How Penn State football’s offensive line took a step forward in the win over Auburn
Penn State’s five starting offensive linemen — Rasheed Walker, Eric Wilson, Mike Miranda, Juice Scruggs and Caedan Wallace — combined for what was arguably some of the best offensive line play in head coach James Franklin’s tenure on Saturday in the team’s 28-20 victory over Auburn. Entering the game, the Tigers had nine sacks against Akron and Alabama State in blowout victories.
That didn’t happen against the Nittany Lions.
“I thought they played really well,” Franklin said. “I thought it made a bit of a statement earlier in the game when Sean [Clifford] was back there for like 12 seconds, scanning the field. I thought it was really good on Sean, too, because in years past, he might of stepped up and scrambled when he didn’t need to. I thought he did a really good job feeling the pocket, he made a play on the sideline. I thought something Sean did a really good job of is when he did scramble, his eyes went to the sideline.
“How many times do you see when quarterbacks scramble, they look back to the middle of the field? Every once in awhile, you can get a big play there, but more times than not, it’s going to come back to hurt you. So, I thought that was positive. I thought that we could be a little bit more efficient in the running game, but I thought we were able to protect well against their defense who can run.”
As Franklin said, Clifford seemingly had all day to throw. He was able to sit back and pick apart the Auburn defense for 280 yards, two touchdowns and one interception, going 28-for-32 on passes.
The extra time was reflected in Clifford’s sack and quarterback hurry totals, with his only sack coming on an intentional grounding call. He also had five carries for 26 yards, finding timely running lanes formed by the large guys up front.
“They came in clutch,” Clifford said. “It’s hard to actually say that they came in clutch because they do it every day. I have some much trust in those guys — everybody in that rotation. It was a six-man rotation tonight. I really believe they’re the best in the country. They’ve shown it tonight on a national stage. There was one point tonight in the first quarter where I had nine seconds. I was waiting for a guy to hit me and I was just waiting back there.
“It’s incredible to have an offensive line like that. It just brings me more confidence honestly. Just to sit down in the pocket, go through the progressions and things like that.”
The offensive line play also showed up in the rushing game. While Noah Cain averaged 2.4 yards per carry, Keyvone Lee had 7.5 yards per carry, John Lovett had 4.5 and Clifford 4.8. Playing physically inside the red zone also cleared the way for tight end Tyler Warren and Cain’s rushing touchdowns respectively.
On Cain’s touchdown, Walker, Wilson and Miranda crashed down on Auburn’s front seven. With a large hole opened left of the offensive line, Cain cut back and waltzed into the end zone for a touchdown to give the Nittany Lions a 27-20 lead with 10:48 left in the game. It was all a culmination of Penn State’s front five leading a nine-play, 75-yard drive down the field in crunch time.
Cain, who finished with 19 carries for 51 yards and one touchdown, said he believes that the team — including the offensive line —is coming together nicely heading into conference play.
“I think that our chemistry is starting to gel at the right time,” Cain said. “With Big Ten play starting to come up, I think this offense is starting to get the right chemistry that we need to keep being successful. That’s just going to keep helping us stack these wins.”
