Sean Clifford's confidence charging as No. 6 Penn State climbs rankings

Penn State has continued to climb up in the rankings after a 28-20 victory over Auburn on Saturday. Auburn came into the game ranked No. 22, while Penn State was No. 10. As Penn State’s confidence as a team grows with each win, so does quarterback Sean Clifford’s confidence in himself.

Clifford is coming off of one of the best games of his collegiate career. Against the Tigers, Clifford completed 28 of his 32 pass attempts for 280 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception. After the game, Clifford gave some praise to the team around him, noting that he had a lot of time to sit in the pocket and wait for someone to get open down the field.

“There was one point, I think in the first quarter, I literally had like nine seconds,” Clifford said after the game via AP’s Travis Johnson. “I was waiting for a guy to hit me. It’s incredible to have an offensive line like that.”

Clifford’s favorite receiver, Penn State wideout Jahan Dotson, said after the game that Clifford’s comfort around the team has grown tremendously. It is a big reason that Clifford has been able to turn in such a great season so far.

“Every time he sees me, he’s like, ‘Hey man!’ He just screams it in my face,” Dotson said. “His sense of humor is hilarious. It’s great to have a QB that’s comfortable around the team like that.”

Clifford, PSU have bounced back from disappointing 2020

Penn State lost each of its first five games last season before winning the final four to finish 4-5. It was an uncharacteristically down season for head coach James Franklin and the Nittany Lions. Clifford also had a down season. In his first year as Penn State’s starter in 2019, he threw for 2,654 yards, 23 touchdowns and seven interceptions with 402 yards and five scores on the ground.

Last season, though, Clifford did not see that same success for Penn State. In nine games, he threw for 1,883 yards with 16 touchdowns and nine interceptions. He also had 335 yards and three touchdowns rushing. Coach Franklin is happy to see his quarterback playing so well to begin the season.

“He’s taken some criticism, so I’m super happy for him,” Franklin said. “Tough minded guy. He’s physically tough. He made the plays that he should have made today. But I also thought he made a couple plays, the play that he extended and threw it in the back of the end zone. I thought that was a big-time play.”

Penn State is up to No. 6 in the latest AP Top 25 Poll. The Nittany Lions have home matchups with Villanova and Indiana over the next two weeks before travelling to Iowa.