Why Penn State has a chance to turn its Rose Bowl win into even more in 2023
Sean Clifford left the field late in Monday’s Rose Bowl matchup between Penn State and Utah for the final time, giving way to true freshman quarterback Drew Allar as the two shared a hug.
That moment carried plenty with it.
Clifford, who had a tumultuous six years at Penn State that included four as a starter and the best game of his life to end it, was ending his career. Allar, who has played this season in spurts, was beginning his. He is the presumed starter next season and will be charged with building off the Nittany Lions’ 35-21 victory over Utah.
Monday wasn’t just about that transition, either. While it was the end for so many longtime starters for Penn State — Clifford, Ji’Ayir Brown and PJ Mustipher, to name a few — it was also the launching point for what comes next.
The Nittany Lions closed their season with a win and set the stage for what could be the next great team in Penn State football history.
Allar’s role was minimal — he didn’t attempt a pass in his limited reps — but the big plays from returning players spanned nearly the full 60 minutes of action.
The first touchdown of the game? That was freshman running back Nick Singleton. The two 85+ yard touchdowns? Those were Singleton and third-year wide receiver KeAndre Lambert-Smith. First turnover? Sophomore cornerback Kalen King. Leading rusher? Singleton again. One of three players with a sack? Sophomore Chop Robinson.
The list goes on and on.
And the win could already bear results. Tight end Theo Johnson told the Centre Daily Times he’s leaning toward coming back rather than entering the 2023 NFL Draft.
“We’ve got a really special team,” he told the CDT. “Obviously a lot of young guys are gonna be back next year. I think I have a lot more left in the tank, a lot more to prove and show. I think with another year I’ll be able to do that for my own personal success. But I think we have a really special team and I think we can do a lot of special things next year. I wanna be a part of that. I want to be able to help us get to that point.”
Johnson already made an impact this season, but he’s the type of tight end who could grow to be a top target next season. That alone will help him grow his own profile and increase his draft stock.
And with the way the Rose Bowl played out, and the number of players returning that made an impact, it was hard not to acknowledge what a performance like Monday’s could mean for next season.
Because for all of the success the program had and the celebrations that occurred after the win, it still isn’t the ultimate goal for the Nittany Lions to just win a high level bowl game.
“It’s huge,” Johnson told the CDT. “The momentum is gonna be tremendous into the offseason. Winning a game like that, of this magnitude, going into the offseason we’re going to be juiced up but not satisfied. Because at the end of the day, there’s four teams that played in the playoff games and they weren’t us. Ultimately, that’s the goal as a high level program like we are. We’re gonna be motivated but not satisfied.”
Johnson is a matchup nightmare at 6-foot-6, 260 pounds, catching an important third down pass on Penn State’s first scoring drive for 28 yards as his only reception in the game, and can do damage as a blocker in the running game.
He put the latter skills on display Monday, paving the way for Singleton’s 87-yard touchdown run to give the Nittany Lions a 21-14 lead.
Singleton, as he has many times this season, hit a hole and outraced the rest of the defense on his way to the endzone. The freshman running back will enter next season as the focal point for opposing defensive gameplans after what he did this year, and it’s warranted.
He has a chance to — and already may be — the next great Penn State running back. His long run was, while not filled with as many broken tackles, somewhat reminiscent of the run Saquon Barkley made on the same field at the end of the 2016 season.
Singleton said afterward that he hadn’t heard from the current New York Giant and former Nittany Lion yet, but was sure he would. As for the run itself, he passed the credit onto those around him.
“The linemen, our line, they did a great job doing their blocks,” he said. “Once I passed them, at the second level I just saw green grass. Then I just took off.”
The size and speed combo he possesses makes it difficult to avoid the comparisons to one of the best running backs in Penn State history. But he will also be tasked with doing something Barkley’s team couldn’t after it made the Rose Bowl — making the College Football Playoff.
Because that is what the expectation will be. Departing center Juice Scruggs said he thinks the team will make the playoff. Others outside the program will expect the leap. It’s only natural. This is a group that returns plenty of talent and will only see even more young and talented players take on bigger roles.
Now players like Allar, Singleton, Johnson and many more will take on the burden of expectations. They will be tasked with taking Monday night’s game and running with it.
And maybe they don’t take advantage. Maybe they make another New Year’s Six game and fall short of the playoff, biding their time until 2024 when the postseason field expands to 12.
Or maybe they do even more and find themselves competing for a national championship.
