Penn State football has its back ‘against the wall’ after finding itself 0-2 with Ohio State loss
About an hour after No. 18 Penn State’s 38-25 loss to No. 3 Ohio State on Saturday night at Beaver Stadium, Sean Clifford was visibly annoyed.
The redshirt junior quarterback had never been in this position before. In Clifford’s past three years with the program, the Nittany Lions have won at least their first four games of the season each year. Last season — Clifford’s first as a starter — Penn State opened the year with eight consecutive wins.
But after Saturday, the Nittany Lions’ College Football Playoff hopes and Big Ten title aspirations are all but dead as they fall to 0-2 for the first time since 2012. So, Clifford’s frustration spilled out when he was asked about how he and his teammates would stay motivated.
“If you’re not motivated right now, then I don’t really want you on the team — that’s just a fact,” Clifford said. “If you’re not motivated off of two losses when your back’s against the wall, if you’re just somebody who’s gonna fold and say, ‘Alright, we’ll get ‘em next year,’ I don’t want you here.”
The reality is that Clifford and his teammates aren’t where they thought they’d be right now when they started this season. And the fact that they couldn’t go toe-to-toe with the Buckeyes — who are legitimate national championship contenders — was evidence of that. Now, they’ll need to put the past two weeks in the rear-view mirror quickly to salvage the rest of their season.
They’ll especially want to flush away the memories of Saturday’s first half, when Ohio State struck first and never looked back.
It took the Buckeyes just 1:17 to get on the board first. After a 62-yard jet sweep by receiver Garrett Wilson to open the game, running back Master Teague III found the end zone two plays later.
The Nittany Lions ended up going for it on fourth down on their next possession after the offense stalled out. They felt a pressure to try to match the Buckeyes’ high-powered offense early on. But the failed attempt on fourth down resulted in Ohio State taking over in Penn State territory and scoring again five plays later.
“We went into this game knowing that we were going to have to score points, score touchdowns,” head coach James Franklin said, “so we wanted to go for it as much as we possibly could in fourth-down situations.”
By halftime, Penn State found itself in a 21-6 hole.
At the break, the Nittany Lions had just 75 yards of total offense. Clifford had only completed two passes for 29 yards. On the other hand, the Buckeyes — led by Heisman Trophy candidate quarterback Justin Fields — were up to 280 yards of total offense. Penn State simply looked outmatched.
When the Nittany Lions’ offense picked up the pace — scoring touchdowns on three of their first four drives of the second half — their defense couldn’t get stops to close the gap. The closest Penn State got to Ohio State in the second half was down eight points with 11:14 to go in the third quarter after a 14-yard touchdown grab by junior receiver Jahan Dotson.
“Every time we would get it going on offense, we would give up something on defense,” Franklin said. “And our defense would get a stop, and our offense wouldn’t (get going). We just really weren’t playing complimentary football.”
Dotson said the team can’t dwell on being 0-2. In his mind, the best way for him and his teammates to move forward is by focusing on the task that’s in front of them every day.
“You can’t take this time for granted,” Dotson said. “You’ve gotta live in the moment. And when it’s Sunday, you’ve gotta be ready for Sunday’s practice, Sunday’s lift. When it’s Tuesday, ready for Tuesday’s practice. So, we’ve just gotta go in every day with that mentality that we’re ready to work.”
For a group that had lofty goals heading into 2020 — like having a chance at a CFP berth and winning the Big Ten — many would think it’s time to recalibrate their targets.
Dotson doesn’t feel that way at all, though.
“Our goal is to come out every week and go 1-0,” Dotson said. “We just need to start by tomorrow, forgetting about this. It’s in the past now. There’s nothing you can do about it but move on.”
And Clifford couldn’t agree more.
“Our back is against the wall,” Clifford said. “We’ve just gotta tighten up, work even harder and get back on track next week. Go 1-0 — that’s all that matters.”
This story was originally published November 1, 2020 at 2:31 AM.
