to have to be ready to play. “We all know they’re a good football team,” Franklin said of the unbeaten Buckeyes, who visit Happy Valley for a noon kickoff. Was it enough to get the Lions righted in time to give No. ![]() Kaliakmanis had little chance for success in his first career start and finished 9-for-22 for 175 yards, a touchdown and an interception.įor the Lions, rookie running back Nick Singleton helped put the game away with second-half touchdown runs of 16 and 30 yards, the latter coming after Penn State recovered an onside kick to snuff out the faintest hope of a comeback. It was an important development a week after the Wolverines humbled the Penn State defense to the tune of 418 yards on the ground, one of the worst totals in a game in program history. Ibrahim needed 30 carries to extend his impressive streak for a yards per carry of just 3.4 yards - down from a season average of 6.7. Ibrahim got his yards as he always does - the hard-charger finished over 100 for the 15th straight game and scored the Gophers’ first touchdown. That put all of the onus on star running back Mohamed Ibrahim and redshirt freshman quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis. And though he traveled with the Gophers to the game and was throwing in shorts early in warm-ups, he did not play.Īdd in that Minnesota was already missing top receiver Chris Autman-Bell - who had already been lost for the season with an injury - and the odds plummeted that the Gophers and former Lions offensive coordinator Kirk Ciarrocca would be able to knock off Penn State again. Morgan took a nasty hit to the head a week earlier against Illinois, necessitating a trip to the hospital. The Gophers (4-3, 1-3) played without their own sixth year signal-caller, Tanner Morgan, who had authored a 2019 upset that ended an unbeaten season for Penn State and Clifford that November. Minnesota had no such luck at quarterback. “I thought that, other than my interception, there weren’t really many flaws.”Ī major improvement, to say the least, and one that came a week after suffering an apparent shoulder injury that knocked him out of the Michigan game early.įranklin said he had a pretty good idea early in the week that Clifford would be able to play after examinations revealed “nothing structurally wrong, and it was just a pain management deal.” “We played probably our first complete game of the year, which was nice,” Clifford said. It was also Clifford’s fifth career game with at least four touchdown passes, another school record. The Tinsley score was his last throw of the night and was his 722nd career completion, breaking the all-time Penn State record set by his predecessor, Trace McSorley, who was in attendance. ![]() 16 Lions (6-1, 3-1 Big Ten), getting the tight ends involved in the passing game to open things up in a big way.Ĭlifford finished 23-for-31 for 295 yards and four touchdowns, connecting with Tyler Warren, Theo Johnson, Parker Washington and Mitchell Tinsley for scores. I’m real proud of him.”Īfter back-to-back rough outings against Northwestern and Michigan, Clifford responded for the No. “I think if you look around the country, there’s a lot of programs that would be super excited and happy about Sean Clifford being the quarterback, and what he was able to do tonight against one of the better defenses in the country. “No, I have no reactions to those types of things,” Lions coach James Franklin said before opening a defense of his quarterback. So when the Lions opened with no first downs on their first three drives - capped off with an overthrown deep ball by Sean Clifford that was intercepted - the 109,813 in attendance that came hoping for a party let them hear it. It hadn’t been the most jovial of weeks at Penn State, which had its 5-0 start come collapsing down last weekend with an embarrassing 41-17 loss at Michigan. And they delivered a White Out record in points, hammering Minnesota 45-17 on Saturday night. In danger of having their signature primetime crowd turn against them, the Nittany Lions recovered by the end of the first quarter. Loud ones, too, directed at Penn State’s offense. STATE COLLEGE - Yes, those were boos early on at Beaver Stadium. Penn State wide receiver Parker Washington, left, channeled another big play from White Outs past - Allen Robinson’s leaping grab against Michigan in 2013 - to haul in a 35-yard touchdown in the third quarter on Saturday. ![]()
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