Highs & Lows: Penn State rallies for victory in opener

Penn State won a back-and-forth battle in its season opener, emerging with a 35-31 victory over host Purdue after seven lead changes. Here’s a look at the game’s highs and lows. 

PLAYER OF THE GAME: Gotta give this one to quarterback Sean Clifford. The sixth-year senior overcame an apparent cramping problem that forced him to miss Penn State’s first offensive series of the second half, and he also battled back from a pick-six midway through the fourth quarter, completing 6 of 7 passes on what would turn out to be Penn State’s winning drive. Clifford finished the game with 20 completions on 37 attempts for 282 yards, with 4 touchdowns and that lone pick.

Also, let’s not overlook cornerbacks Joey Porter Jr., Kalen King, Johnny Dixon and Daequan Hardy. Purdue quarterback Aidan O’Connell threw for 365 yards, but he had just one touchdown pass, and the Boilermakers’ high-flying offense was held to 24 points. 

PLAY OF THE GAME: On the Nittany Lions’ final possession, Clifford threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to third-year sophomore running back Keyvone Lee coming out of the backfield. The score left Penn State with a four-point lead in the final minute of the game, and PSU’s defense did the rest in the rousing season-opening victory.

Related: Watch Penn State head coach James Franklin’s postgame press conference

BEST PASS: Clifford was on the run when he spotted redshirt junior tight end Brenton Strange on the sideline late in the second quarter. Strange caught the ball, slipped out of two arm tackles and dashed 67 yards for a touchdown.

WORST PASS: Purdue safety Chris Jefferson picked off Clifford’s overthrown ball midway through the fourth quarter and returned it 72 yards for a touchdown. 

BEST RUN: Not much to choose from here. Penn State averaged 3.1 yards on 32 rushing attempts, and its longest gain was a 12-yarder by Lee. Purdue, the country’s worst rushing team a year ago, averaged 2.8 yards on 22 attempts, though tailback King Doerue did score a pair of touchdowns.

BEST CATCH: Third-year sophomore wideout KeAndre Lambert-Smith rolled off a tackle attempt on a short slant and sprinted 29 yards to the end zone to give Penn State a 28-24 lead early in the fourth quarter. 

WORST DROP: Lambert-Smith got off to a tough start. He had two drops in the first quarter, the second of which came on a perfectly thrown pass from Clifford that would have given PSU a first down deep in Purdue territory. 

BEST SACK: Sophomore edge rusher Chop Robinson dropped O’Connell on the final play of the game to clinch the victory for Penn State. 

Takeaways: Opening win not pretty, but Lions will take it

BEST EFFORT: Strange got knocked out of bounds, then re-established himself as an eligible receiver on his touchdown catch at the end of the first half. 

WORST EFFORT: In the second quarter, Purdue committed three defensive penalties on the same play. PSU declined offside and holding calls and accepted a pass interference flag for a first down.

BEST KICK: Barney Amor’s second punt of the game traveled 52 yards and pinned the Boilers inside their 10-yard line. Amor, a super senior making his first career start, was an unsung hero for PSU. He had 3 of his 8 punts downed inside the Boilermakers’ 20, and he averaged 46.9 yards.

BEST DECISION: After Porter alertly ended a Purdue threat with a fumble recovery on the sideline late in the first half, Penn State could have been content to coast into halftime with a slender 4-point. Instead, offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich mashed both feet down on the gas pedal. Clifford threw three deep passes and got a 15-yard interference penalty, followed by Strange’s touchdown.

MOST TELLING MOMENT: This game was a microcosm of the Sean Clifford quarterbacking era at Penn State — a grab bag of spectacular, self-assured moments mixed in with a potentially disastrous misfire. It’s been a combustible mixture, but it’s tough to complain after a road victory over a quality opponent that has been touted by some as a dark horse contender for the Big Ten West Division title this year.