Sean Clifford does just enough to lead Penn State Football past Ball State 44-13

Sep 11, 2021; University Park, Pennsylvania, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions quarterback Sean Clifford (14) runs with the ball during the first quarter against the Ball State Cardinals at Beaver Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew OHaren-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 11, 2021; University Park, Pennsylvania, USA; Penn State Nittany Lions quarterback Sean Clifford (14) runs with the ball during the first quarter against the Ball State Cardinals at Beaver Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew OHaren-USA TODAY Sports /
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Penn State Football takes care of business at home against Ball State 44-13

The Penn State Football team lead by quarterback Sean Clifford ran over Ball State this afternoon to win their first football game in front of a home crowd in more than 600+ days.

Clifford finished the day going 21-29 for 230 yards, added 66 yards on the ground, and 2 TD’s (1 rushing). More importantly his day ended with no turnovers.

Was this an improvement? Is this a new Sean Clifford?

Not really.

He did just enough to lead the offense from the quarterback position. He was able to convert four 3rd down conversions by going 3-5 for 17 yards and added 22 rushing yards.

The real story of the day was the Penn State running attack which piled up 240 yards on 48 carries and 2 TDs for an impressive 5.0 yards per carry.

And this is before I’m evening mentioning the play of the defense. While Ball State was able to move the ball on several drives, most of the day they were running for their lives as Blue and White jerseys were continually in the backfield.

The Nittany Lions forced two turnovers on the day (both interceptions) and held Ball State to a total of 295 yards of total offense.

Speaking of the turnovers, Jesse Luketa snagged one of the picks midway through the 3rd quarter and made a house call for the defense to widen the Penn State lead.

Was this game impressive?

Much more will be learned about this Nittany Lions offense and if it’s ready to move the ball through the air next week against Auburn, when it’s needed.