Penn State's season opener on Thursday night against Purdue is one that Penn State and Purdue fans will likely not forget for a long time. It was an instant classic that had a little bit of everything.
There was good, there was bad, and there were certainly some ugly parts to the game for Penn State. But in the end, they found a way to pull out a 35-31 victory over Purdue to start their season off 1-0.
Here are our four takeaways following the Nittany Lions' season-opening victory.
All that matters is Penn State won
It wasn't an easy win, it wasn't a pretty victory and for most of the fourth quarter, it looked like Penn State was going to lose the game. However, at the end of the day, Penn State started its season off with a gusty conference victory. There's a lot that needs to be fixed for the Nittany Lions but there are also quite a bit of positive that they could also build upon going forward.
The Sean Clifford Experience
Penn State fans got the full Sean Clifford experience in the season opener on Thursday night. A first glance at his stat line shows a quality performance, 20-for-37 for 282-yards and four touchdowns with one interception. That being said, those who watched the game saw Clifford struggle massively in the second half prior to his game-winning drive in the final minutes of the game. They also saw the Nittany Lions' wide receivers drop their fair share of passes which would've improved Clifford's stat line.
It's fair to wonder about Sean Clifford and Drew Allar, who would be better suited to lead Penn State offenses. In his brief time on the field on Thursday night, Allar showed promise with good zip on the ball to go along with strong accuracy and a great touch on his passes. That being said, Clifford's game-winning drive should ease some doubts about the sixth-year quarterback. No, he's not perfect and yes, he will make some bad mistakes and bad decisions, resulting in a few interceptions over the course of the season. However, when it mattered the most on Thursday night, he found a way to win the game for the Nittany Lions. After looking rattled in the drives before including throwing a costly pick-six that gave Purdue a 31-28 lead, Clifford on the final drive was calm and collected, making smart decisions and delivering strikes.
It was a situation comparable to the Nittany Lions' come-from-behind victory against Iowa in 2017. While Drew Allar may one day be a star quarterback for the Nittany Lions it was a situation that would've been incredibly difficult for a true freshman quarterback in his first game to step into. Perhaps the result would've been the same but for Penn State, they won't have to second guess themselves to have Clifford out there.
While he's not a perfect quarterback and will have his fair share of mistakes, he likely still gives Penn State the best chance to win when healthy. It's not going to be a conversation that disappears and it shouldn't, but at the end of the day, Clifford''s performance overall on Saturday was enough for Penn State to earn a victory. It will be intriguing to see how he builds off this performance, while he did struggle in the third and fourth quarters, his final line was a strong one and would've been even better if it weren't for a handful of costly drops.
Manny Diaz's first impression...
The defensive effort is a bit of a hard one to grade but there is definitely quite a bit of concern. The Nittany Lions struggled with tackling throughout the game, the linebacker depth was proven to be a major area of concern, and the Nittany Lions' pass rush was nonexistent until the final drive of the game.
People will look at Aiden O'Connell's 356 passing yards and while the Nittany Lions' secondary didn't have their best night by any means, it is notable that they did limit the big plays throughout the air. O'Connell averaged just 6.3 yards per attempt and the Boilermakers' longest receiving play was just 30-yards. That's not saying the secondary played great, they did have their struggles including several blown coverages and missed assignments but there are positives to take away from it. Additionally, there won't be many quarterbacks better or more efficient that they'll face this season. The defense overall left a lot to be desired and a lot needs to be fixed but don't sound the alarm on Penn State's secondary.
That being said, the front seven should be a serious concern going forward. The depth at linebacker is limited and Purdue consistently took advantage of the Nittany Lions' weakness at the position both through the air and on the ground. To build off that, Manny Diaz isn't likely to get drastically less aggressive but for a defense built on creating chaos and turnovers, they certainly failed to do both against the Boilermakers for most of Thursday's game.
When needed plays were made...
Say what you want about Penn State for the majority of the game. It wasn't pretty, there's no doubt about that, at times it was downright ugly. That being said, when needed Penn State saw key players step up time and time again. Whether it was Zahkee Wheatley forcing a fumble at the end of the first half, Brenton Strange's 65-yard touchdown that saw him bounce off two Purdue defenders, KeAndre Lambert-Smith's touchdown, Sean Clifford's final drive, or a myriad of other moments. When Penn State needed a big on Thursday night, they often got it.
They can't put themselves in this position week after week, it would be unsustainable and end in multiple losses. That being said, while everyone struggled at one point or another in the 35-31 win, major contributors all made big plays when it mattered the most. That goes for Penn State's defense as a whole as well, After Purdue scored at the end of the third quarter, going 81 yards on 10 plays, the Nittany Lions' defense tightened up in the fourth quarter, allowing just 65 yards in the fourth quarter and only allowing O'Connell to complete 35% of his passes.
It's hard to say what time of team Penn State will be this season after this sort of game but them finding a way to win on Thursday night could go a long way as the season progresses.
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