After vote of confidence from James Franklin, Sean Clifford comes through for Penn State

STATE COLLEGE — He’s soft-spoken and serious on Saturdays, and that mood doesn’t typically shift much even after the game ends for Parker Washington.

The junior receiver has to catch the football, has to make big plays, has to have a positive effect on a Penn State offense that needs him to be a playmaker, and he knows all of this. He doesn’t have room to think of much else, or do much else. Never mind listen to what the players not-so-affectionately call “the outside noise.”

Washington heard the fans loud and clear Saturday night, though. He heard lusty boos after Penn State’s initial three-and-out. Then, again, after its second three-and-out. Then, yet again, after the Nittany Lions’ third series ended when quarterback Sean Clifford missed his target — Washington on a post — by about 10 yards to the wrong side of the play, leading to an interception and three Minnesota points.

“I heard it,” Washington laughed. “I know the expectations are high. This was a big night, the crowd was ready for a big game. So I felt like it was one of those deals.”

And Penn State answered those boos with one of those performances, the likes of which seem to build from nothing and, before long, become critic-silencers. A performance that doesn’t show limitations. A performance that shows potential, what a team can be when everything is going right, no play call can possibly be wrong, and nothing can remotely go wrong.

The Nittany Lions had that type of showing when they needed it most Saturday. A week after it was boat-raced by a Michigan team that appeared far more physical, precise and prepared, Penn State throttled Minnesota, 45-17. They ran the ball with relentless efficiency, practically showing off the skills of true freshmen Kaytron Allen and Nick Singleton, who scored two touchdowns in a masterpiece of a second half.

Their offensive line thoroughly handled a Minnesota defense that entered the game ranked No. 6 overall in the nation, and in the top five in fewest points allowed per game. Their defensive line and linebackers, admittedly embarrassed by the beating Michigan’s front put on them just a week before, overwhelmed a Minnesota offensive line tabbed as one of the Big Ten’s best.

But make no mistake, because this is important to understand: This was Sean Clifford’s “told ya so” performance.

A week after leaving the game against Michigan with an upper-body injury — and just days after his head coach made an impassioned defense of his abilities in the face of never-ending questions about when true freshman backup Drew Allar is going to finally take over the job and start building for a future fans seem to assume will result in championship after championship — Clifford completed 23 of 31 passes for 295 yards and four touchdowns.

He showed what he can do when he’s on a roll, hitting Washington for a leaping 30-yard touchdown grab that changed the course of the game in the third quarter, the on-rushing defender that knocked Clifford head over heals as he threw be damned. He completed 8 of 11 deep throws. He threw touchdown passes to two tight ends — Theo Johnson and Tyler Warren — knowing he had to get them more involved. He made a quick decision at the line to orchestrate an easy 20-yard touchdown for Mitchell Tinsley that put the Nittany Lions ahead by four touchdowns. He even got the running backs the ball in the passing game.

Clifford said he heard the boos early, insisted they were within their right. But, he clearly was irked. And that’s not to say he heard the boos many in the crowd of 109,000-plus rained upon him when his name was announced as a starter a half hour before the game kicked off.

He was short with reporters at times Saturday, especially ones asking about the Michigan injury, or his recent struggles. He’s clearly a player fighting not to keep his job, but to defend his legacy. And he knew doing that meant rebounding in a big way from the Michigan debacle.

“I thought that last week just wasn’t us,” Clifford said. “We’ve been playing so well. And then we get to last week and a lot just didn’t work or go in our favor. We had our shots last week, and it just didn’t happen. But I thought that this week, we really made it a very, very strong point to make the plays when they’re there. Make sure that we’re putting ourselves in the best position and just get back to who we are. So I thought that we did that tonight.”

Penn State went 1-0.

But, as much as coaches and players will insist they are, not all wins are built equally. Penn State needed the one it got Saturday, a thorough domination. Clifford needed the performance he gave. And with Ohio State on the docket for this week, and the season still technically — if not likely — offering championship hopes, Penn State suddenly has its mojo back.

“At the end of the day, there’s still a lot of mistakes out there today,” Tinsley said. “So there’s a lot of things we’ve got to clean up and get better at. But for sure, the way we won today, it’s definitely a confidence booster.”

They needed that.

They needed the critics-quieter more, though. And, they got that too.