3-2-1: The road ahead

Penn State produced its first win of the 2020 season Saturday when it knocked off Michigan at the Big House, 27-17, in the first win for the program in Ann Arbor dating back to 2009.

What does the win mean for a program struggling to overcome a litany of challenges this season, and will it take hold as the beginning steps toward a brighter future?

Let's dive into those questions and more as we recap the news, notes, and observations from the weekend in the 3-2-1.

1 - A moment of respite

Miserable might not be a strong enough word to describe Penn State's 2020.

At this point, it's probably not worth repeating them in their entirety, but here are the relevant lowlights: The pandemic hit, spring practice got canceled, thereby pushing back the integration of a coaching staff with 40 percent turnover coming into the season. The summer was spent waffling between playing and not, eventually landing on not in August. Knowing what was coming, All-American linebacker Micah Parsons opted out just as preseason practice started, then stopped, then started again. Stud running back Journey Brown was announced as out with a medical condition that would eventually be revealed in November as hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, effectively ending his playing career on the precipice of immense potential. The games finally started in October and within the first offensive possession for Penn State, fellow stud running back Noah Cain was lost for the year with a leg injury. The Nittany Lions would go on to lose that game due to three crippling turnovers, a mental lapse in a crucial fourth-quarter situation by a third-string running back, and some debatable officiating on Indiana's game-tying drive and eventually in overtime. And all of it preceded four consecutive losses to the Buckeyes, Maryland, Nebraska, and Iowa, a stretch during which tight end Pat Freiermuth was also lost to a season-ending surgery as well.

OK. I lied. Those are only the biggest points, but they are worth the recap because they all helped to create the conditions that lead Penn State to its disastrous start. None of which is to say that the stakeholders of the program - the coaches and players both - did not bear some level of responsibility within that framework.

It's simply a relevant starting point from which to understand this season and what it might look like moving forward.

A few weeks ago, head coach James Franklin was asked if he's enjoyed any part of this season. Acknowledging his personal blessings, as he has done frequently this season, Franklin did not sugarcoat the reality of what the program has had to confront this year.

"It's been a challenging year," Franklin said. "It's been a challenging year, but the year is not over and we have an opportunity to experience some joy on Saturday and that's where all of our focus and energy is at."

What's interesting here is that Franklin wasn't the only person who spoke about the erosion of their collective approach to the game as the season had progressed. On a fundamental level, running backs coach Ja'Juan Seider also put words to what might already be inferred but was the undercurrent to how the first half of the season had gone.

"We got to go have fun. Through this whole process man, we forgot how to have fun. When you have fun, it breeds confidence," Seider said at the time. "And I'm guilty of that too. I've been coaching, but I lost that part of it. I'm probably pressing more because of the dynamics of the room changed. I got to get back to doing it.

"If we get back to having fun, we've got good players, we still know how to freaking coach. We just got to do it, and it's time for us to hit the switch and do it together, all in. Players, coaches, all of us. And get back to having fun and the rest of it will take care of itself."

Two weeks after those remarks, the Nittany Lions were finally able to do that against a Michigan program battling attrition, crucial injuries, and struggles with morale, in some ways a mirrored reflection of what Penn State has also dealt with this season.

2 - The problems

To understand how Penn State appeared to be a transformed team on Saturday demands looking back at what was tripping it up in the first place.

For that, Franklin's early-season comments are particularly relevant:

"You talk about areas that we need to improve, and we got to make more plays. We got to break more tackles on offense, whether that's in the run game specifically or even more in the pass game, to create more explosive plays," he said. "We got to create more turnovers on defense. That's something that is critical. We got to protect the football on offense. The ball is the program. Fundamentals of tackling, pad-under-pad, make sure we're wrapping and not just throwing shoulders. We got to start faster in games. And then we got to be more physical on both fronts, protecting our quarterback and being able to pressure their quarterbacks."

- Make more plays. Penn State finished with nine explosive plays Saturday, but the timeliness of the offense's biggest plays was the differentiating factor. For the first time since Indiana, in fact, Penn State finished above 50 percent on third-down conversions, with five of their eight total coming on scoring possessions (and another two on the five-plus minute possession to bleed the clock in the fourth quarter).

- Break more tackles on offense. As Thomas Frank Carr pointed out Monday morning, this number was a massive component to Penn State's offensive success Saturday, the Nittany Lions gaining "247 of their 417 total yards after the catch or after contact, according to PFF."

- Protect the football on offense. For the first time in the entire season, Penn State didn't turn the ball over.

- Fundamentals of tackling. Penn State's defense graded out with a unit-score of 77.1 by PFF, which was the highest mark for the group all season.

- Start faster in games. For the first time all season, Penn State didn't go into the halftime locker room trailing its opponent. Cashing in with a touchdown on their first possession of the game, the Nittany Lions regrouped from Michigan's tying score by taking the lead midway through the second quarter and never relinquishing it from there.

- Be more physical. Penn State had its fewest total of explosive plays for the season on Saturday, and defensively did not create any turnovers or sacks, creating ample room for continued improvement as the final third of the season schedule materializes. But, the formula for more success is now in front of this group largely by cleaning up the areas of weakness it had largely inflicted upon itself.

"We did what we know we're capable of doing. We know we can win, and we expect to win. And today I think the difference was we came out here and did it," defensive tackle P.J. Mustipher said. "We work hard. We've really worked hard all season. In practice, we've had attention to detail, but the problem is, you come out there on Saturday and you got to play winning football and we haven't done that. But we did it today and I think we really put everything together, so I'm definitely thankful for that."

3 - The silver lining

On an alternate timeline, Keyvone Lee would not have played Saturday at Michigan, much less produce a performance worthy of the Big Ten's Freshman of the Week honors.

Franklin acknowledged as much in his responses following the game, acknowledging that the backfield had to rely on the fourth- and fifth-string running backs from the preseason, and that as a result, their reps had been extremely limited in practice until the avalanche of injuries and absences took hold at the position.

Finishing with 134 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries, Lee figures to remain an important piece of Penn State's plan at the position if and when Devyn Ford is able to return to action following his injury that forced him out against Iowa and the reported death in the family that prevented him from traveling to Michigan.

"Keyvone is a big kid and he's gonna run really hard," said center Michal Menet. "I think the biggest thing for him, why he's starting to see a little bit more success more and more each game is just because his understanding of the game is improving each week. It's something you can see by the cuts that he makes and just his vision running with the football. You know he's always gonna run hard. If he can couple that with a greater understanding of the game, I think he's gonna be really dangerous and he is just getting started."

Quarterback Sean Clifford echoed the sentiment.

"He's shown me that he's got a great work ethic, and I respect anybody with a great work ethic. That's like the biggest thing. Key is somebody who comes in with a great attitude, embodies all the core values of the team, and he's someone who deserves a breakout game like this. He works his ass off every day and he's somebody who I have a lot of trust in as a freshman, which speaks a lot on his character and type person he is," Clifford said. "So I'm excited for the future with him. Just the whole running back room is just super exciting, just the talent there and the grit and the passion that all those guys bring on a daily basis. It's fun to come to work with them."

The potential at the position already evident, time will only continue to help the group of players that will attempt to make personal progress as the season winds down.

1 - Is Clifford back?

Finishing with 17 completions on 28 attempts for 163 yards passing might not appear to be the sexiest stat line in the world for a quarterback, but the reality for Clifford was that his performance against Michigan was a perfect exemplification of who he can be for the Nittany Lions' offense.

His PFF game-grade was the highest he's been since Indiana (76.2) and by mixing in nine carries for 73 yards and a touchdown on the ground, Clifford's game also included the most success he's had as a runner since his 17 carries for 119 yards and a score on the ground at Indiana. Coming up successful on so many occasions, without suffering the setbacks of the turnovers that have plagued him throughout the season, it was finally an opportunity for Clifford to experience some success and allow it to gradually build on itself.

Mind you, this is a guy who was said by the program to have broken his hand punching a weight bench during a winter workout (following his freshman season in the program) out of frustration at not having hit performance numbers to his liking. He's highly competitive, and in many ways, his performances this season reflected that element to his detriment rather than as the asset it had been in 2019.

"One word that I've heard used before is your flow state. I'm actually minoring in psychology, and one thing that we've talked about is when an athlete or anybody really gets in their state of flow. It's definitely a game-changer and it's fun when you get in that state where you could kind of just play loose," Clifford said Saturday. "I feel like I personally haven't been in that. Last year I was and after a couple of losses this year, I feel like it's been tough to find that. But today, I just kind of let loose and had fun with my teammates and I felt like I was back to the Sean that I used to be."

Getting there simply demanded a complete change in approach, both by Clifford personally and from the coaching staff.

Rather than attempting to carry the load himself, a burden that is too great for his capability, Clifford allowed the distribution to spread to the offense's other playmakers, delivering passes to five receivers including a season-high nine receptions for Parker Washington, as well as Lee and Caziah Holmes and even Will Levis.

So when taking in Michal Menet's assessment of Clifford's play Saturday, it all combines to produce a clear picture of what will bring the quarterback, and by extension the entire team, success moving forward.

"I've never wavered in Cliff's ability and I've never stopped trusting him. I've never lost any faith in him whatsoever. Nobody has," said Menet. "I think the biggest difference for him was he was just playing confidently today. He was protecting the football. It's what we've been talking about. And I'm not gonna sit here and act I'm like I'm surprised because I know who Cliff is as a player. And today was him. This is who Sean Clifford is. When he can do it consistently, he's a fantastic quarterback. And I think to see him get back to being him and having fun, I think there's really no greater feeling."

2 - What's next?

To behave as though beating a Michigan team, that from the outside and reports from people covering that program appears dysfunctional in some ways this season, is the cure-all for Penn State is not realistic.

All of the issues previously discussed will remain if the Nittany Lions revert to them, and the personnel challenges at this point are what they are and will continue to be so through the final three games on the schedule.

But there's something to be said for finding an identity, and for many of the players that presently make up Penn State's roster in more significant roles than even they might have imagined before the start of this bizarre season, it's absolutely a start.

"I'm just happy for our kids. I know, at the end of the day, people are focused on football and they want a couple of hours to get away from reality and support Penn State football. And I get that," Franklin said. "But there's been a lot of things going on this year. To see our team battle through that adversity and our program battle through that adversity, with all types of limitations and issues and challenges and depth, I couldn't be happier for our players. I'm just so happy for them."

A look at Penn State's depth chart is a good place to start to understand why.

Five starters on offense Saturday were true or redshirt freshmen, and 13 first-time starters have played this season as a whole.

Certainly, there are negative perceptions that are going to accompany the mere acknowledgment of those factors as a reality contributing to Penn State's current status as a program at 1-5 on the season. But there's also going to be an opportunity for Franklin and his staff to take a more optimistic look at the situation, a chance build a more robust program from within, both when some of the absent pieces return and even in the cases in which they don't.

"We've had so much adversity and now we finally get a little taste of some positivity," said linebacker Ellis Brooks. "Being able to make corrections after a positive game. Just like continue this momentum, continue that energy that we had at the end and just carry that through the rest of the season and finish strong."

Ellis isn't alone in that assessment, joined by multiple teammates who believed the win could serve as a foundation from which to build upon.

"I think we really had to understand what it took to win. When you're losing so much, I think you forget how winning feels and what is required in order to get the W on Saturday," said Mustipher. "But we have to use this as momentum. It can't just be a one-win thing. It has to continue these next couple of weeks and that's how we have to finish out the season. I think that's what we're going to do. We're going to use this as a momentum shift in our season and continue to win football games."

ONE PREDICTION: The struggles are only going to help

Just as they did in 2015. Just as they did, to a lesser extent, in 2018.

One thing that is overwhelmingly clear at this point is that Penn State football is going to have to scratch and claw its way to wins the rest of this season. That's a good thing, both in concept and in practice for this group of players as presently comprised.

The success of the past four seasons when at times it appeared to be a given, having been humbled through this process, is something that the program now appears to understand is not guaranteed. As such, my expectation is that the elements that have served the program so well will again be relied upon. That's protecting the football, that's showing grit and determination and finding ways to win, however necessary.

"This team just needed a win more than anything right now," said Menet. "And it just goes to show that you keep trusting your process, keep doing what you're asked by your coaches, it's gonna come to fruition and it did today."

Do it again, and it will continue to be so.

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