Penn State Football checks all the boxes in shutout of Indiana | Takeaways

In a workmanlike effort, where the offense scored three touchdowns and the defense blocked a field goal and stopped Indiana inside the 5-yard line, Penn State Football shutout Indiana 24-0

Penn State Football continued their solid start to the 2021 season, with a 24-0 win over Indiana. There are plenty of takeaways, both good and bad, from the Nittany Lions‘ victory.

Sean Clifford showed a little bit of everything in the win, and Jahan Dotson showed why he is one of the best players in the country. Also, Penn State Football’s running game is showing signs of life, while the defense proved their greatness, in-part due to one very impactful transfer on that side of the ball.

Here are five key takeaways from Penn State Football’s fifth win of the 2021 campaign.

Sean Clifford is Good, but Inconsistent

Sean Clifford had probably his worst game of the season so far against Indiana, finishing just 17/33 (51.5%) for 178 yards and three touchdowns, including an interception that was his first bad interception of the season.

However, Clifford also had some great moments against the Hoosiers, hence the “inconsistent” part. On a fourth down in the first quarter, Clifford threw a strike to Parker Washington on an out-route from the opposite hash, which anyone who knows football knows that making that throw is much harder than it looks.

On his first touchdown pass to Jahan Dotson (Clifford’s second of the night), he drove the ball well and threw it in the perfect spot, where only Dotson could get it. Much of the night, he did a good job of moving in the pocket when he felt pressure, but still keeping his eyes downfield to find the open receiver.

A perfect example of that was his second touchdown to Dotson, where he stepped up in the pocket, but kept his eyes downfield to find his top target. On the broadcast, Todd Blackledge called the third year starter “crafty” and pointed out that…

"“He (Sean Clifford) has a great feel of knowing when to run, and when to scramble to throw”"

Unfortunately, the “crafty” Clifford still had too many misses against Indiana, such as when he missed Jahan Dotson who was open on a deep route. There were also two instances on a drive in the second quarter in which he missed Dotson who was open on a hitch route, then two plays later threw it behind him when he was open on a crossing route.

So without a doubt, at his best, Clifford is definitely a top 10 quarterback in the country, but he needs to be more consistent.