James Franklin assesses performance of Penn State quarterback Sean Clifford

No. 19 Penn State on Saturday pulled off an upset on the road in Madison, Wisconsin, narrowly defeating the No. 12 Wisconsin Badgers 16-10 — and although the Nittany Lions start their season 1-0, there were a lot of teaching points in what was a quiet offensive game for both sides.

Penn State quarterback Sean Clifford ended the game completing 18 of 33 passing attempts, good for 247 yards, a touchdown and no interceptions. Although both teams scored zero points in the first half, the Nittany Lions offense had a bit of a revival in the second half, something head coach James Franklin noted after the game.

“I thought offensively, in the second half, we made a bunch of plays early on,” Franklin said. “When you’re not running the ball, and it’s third-and-long, it makes for a tough situation for any quarterback.”

Penn State struggled to establish its rushing attack all afternoon. By the end of the night, it had amassed 18 rushing attempts, good for just 50 yards and a touchdown. Its leading rusher, junior Noah Cain, had eight rushes for 48 yards and a touchdown.

“He got hit too many times,” Franklin said of Clifford. “So, there are some things that we can clean up. Most importantly, [Clifford] was gutsy, he kept battling, and made plays when we needed to in the second half to get a win. So, I’m pleased with [Clifford’s performance], but there’s obviously a lot of things we have to learn from.”

Clifford, a redshirt senior from Cincinnati, Ohio, enters his final season with the Nittany Lions with high expectations — and rightfully so. In his career, he is one of just 11 Penn State players to reach 5,000 yards of total offense and one of just 12 quarterbacks to eclipse 4,000 career passing yards. In Clifford’s Penn State career, he’s played in 25 career games and started 20 — all in all, he has completed 346 of 577 pass attempts for 4,732 passing yards, 41 touchdowns and 16 interceptions.

Franklin commended Clifford for battling through what was a tough contest for the Nittany Lions. Penn State hardly protected its quarterback in the first half, and it showed. He was hit a few times in the first half but was ultimately able to recover by the second.

Clifford on Saturday appeared to have found a favorite receiver in senior Jahan Dotson, who ranks 13th all-time at Penn State in receiving touchdowns and 17th all-time in receiving yards. Clifford completed five passes to Dotson, good for 102 yards and a touchdown. Dotson’s longest reception was good for 49 yards and a touchdown, after Clifford was able to find the wideout with separation in the secondary.

Penn State next week will host the Ball State Cardinals on Sept. 11, a game in which they’ll hope the offense can find its footing before taking on Auburn the following week.