Four takeaways from Penn State's 35-21 Rose Bowl victory over Utah
Penn State pulled away in the second half against Utah to secure its second Rose Bowl victory in program history, 35-21. It was a great sendoff for some of Penn State's key veterans who will be moving on from Happy Valley next fall.
Here are four takeaways from Monday's bowl game:
Clifford caps career with an exclamation point
It was the 47th and final Penn State start for quarterback Sean Clifford, and he made the most of it. The sixth-year passer was calm and collected, finding open receivers against the Utes and doing a good job navigating the pocket all night.
Clifford finished 16-of-22 for 279 yards and two touchdowns before being relieved with about two minutes to play. He also claimed his program-record 32nd career victory, surpassing Trace McSorley's mark.
Without Clifford, the quarterback room gets much, much younger next year. Sophomore Drew Allar is expected to take over, with fellow sophomore Beau Pribula and 2023 recruit Jaxon Smolik also on the roster.
For all the criticism Clifford's taken over his long career, Monday's performance is sure to leave all the Penn State faithful satisfied.
Nittany Lions replace key players
There were a few notable omissions from the Penn State lineup on Monday, including star corner Joey Porter Jr. and wide receiver Parker Washington. On the offensive line, tackles Olu Fashanu was sidelined by an injury. The Nittany Lions' depth overcame these losses and shined against the Utes.
Sophomore corner Kalen King continued his impressive season, including a highlight-reel interception in the first quarter. Both him and Johnny Dixon played well on the outside and were able to keep the Utah passing game in check.
Without Washington, Clifford did a good job of spreading the ball around to his other weapons. Mitchell Tinsley, also playing in his last collegiate game, led the way with six catches for 49 yards and a touchdown. KeAndre Lambert-Smith had a massive 88-yard touchdown as well.
In the trenches, Drew Shelton filled in at left tackle for Fashanu, while Bryce Effner sttarted at right tackle, sprinkled in with a few snaps from Caedan Wallace (20 snaps). The o-line looked strong in pass protection and in the running game, helping the Penn State offense stay on schedule.
Lightning in a bottle
Backed up in its own territory in a 14-14 game, Penn State needed a big play to get some momentum back. Freshman running back Nick Singleton took the carry, and in the blink of an eye, he was racing to the end zone.
The 87-yard run gave the Nittany Lions a 21-14 lead, as Singleton continued his habit of making game-changing plays. He finished his first postseason outing with seven carries, 120 yards and two scores.
Two drives later, receiver KeAndre Lambert-Smith took the top off the Utah defense with an 88-yard deep ball touchdown.
Despite only running nine plays in the second half to that point, Penn State scored two long touchdowns to take a commanding 28-14 lead.
Most exciting for Penn State fans is that Singleton and Lambert-Smith will be back next season for even more big plays.
Defense brings home the W
While OC Mike Yurcich's group was motoring up and down the field, Manny Diaz's defense was keeping Utah in check.
The Utes ran the ball well, finishing with 184 rushing yards, but the passing attack was stymied by an opportunistic Penn State secondary.
In the second half, Utah quarterback Cam Rising suffered an injury that forced Bryson Barnes to take over under center. From that point, it was all over for the Utes, as Barnes had nowhere to go with the Penn State pass rush in his face.
Safety Ji'Ayir Brown finished his career with a great performance, gathering six tackles, 1.5 sacks and a pick. Defensive end Chop Robinson was a threat as well, collecting 1.5 sacks on the night.
As the game situation forced them to be one-dimensional, there was nothing there for the Utah passing game until garbage time.
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