Penn State sputters to season-ending Outback Bowl loss: Highs and Lows

For one quarter, Penn State found limited offensive success Saturday in a 24-10 loss to No. 21 Arkansas.

The other three, all blanks, left the Nittany Lions on the losing end of its sixth decision in the final eight games of the 2021 season.

What went into the loss?

We’re diving into the highs and lows from the concluding performance of the Penn State season, here:

PLAYER OF THE GAME Arkansas quarterback K.J. Jefferson didn’t need to do much with his arm to gash Penn State’s defense nonetheless. Picking up 110 yards on 20 carries, the statuesque Jefferson helped propel an Arkansas ground game that finally turned the corner in the second half to top the Nittany Lions.

PLAY OF THE GAME The sequence might not have seemed like much, but Jefferson’s 10-yard carry to open the second half proved to be a precursor of the coming flood. The first of a string of seven plays starting at the Arkansas 25, all runs, the Razorbacks figured out what it couldn’t in the first half. Run, run, and run some more against a Penn State defense featuring a rash of backups amidst its front seven due to opt-outs, the game plan carried Arkansas to the win.

BEST PASS Sean Clifford’s first deep shot was perfectly placed 42 yards downfield to Parker Washington on the Nittany Lions’ opening possession of the game. With Washington beating both Arkansas’ defenders, Clifford’s teardrop pass landed right in the sophomore receiver’s arms to swing field position in a drive that would turn up empty.

WORST PASS The play fake worked. Tyler Warren broke free behind the Arkansas defense and a chance to lift Penn State to a 17-7 lead was there for the taking. Clifford’s overthrow by five yards amounted to a massive missed opportunity, though, soon leading to a brutally unsuccessful fake punt attempt late in the first half. 

BEST RUN Dominique Johnson found a hole to his left, hit it, and darted, pushed, and bullied his way to a 25-yard pickup in the first quarter. The carry was among the many displays of physicality that, eventually, defined Arkansas’ approach to the game.

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BEST CATCH Clifford’s second-quarter ball to Washington appeared to be a clear overthrow. Washington had other plans, though. Extending his right arm, merely putting hands on the ball, let alone catching it, Washington delivered a key first down to the Nittany Lions trailing 7-0. 

WORST DROP Malick Meiga wanted to assert himself in the absence of Jahan Dotson. But, when the opportunity came for a much-needed chunk completion, the redshirt freshman receiver was unable to reel it in despite hitting him in the hands and chest. 

BEST SACK Nick Tarburton picked a great time to secure the Nittany Lions’ first sack of the afternoon. With the Razorbacks already staring down a third-and-long around midfield, Jefferson ran straight into Tarburton’s arms to send possession back to Penn State at the midpoint in the second quarter. Still playing hard in the game’s waning minutes, Amin Vanover notched a sack, too.

BEST HIT Trailing by two touchdowns late in the third quarter, Clifford got rocked by Bumper Pool. A second-down carry gone wrong, the 2-yard pickup sent the signal-caller to the turf with a thud and a groan from the Outback Bowl crowd in Tampa. It wasn’t the first, or last, wicked shot Clifford took through the game. 

BEST EFFORT On fourth-and-4 at the start of the fourth quarter, needing to keep its possession alive, Clifford made one of the game’s guttiest plays. Escaping a sure sack deep in the backfield, Clifford escaped the pocket to pick up the crucial first down. 

BEST INTERCEPTION Penn State needed to swing momentum back in its favor and, as he’d done four times previously this season, Ji’Ayir Brown was the Nittany Lion to provide it. Facing a driving Arkansas offense into the Nittany Lions’ red zone, the returning safety jumped in front of Jefferson’s pass to Warren in the back of the end zone to return possession to his team early in the game.

WORST KICK Jake Pinegar’s return to a starting placekicking role, having taken a redshirt this season, was less-than-stellar. Forced to try a 50-yarder due to an intentional grounding assessed the previous play, Pinegar’s attempt was never close and sailed 15 yards to the right of the uprights.

BEST RETURN The heir apparent to Dotson, Washington’s spectacular catches weren’t his only imitation game on Saturday. In the first half, Washington reeled in an over-the-shoulder punt, then shimmied his way upfield for a big swing in field position to the Arkansas 42. 

BEST DECISION The choice came too late, but it finally came. With Clifford struggling with his accuracy and the Nittany Lions’ offense wholly unproductive, Christian Veilleux finally got the call midway through the fourth quarter. The results were unspectacular, but the experience should be a vital learning opportunity for the redshirt freshman going into the offseason.

WORST DECISION Brenton Strange never had a chance in the back right corner of the end zone. Still, Clifford fired one indiscriminately anyway, only to see Arkansas DB Joe Foucha step in front of the pass for a crushing interception early in the fourth quarter, effectively sealing the win for the Razorbacks.

MOST TELLING MOMENT Not once, but twice in the second half, Arkansas strung together touchdown drives without attempting a pass. In a game the Nittany Lions led at the half, with some occasionally puzzling decisions offensively for the Razorbacks, the tide turned on a commitment to the run.