Penn State Football’s Sean Clifford: ‘I came here to beat Ohio State’

Penn State Football QB Sean Clifford looks to beat Ohio State for the first time

Penn State Football quarterback Sean Clifford led the Nittany Lions to an 11-win season, and a New Year’s Six Bowl victory over Memphis, but has still not checked one of his biggest goals off his mission list.

"“I’m not here to hang with Ohio State. I’m here to beat Ohio State,” Clifford told Lions247."

Clifford and Penn State came up 11 points short against Ohio State in the Horseshoe last fall, and won’t have the advantage of 110,000-plus fans in a Beaver Stadium whiteout on Saturday night as the Nittany Lions look to bounce back from a Week 1 upset loss to the Indiana Hoosiers.

After struggling early against the Hoosiers, and tossing two interceptions, Clifford bounced back and finished with 238 passing yards and three scores on his way to a 91.2 passer rating.

Ahead of this week, though, Clifford says he understands that Penn State Football won’t just be getting Ohio State’s best, but most likely some new looks that the Buckeyes haven’t put on film yet.

"“We know that they’re gonna probably throw out something new,” Clifford told Lions247. “They’re a one-high team mixing a little bit of two-high this year. They like to man you up, they like to zone you off in (cover) three. They have a bunch of returning starters.Their linebacker corps — Pete Werner, Tuf Borland, [Baron] Browning — are all solid guys. Shaun Wade at corner returning was big for them. Jonathon Cooper, their leader on the defensive line, is very solid. So they have a lot of talent all over the place."

Penn State hosts Ohio State at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday night at Beaver Stadium, on ABC.