UNIVERSITY PARK — This was the day for James Franklin to get his signature win at Penn State, to erase at least a bit of the stench from his 2-14 record against top-10 opponents with 10 consecutive losses.
It was the day for Penn State’s longtime quarterback Sean Clifford to get his most memorable win, to quell, at least temporarily, the fan base’s clamoring for freshman hotshot Drew Allar.
This should have been that day, but wasn’t.
“This one is a heartbreaker,” Clifford said in a voice that barely was a whisper. “You put everything into this game. We had our shots. I thought we had every right to win that game. To not walk away with a win … “
This was in the hurtful moments after No. 2 Ohio State’s 44-31 win at Beaver Stadium in front of a crowd of 108,433. Clifford looked as if he wanted to cry. Can you blame him? Penn State led 21-16 with 9:26 left before its defense wilted under the pressure of Ohio State’s potent attack and Clifford self-destructed with his third and fourth turnovers of the game. The first of his late turnovers came on a strip sack by Ohio State edge rusher J.T. Tuimoloau that set up a touchdown, the second on an interception and 14-yard return for a touchdown by Tuimoloau that made the score 44-24. Counting Clifford’s two interceptions in the first half, Ohio State scored 21 points off his turnovers.
“I thought we played our tail off,” Franklin said in his opening postgame statement. “But, to me, the game starts and ends with the turnovers.”
Franklin was asked specifically about Clifford, who completed 32 of 47 passes for 371 yards and three touchdowns and, yes, the three interceptions.
“I thought he played gutsy and made some big-time plays but, obviously, you can’t have the turnovers,” Franklin said. “We can’t give that type of team a short field that many times and be successful.”
It wasn’t exactly a ringing endorsement for Clifford.
Franklin and Clifford have been through plenty together. This is Clifford’s sixth year at Penn State. Franklin brought him back this season hoping he might take off the way Kenny Pickett did by staying at Pitt for the 2021 season. That hasn’t happened.
It doesn’t help Franklin’s legacy that he stuck with Clifford instead of Will Levis, who transferred to Kentucky before the 2021 season. Levis is predicted to be a No. 1 NFL draft choice next spring by many of the draft gurus. Clifford certainly won’t be.
Now, the highly touted Allar waits for his chance after playing briefly in six of the first eight games.
It seems he could get his first start as soon as next Saturday at Indiana. Franklin has to start thinking about next season and getting his young quarterback ready. The loss to Ohio State means Penn State is out of contention for the Big Ten’s East division championship with four regular season games left. It was blown out at Michigan, 41-17, on Oct. 15.
That loss in Ann Arbor prompted many in the Penn State crowd to boo Clifford and Franklin during introductions before the game against Minnesota on Oct. 22. Clifford responded by throwing for 295 yards and four touchdowns on White Out Night at Beaver Stadium in a 45-17 win. He was named Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week.
That didn’t seem important in the aftermath of the slew of turnovers against Ohio State.
“I wasn’t blind to it,” Clifford said when asked about the importance of the game for his job security. “It definitely was a game I wanted to win for our team, but also for personal reasons.”
And Franklin?
You can make that record against top-10 opponents 2-15 with 11 consecutive losses.
Franklin is 1-8 against Ohio State with the lone win coming as the result of a late blocked field goal in 2016.
This was the day for that futility to end.
For Franklin.
For Clifford.
For Penn State.
