Penn State Football: Grading the Nittany Lions vs. Minnesota

It was certainly a rough day for Sean Clifford as he had his worst game of the season, by a landslide. Despite completing 23 of his 43 passes for 340 yards and a touchdown, Clifford had three interceptions in the game.

The first interception wasn’t his fault as he threw to Justin Shorter in one-on-one coverage, and Shorter didn’t make a play on the ball. The second interception was thrown into double coverage, and the third interception, which ended the game, was thrown over Jahan Dotson and far behind K.J Hamler.

Clifford only had three interceptions on the season going into that game, and ball security was one of his greatest strengths this season. It was rare for Clifford to make a mistake before this game, the main reason why Penn State was 8-0.  In addition to Clifford’s passing stats, he also had 39 rushing yards on ten carries.

The most interesting part of this game was Sean Clifford was that he got absolutely no help from his wide receivers who dropped several passes throughout the game. Justin Shorter dropped two passes, and Daniel George and Dan Chisena each dropped a pass.

With more help from Clifford’s wide receivers, Penn State would have had a better chance to win the football game. However, the three turnovers by Clifford were even more costly.