PSU-Wisconsin halftime analysis: Ebiketie shines, Clifford struggles, more

Madison, Wisc. -- Penn State's new look offense looked ugly during the first 30 minutes of the 2021 season, but the Nittany Lions' defense, and one newcomer in particular, had a huge first half.

It's 0-0 at halftime of the opener between Wisconsin and PSU here inside of a jammed-packed and loud Camp Randall.

Here's what we learned during the first two quarters.

Welcome to the Big Ten, Arnold Ebiketie.

The former Temple defensive end who transferred into the Nittany Lions' program this offseason backed up all of the training camp hype with a monster performance throughout the first two quarters.

Ebiketie blocked a Wisconsin field goal and had four tackles (one for loss) and a quarterback hurry during his first 30 minutes of play in blue and white. He is very explosive off the edge and a major addition to Brent Pry's defense.

Shoutout to Nick Tarburton, too, who recovered a fumble to end a Wisconsin drive that was inside of the Nittany Lions' 10-yard-line.

Jaquan Brisker went down twice during the first half. He returned after the first time he was attended to by trainers but never came back into the game after the second incident, which appeared to be an upper-body injury.

However, the senior safety did remain on the sideline, riding a stationary bike and supporting his teammates. It's unclear whether or not he'll be able to return for the final 30 minutes of play.

There is almost nothing good to say about Mike Yurcich's debut as Penn State's offensive coordinator.

The offensive line struggled, Sean Clifford was 7-for-14 for 41 yards, and the running backs combined for a whopping two yards on eight carries.

Clifford didn't find open receivers when he did have time, but that wasn't as often as you'd think. Many thought the big men up front could be difference-makers this year, and that was the case in the first half, but not in a good way.

Yurcich and co., better cook up something better for the second half, because the first half was brutal.

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