Losing the lead midway through the 4th the way they did (i.e., a Pick-6 right after they had just retaken the lead with an offensive TD and then stopped Purdue on their ensuing possession) was a huge momentum shift and really brought the Purdue crowd into the game. But PSU's defense, which had already shut down Purdue on their first 2 possessions of the 4th, continued to stand tall in the face of bigtime adversity.... and then Cliff delivered on the "must have" possession to give PSU the lead again.... You just can't understate how huge that drive was for the team's and Cliff's confidence on a go forward basis.
Cannot overstate how important that final drive was for Cliff and the team going forward.
- Thread starter CJFisJoePaII
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Yes that was HUGE for us. It was a quality win and now we need to build off it. Starts with fixing problem areas; 1) Offensive line run blocking; 2)More defensive pressure on the QB as well as more disruptive play/penetration by our DLine and; 3) More consistency out of Clifford and for the love of God no interceptions.
Finding a way to win when you don't play your best game is a good sign - especially on the road, in a difficult environment and picking yourself up off the mat after a massive momentum swing. The team performed admirably when the chips were down, everything going against them and on the road - that says quite a bit imho (reminded me a bit of the Illinois game final drive in 1994).
It was a nice finish. If you think Clifford is the answer, it was a great result. But the most likely case is that it will make Franklin stay with him too long in a game this season and cause us a loss that Allar would have won.
Yep, the 2022 version of PSU football will profit from the comeback win on Saturday. Maybe they will finish 9 - 3 or even 10 - 2. However, when we look back on the game a few years from now I wonder if we will reconsider. Next year has all the makings of an elite team except we will have a rookie QB. If Clifford would have tossed another pick 6 instead of producing the TD drive, I wonder if CJF would have switched to Allar in the next game. Another scenario is if Clifford would not have come back from the locker room in the second half and Allar would have led the team to a win then Allar might have won the job. If I was king of PSU football, I would really consider declaring this year a rebuilding year and go all the way with rebuilding including giving copious playing time to Allar.
Giving up on the season before the first game is over? Some of you people are so absurd, it's beyond ridiculous.
How is this going to be fixed? We have what we have and the coaches has had all Spring and Fall…yet we are middling at best on OL and D Front 7…you are not going to suddenly be a physical imposing team overnight.
Cliffy is in year 6…he is what he is…a good CFB QB.
This is where I am. We sort of know Clifford's ceiling by now, don't we? I'd like to at least see what we have in Allar before we hit the meat of the Big Ten schedule.
Um, look at game film, learn from it, practice, teach. motivate, strategize a game plan, exploit weaknesses of opponents. Some coach, I forget who it was talked about a team improving the most between game 1 and 2.
With your line of thinking we can never get better. it is what it is and will forever be. Why practice at all?
With your line of thinking we can never get better. it is what it is and will forever be. Why practice at all?
Of course there is potential to improve. Become suddenly physically imposing? Not sure I have ever seen that? Can anyone sight an example?
Lack of physical toughness will define tbe ceiling.
I dont get the criticism of the pass rush. O'Conner threw quickly on almost all of his 58 pass attempts. Most were under 10 yards. It's got to be really difficult to get pressure against that. I can only think of a handful of passes downfield the entire game. Most to the TE.
4) Our WRs didn't get separation. Tinsley looked shifty but I didn't see any WRs run away from defenders.
