Here are 5 takeaways from No. 10 Penn State football’s 28-20 win over No. 22 Auburn
No. 10 Penn State had a chance to boost its profile on a national stage with a victory against No. 22 Auburn on ABC Saturday night.
Not only did Penn State pass the test with a 28-20 victory, a number of players stepped up and played their best games of their careers. However, the win wasn’t without its bumps — the defense allowed 182 rushing yards and the referees played a big role in the flow of the matchup. While those factors weren’t ideal, they made for enjoyable theatrics to conclude a day that featured ESPN’s “College GameDay” and a number of former student-athletes returning to Happy Valley, including Saquon Barkley and Grant Haley.
Here are five takeaways from Penn State’s ranked victory over Auburn.
Penn State won — despite the officials
Several questionable calls and one mess-up from the officiating team marred Saturday’s game. Highlighting these instances was when Penn State was trailing 10-7 in the second quarter, and the officials had the Nittany Lions punt on third down.
The sequence started with a questionable call, when, following a first down rush by Noah Cain, quarterback Sean Clifford threw deep on what seemed like a miscommunication for an incompletion. Despite not being pressured by the Auburn defense, Clifford was called for intentional grounding on first down — which typically comes with the loss of a down. After a 5-yard gain by Jahan Dotson, the officials erroneously had the down markers at fourth when it should have been third-and-11 from the 33. Penn State brought out the punt team and punted on third down.
The SEC released a statement regarding that third-down punt after the game.
“At 11:45 in the second quarter, Penn State throws an incomplete pass that was judged to be intentional grounding,” the statement read. “The crew’s enforcement of the penalty erroneously set the down to third; the correct down should have been second. The replay booth was consulted to confirm the down prior to the punt. The replay booth had the down as fourth down as well.
“The error was discovered during the media timeout that followed the punt and by rule it could not be corrected at that time.”
However, that wasn’t the only time the SEC officiating crew left Penn State fans scratching their heads. Another questionable call came on Penn State’s ensuing drive with Cain rushing for what was thought to be 10 yards and a first down. Not so fast. The referees reviewed the play and found him a tad short. Luckily for the Nittany Lions, they were able to convert the 3rd and 1 and went on to take the lead 14-10 with 1:23 left in the second quarter with a 2-yard touchdown pass from Clifford to Brenton Strange.
The officials showed inconsistency with their penalty calling when they declined to call intentional grounding on Auburn quarterback Bo Nix in the second half. Nix was pressured by Penn State’s defense, retreated within the tackle box and tossed the ball into the Penn State bench. The SEC officials conferred and came to a consensus that the play wasn’t intentional grounding, leading to Auburn to convert for first down later.
Also of question was when the officials allowed Jaquan Brisker and Kobe Hudson to play through contact on a fourth down play with less than four minutes remaining.
Penn State’s offensive line showed much improvement
In past weeks, Penn State’s offensive line hasn’t been at its best. While allowing five sacks in two games, which would otherwise not be such an alarming number, it gave up a ton of pressure to Wisconsin and Ball State’s defenses. It may have been because of Clifford holding onto the ball, but it looked like Penn State’s o-line was fairly outmatched against Wisconsin.
Clifford had so much time in the pocket in Saturday’s game versus Auburn that he could have done his taxes for 2022. The comfort that he had in the pocket would’ve been a pipe dream a few weeks ago and that credit goes to the offensive line.
Sean Clifford looked at home in the no-huddle offense
The redshirt senior easily had his best half of the year to start the game against Auburn, going 16-for-20 on passes for 168 yards, two touchdown passes to Jahan Dotson and Brenton Strange and an interception. He looked poised in the pocket with strong protection and continued to work himself into a nice tempo, minus the interception with heavy pressure late in the first half. Mike Yurcich was able to keep Auburn players guessing with a bevy of formations and players running on and off of the field to confuse the defense, playing a role in Clifford’s success.
He finished the night going 28-for-32 on passing attempts with 280 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. Clifford found his stride, and if he continues to play like this in big games against ranked opponents, it’ll be a huge opportunity for Penn State to capitalize off of.
Mike Yurcich went into his bag of tricks to get the job done
After the Ball State game, Cain said that Penn State had much more in its bag on the offensive side of the ball. Yurcich dug into his bag of tricks on Saturday with a reverse rush by Dotson for a 2-yard loss. While the play didn’t work with Dotson the first time, Dotson went on to throw a 22-yard pass to TE Tyler Warren. Warren later took a direct snap for a 2-yard rushing touchdown in the wildcat formation.
Penn State’s defense came up big when it mattered most
Penn State’s defense could’ve easily folded at the end of the game. Auburn running backs Jarquez Hunter and Tank Bigsby put the Nittany Lions’ run defense in a blender all night, leading the drive down the field with less than five minutes left in the game. When it mattered most with fourth and goal under four minutes remaining, Brisker made a huge play by jamming up Hudson at the line and didn’t allow him anywhere near the ball.
With under a minute remaining, Auburn drove down the field, but Brisker once again made another huge stop to end the game.
This story was originally published September 19, 2021 at 12:25 AM.
