With morphed offense, Penn State's physicality shows on game defining drive
The drive ended with Sean Clifford strutting through Beaver Stadium’s north end zone, egging on a Penn State crowd that cheered with the veracity of a group that knew the game was won.
It had begun 9:01 of game time before, with Penn State clinging to a three-point lead against a team most assumed it would handle, ready to embark on offense without its best wide receiver in KJ Hamler and its defense desperately needing a rest.
“We were able to kind of wear them down as the game went on with our running game and with our tight ends,” James Franklin said postgame. “...One of the main reasons we’re sitting here feeling good is because we were able to execute.”
Execute they did — in a way they hadn’t all season.
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Without Hamler, Penn State’s big-play offense slowed its sprint to a brisk walk, running the ball 16 times en route to its longest drive of the season by time of possession.
Even Franklin had to admit, the drive felt a little unusual given the way his group typically operates — striking quickly or not at all.
“I haven’t been around many of them,” he said.
Employing two tight end sets throughout much of the drive, Franklin said the second tight end served essentially as a fullback — yes, you read that correctly — clearing the way as a lead blocker.
But, the way Penn State’s players told it, this drive was more about toughness than it was scheme.
“The grit this team has, this offense has,” Clifford said, “whatever it takes to win the game. Today it kind of came down to us having a nice long drive.”
The Nittany Lions felt the Hoosiers bending as they converted on third down twice, and fourth down once.
On fourth-and-1 from the goal line, they broke.
Clifford took the snap, paused for a millisecond to survey his options, and chose to follow an offensive line that had bulldozed the Indiana front beyond the goal line, leaving Clifford more than enough room to dive in.
After losing to Minnesota last week — a defeat Clifford said he took personally — his catharsis was evident in his celebration.
“Last week was a very, very emotional loss for us,” Clifford said.
“I was not going to be denied that end zone.”
To get there, Penn State needed to navigate a few oddities and make a couple aggressive decisions.
Near the beginning of the drive, Clifford fumbled an exchange with a running back, picked up a bouncing ball, and fired it to Pat Freiermuth for a first down. He had already made his read, he said, so his reactions carried him from there.
Later on, Will Levis entered the game at quarterback, sending Clifford out to wide receiver. The look was designed in part to help take the wear off Clifford’s body, which Franklin said was a bit banged up.
Levis ran up the middle on third-and-2, then again on fourth-and-1 for a first down.
Then, on the Indiana 1-yard line with 1:48 to go, leading by 3, Franklin faced another decision.
With the offensive line, stadium and the math all telling Franklin to go for it, he made the right call — the one that worked.
“A touchdown would have put them in them in position to win the game, and they would have had to go 99 yards with no timeouts [if Penn State was stopped],” Franklin said.
Clifford scored, jamming Penn State’s four-minute drill offense into a nine-minute space without Hamler, perhaps the most dynamic player on the field.
Said Franklin, “I’m really proud of our guys because when you lose a guy like KJ, I didn't see any issues or concern —obviously concern for KJ because that’s our brother, but other guys stepped up, coaches stepped up.”
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