What ESPN’s College GameDay crew thinks of Penn State’s White Out, Sean Clifford, and more

Less than 24 hours before going live from campus, ESPN’s College GameDay crew previewed the primetime game between No. 7 Penn State and No. 16 Michigan.

Kirk Herbstreit, Rece Davis and Desmond Howard joined reporters on the lawn behind the HUB-Robeson Center, a few yards away from Saturday’s set, to discuss the Nittany Lions.

Here’s what they had to say about Penn State’s defense, the White Out, Sean Clifford and where the Nittany Lions belong in the national conversation:

What are your thoughts on Penn State’s defense, and how do they stack up nationally?

Kirk Herbstreit: I would say right now they’re one of the top defenses in the country. There are some pretty good ones out there. They’re right there; they’re in the discussion. There’s a few, even in the Big Ten, that are in that discussion. I just love that they attack. They have a very aggressive unit up front, (they have) great linebacker play.

Right now, they’ve been able to control people from trying to run the ball. They’ve gotten people into obvious passing situations. When they do that, you’re playing right into their hands, going after the quarterback. So, right now, after the halfway point, I’d put Penn State’s defense among the best in the country.

Desmond Howard: Wow, I’ll tell you what, that group is scary. Man, they’ve got a lot of talent. They’ve got some freaks. Their front seven is really strong. Not impressed with the secondary; I think they’re still trying to figure that out. But once your front seven is as dominant as those guys are, then quarterbacks don’t really have time to pick apart your secondary. It’s a scary group, man. They’re very, very talented, well-coached, and their front seven is probably as good as most front sevens in the country.

Rece Davis: They have one of the best defenses in the country. I think Wisconsin has sort of eclipsed everybody because, in this day and age of ball, nobody shuts out four teams in six games, and Wisconsin has. Yet, you start stacking up the yards per play stats, the yards per rush, you look at (defensive ends Yetur) Gross-Matos and (Shaka) Toney on either end, and you think, “Well I’m not sure any defense is better than theirs.”

They certainly have big-time playmakers, and they’ve been dominant. So, it’ll certainly be a challenge, not against Michigan’s productivity, because they haven’t been very productive on offense, but they certainly have skill. They’ll be challenged, I think, in that respect by some good athletes on Michigan’s side. They just haven’t really put it together very well on offense up to this point.

What do you like about Penn State’s White Out, and how does that compare to other environments?

Kirk Herbstreit: For me, the best atmosphere in college football is Saturday night at the White Out. I was here in ‘05, and I think it was just the students, then, doing the White Out. It was ‘07, I think, when the whole stadium started to do it, and now we keep coming back.

It’s something about, not just the noise, but the energy and the pride that’s within that stadium that night. The way they sing along, like every person singing “Sweet Caroline,” I don’t know, it just feels like family, it feels like community, it feels like the fans have their teams back, more so than any other situation or stadium I’ve been in.

A true test of that is when things go bad, the crowd gets even louder. Instead of getting quieter, they get louder and try to pull their team home to a victory. What I’ve seen when I come here is the visiting team gets blown out early. They get out of their game early because they can’t hear, there’s a false start, there’s a holding call, next thing you know, Penn State scores. Now you’re in a hole, 7-0, and it just keeps spiraling.

And so if I were Michigan, I would say, “Hey, first quarter, we’re going to attack, we’re going to fight this, we’re not going to ease our way in. Let’s challenge ourselves against this intensity that this crowd brings.” Otherwise, if you get down 7-0, 10-0, it’s really going to be tough to dig yourself out of that hole because of the energy in that stadium.

Rece Davis: It’s one of the best spectacles in college football. Everybody does some “color out,” all across the country. For whatever reason, it’s different here. I don’t know if it’s the lighting in the stadium, if it’s the fact that you have very, very few who don’t cooperate and don’t participate. It is cool to walk in the stadium and see everybody in white and they’re playing “Zombie Nation” or whatever song they play. They have a great playlist, by the way, to go with the White Out. I think it’s one of the coolest experiences. It’s what separates college football from other sports.

I was on “The LeBatard Show” the other day with Stugotz and Dianna Russini, and she hadn’t really ever been to a big college football game. I told her, if you get a chance, then go to something where it’s big, and I used this as an example. I said, “If you get the chance, go to the Penn State White Out game. That’s big time. That’s something that will run chills up your spine.”

Whether you have an allegiance to a school or team or not, just the whole spectacle of it, I think, really captures the essence of what makes college football such an emotional and connected experience between what’s going on the field and what’s happening with the fans in the stands and the fanbase as a whole.

What have you seen from Sean Clifford so far, and how would you evaluate him to this point?

Kirk Herbstreit: I think he’s done great. I think he has huge shoes to fill in Trace McSorley. Trace did so many things, throwing in the vertical passing game and then his quickness in the pocket when things would break down. He was always a threat with his feet as much as anything. I think Clifford has come in — again, I lived in Ohio most of my life — as a kid out of Cincinnati St. X(avier), which is a great high school program with a lot of pressure there. So he understands what it takes to have to deal with that. But he’s an athlete; you can see his athletic ability. He runs in a different way than Trace McSorley.

But one thing I want to see, the next step from Penn State’s offense, is more of that vertical passing game that we used to see with Trace McSor;ey The problem is, who’s going to be that guy? KJ Hamler, to me, is more of an underneath get-the-ball-in-space guy. Who’s going to be the guy that stretches the defense? In a game against Michigan, in games against Ohio State, these bigger games, if Penn State doesn’t develop that vertical passing game, that can come back to get them. So while we all look at Clifford, I’m looking at the receiving corps and the tight ends to find out who can stretch the defense because they haven’t necessarily needed to do that yet. But what happens is defenses collapse down on you. If you can’t provide that — and that’s not on Clifford because I think he can make those throws; I think it’s more about the receivers’ development.

Desmond Howard: When you look at Sean Clifford, I want to see him against better competition. To me, the two times he’s played against better competition was the Pitt game — because Pitt just doesn’t give a damn about Penn State; they’re going to punch you in the mouth — and the Iowa game. And in both games, the offense only scored 17 points, far less than what they’re averaging against other opponents. So, with that being said, I have to see him against better competition because he just hasn’t been exceptional or great — just good — against defenses that can offer some sort of resistance.

Rece Davis: He’s growing and improving every week. I think you see the confidence growing all the time. I think of one of the things that’s really been good about him is he’s not the most natural runner in the world — he’s not like Trace McSorley — yet there’s been key moments in a couple of their games where he’s been able to use his feet and pick up the first down, which is something in this offense that is important. I think the best thing he’s done has been the leadership. When Tommy Stevens chose to leave, the famous story that you all know: He promised there would be no drop-off.

And I think he has performed very well and, as time goes along, I think he’ll continue to evolve from being the — phrase that I really dislike —“game manager” into the playmaker. Because, first, let me just offer this — every quarterback, if he doesn’t manage the game, he stinks. So every quarterback is first a game manager, so that’s not any kind of slight at him. I think he’s done a really nice job of that and now, as you see him go along, he continues to find a way to make plays.

Where does Penn State belong in the national conversation right now, or maybe what do they still need to prove to you at this midway point?

Kirk Herbstreit: I think everybody’s kind of maneuvering themselves for conference championships, which eventually leads to a possible bid to the playoff. So Penn State’s doing everything they’ve needed to do up to this point to give themselves a great chance. There are some big games ahead of them, beginning this weekend. Anytime Michigan comes to town, that’s a huge, huge game and opportunity for them to continue to send messages. They’re going to Columbus eventually and have a big game there. There are opportunities that are going to be out there.

The great thing is it’s not going to be a subjective debate for Penn State; everything’s in front of them. If they go out and take care of business, they’re going to be where they ultimately want to be. But, as an outsider, we still want to see where this offense is.

We’ve seen Sean Clifford make plays. Will he continue to be able to do that in bigger games? Because we really got spoiled by Trace McSorley doing so many things for this offense over last three years that the bar is set pretty high. So far, Sean Clifford has been great, but I think someone besides KJ Hamler needs to develop and help this offense grow. And this game this weekend will really show us more about how much variety this offense has because I think this defense is showing that they’re a championship-caliber defense — but they’re going to need some help from the offense.

Desmond Howard: I think at this stage of the game, we’re starting to play some meaningful games — so it’ll work itself out. Don’t like to get all wound up about where a team is ranked now. I think (Penn State’s poll ranking of) 7th is pretty solid for them but, as we start to get to thick of their schedule, things are starting to really shake out. We’re starting to see who belongs.

Rece Davis: They’ve got to win some big games. I have Ohio State ranked No. 1, so I think they are the standard in the Big Ten. So, at the moment, all those teams at the top — it would be easier to rank them in a row instead of a column. But I think they need to win against a team of that caliber, and they’ll have a chance against Ohio State later. But the first thing to do is to take care of business against a Michigan team that, in my judgment, on one side of the ball is really struggling.

So you can’t lose that game. They’ve got a really good defense, and they’ve got weapons on offense so they’re capable. But Penn State’s at home and, if they want to be in the discussion — or maybe a better phrase: in consideration and in contention — for a spot in the College Football Playoff, you’ve got to take care of business against teams like Michigan and then you got to go beat Ohio State.