Penn State Football: Grades vs. Ohio State

It was a game to forget for Sean Clifford, as he completed 10 of his 17 passes for only 71 yards before leaving the game in the fourth quarter. He also had six carries for zero yards on the ground as well, after being lethal with his legs for the past few weeks.

When Clifford went down, I think most Penn State fans, myself included, probably expected the game to be blown open by the Buckeyes. However, Will Levis did a nice job filling in during the third quarter.

Ohio State had no answer for Levis running the option, as he ran for 56 yards and a touchdown not including the sack yards in the game. The box score will show 18 carries for 34 yards due to the sack yards, but his day rushing was much better than that.

Things were working for Levis and the Penn State offense during the 17-0 run, but after that, everything fell apart, as he threw a bad interception on a first down at the Ohio State 27-yard line early in the fourth quarter. This put a dagger in the Nittany Lions’ comeback chances, as they were down 11 at this point.

Will Levis finished the day with 6/11 passing for 57 yards. Despite his fourth-quarter struggles, Levis deserves a ton of credit for the Penn State comeback. As a redshirt freshman, it’s admirable what Levis did in his first meaningful action at quarterback.

Going forward, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Will Levis get his own package of plays in short-yardage situations, as it was a seemingly automatic conversion with him running the option. I’d also expect to see Levis play a decent amount this upcoming Saturday vs. Rutgers, as Clifford is banged up, and it’s expected to be a blowout.