'Sean Clifford experience' ends up dooming Lions against Buckeyes

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- It happened so quickly -- one of those blink and you'll miss it kind of things.

And then, the game was over. Just like that.

For three quarters and a few minutes into the fourth, Penn State looked like the better team. Which was stunning, because Ohio State came in ranked No. 2 and a favorite -- for many people -- to win the national title.

The No. 13 Nittany Lions grabbed a five-point lead with 9:26 to go, and fans everywhere had to be thinking, "Oh my gosh, is this really gonna happen?"

No, it wasn't.

Because the Buckeyes finally showed up, kicked some serious rear down the stretch and wound up hammering home one very important point: Penn State is still not good enough to beat them.

Ohio State scored 28 points in the fourth quarter and won comfortably, 44-31, on a beautiful sunny day at Beaver Stadium. That final score seemed almost impossible after the Nittany Lions grabbed a 21-16 lead with 9:26 left, but the end of this game was a disaster.

Four turnovers -- all by Sean Clifford -- and bad defense in the fourth quarter doomed Penn State.

"You can't turn the ball over that many times against that type of opponent and think you're gonna be successful," James Franklin said.

"Had a chance to win the game," the coach also said, "made too many mistakes in critical moments, which you can't do against a top-ranked opponent like that."

This game pretty much epitomized Clifford's Penn State career. He looked really good at times and was a big reason why the Lions were in position to win. But then, he made big mistakes that wound up being a big reason the team lost.

It's why so many people have taken to calling it "the Sean Clifford experience."

The sixth-year QB finished 32 of 47 for 371 yards and three TDs. Good Sean Clifford.

But bad Sean Clifford also showed up, throwing three interceptions and losing one fumble to finish with four turnovers.

"I thought he played gutsy and made some big-time plays, but obviously he can't have the turnovers," Franklin said of his QB.

Nobody beats Ohio State when their quarterback has such a Jekyll and Hyde performance.

"We definitely know that we we had our chances to win that game," Clifford said. "It's tough. But you can't really talk about the ifs. We know what happened, happened. Just you gotta learn from it and grow."

Clifford threw interceptions on Penn State's first two possessions of the day. But the Lions' defense was tough for three quarters, giving the offense lots of time to hang around in the game.

Despite the poor start, Penn State led 14-13 at the half and grabbed a 21-16 lead on Kaytron Allen's 1-yard TD run on fourth-and-goal with 9:26 remaining.

But after playing so well up to that point, Penn State's defense fell apart on Ohio State's ensuing possession. The Buckeyes needed just 35 seconds and four plays to retake the lead on this 41-yard run by TreVeyon Henderson.

On second down on the Lions' next series, Clifford was hit by J.T. Tuimoloau, who forced a fumbled and recovered at the Lions' 24.

On the very next play, C.J. Stroud connected with Cade Stover on this 24-yard TD pass for a 30-21 lead.

So, in a span of 69 seconds, Penn State went from being up 21-16 to trailing 30-21. The Buckeyes ran only four plays and scored on two of them in the 44 seconds they had the ball.

And that was that. After the Lions had outplayed the Buckeyes up to that point, it was pretty apparent that Ohio State would escape Beaver Stadium with a win.

The whole thing was cruel, almost, in a way because it just sort of seemed like the Buckeyes were toying with Penn State. When they really wanted to play and kicked it into gear, there wasn't anything Penn State could do to stop them on either side of the ball.

The Lions' defense had a good day, and yet Ohio State picked apart Manny Diaz's unit in the fourth quarter. Henderson scored a 7-yard TD with 2:52 to go, and Tuimoloau finished off his incredible defensive day by picking off Clifford and returning it 14 yards for a TD and 44-24 lead.

Yeah, Penn State went from leading 21-16 with 9:26 to go, to trailing by 20 points seven minutes later.

How does that happen? In the Lions' biggest game of the year? In a game it appeared they were going to win.

The only real answer is this: Because it was Ohio State.

That's just what the Buckeyes do to Penn State, treating the Lions like a little brother by toying with them before shooing them away when they get tired of messing around.

Franklin didn't come in and deliver any kind of heartfelt or emotional rant after this tough loss. He actually praised his team a lot, saying repeatedly that "we played our tail off," before acknowledging that Ohio State is really good.

"There's a ton of stuff to be proud of," Franklin said, "but there's just as much stuff that we got to correct.

"To me," he continued, "the game starts and ends with the turnovers."

And that's where we get back to the Sean Clifford experience. And his legacy, which has mostly already been written but did have some room for edits depending on how this game turned out.

Had Clifford beaten Ohio State, hey, Penn State could have been in position for a College Football Playoff berth. That would have changed a whole lot of things in how we view Clifford.

But now?

He is who we thought he was. Average. Up and down. Not terribly reliable.

And that's how he'll always be remembered.

Clifford was even asked about his legacy after the game.

"I mean, I wasn't blind to it," he said. "It was definitely a game that I wanted to win, for our team, but also for personal reasons."

And how would he define his legacy?

"I can't really answer that," Clifford said. "We have four more games."

MORE FROM THE GAME

• Penn State's defense turned in a peculiar day. The Lions were outstanding and held a great offense in check for three quarters, then fell apart in the fourth quarter as the Buckeyes scored quickly a few times.

"Ohio state did a great job of switching it up on us in the fourth quarter, going tempo, getting the ball and just going," safety Ji'Ayir Brown said. "They wasn't doing no more check with me's. They were just lining up and going, rushing us to get set up, rushing us to evaluate their offensive sets. They did a great job. That was a great adjustment."

Clifford put the defense in some binds early on with his interceptions, but the group did a good job in sudden-change situations. The defense held the Buckeyes to just 13 points in the first half and 16 through three quarters.

"Our base stuff worked, just going out and there playing hard," Brown said. "I feel like that's really all you got to do against a team like that, just execute your game plan and and believe you can do it and just keep following coaches' lead."

• The final stats would have a lot of people thinking Penn State had won the game. I mean, look at these numbers, but then zero in on the turnovers:

• We've been wondering who is Penn State's No. 1 wide receiver, and if the team even had one. Well, Parker Washington put that debate to rest with a monster game Saturday.

Washington had several tremendous catches and finished with 11 catches for 179 yards and this TD.

• On the other side, Ohio State has a tremendous receiver in Marvin Harrison Jr., who had 10 catches for 185 yards.

* Ohio State's Tiumoloau will be the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week, you can bank on it. And also probably the national defensive player of the week. He had two interceptions, six tackles (three for loss), two sacks, a forced fumble and fumble recovery.

• Franklin made a highly questionable decision early in the third quarter when he decided to go for it on fourth-and-2 from the Ohio State 19, instead of trying a 36-yard field goal. Nick Singleton was stuffed on a bad playcall, and the Lions missed a chance to get three points.

Now, with the way PK Jake Pinegar was having issues later on, there's no guarantee Pinegar would have made that kick anyway. Still, Franklin should have kicked it there and tried to extend the lead to 17-13.

Franklin was aggressive on fourth down, though, as the Lions went for it four times and converted three.

• Stroud is the Heisman frontrunner for a reason, and he was very efficient Saturday. He completed 26 of 33 passes for 354 yards and one TD. If the Buckeyes win out, he would seem to be a shoo-in for the Heisman. Penn State could have messed all that up with a victory, but that didn't happen and Stroud wound up torching the Lions' defense in some key spots.

• Now what for Penn State? The team has lost its two biggest games, and the primary goals are over. There will be no Big Ten title or playoff berth. A 10-2 record is still possible, which could mean a New Year's Six bowl game.

"No one on our team is gonna lay down," tight end Theo Johnson said. "We're gonna get up and look in the mirror and see what we have to correct."

THE ESSENTIALS

• Boxscore
• Live file
• Scoreboard
• Schedule
• Standings
• Statistics

THE INJURY REPORT

LG Landon Tengwall did not play for the third straight game. Hunter Nourzad started in that spot

DE Chop Robinson returned to action after missing last week.

Bryce Effner started at right tackle over Caedan Wallace.

RB Keyvone Lee dressed but did not play.

Ohio State star WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba did not make the trip because of a hamstring injury.

THE SCHEDULE

Penn State plays at Indiana next week. Kickoff time was announced late Saturday night. The game will kick at 3:30 p.m. and air on ABC.

THE CONTENT

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