Sean Clifford is 2,061 yards away from passing former teammate Trace McSorley and becoming the all-time leading passer in Penn State football history, yet there’s a large portion of the fanbase upset he has a chance to break the record. Clifford is returning to Happy Valley for his sixth season and fourth as the starter, but with five-star freshman Drew Allar waiting in the wings, some of the Nittany Lions faithful are ready to move on.
It’s not hard to blame them for feeling that way, either. After going 11-2 in Clifford’s first season as a starter and winning the Cotton Bowl, Penn State has regressed along with Clifford the last two seasons while compiling an 11-11 record over that span. Statistically, it’s hard to find an area where Clifford has even maintained his performance level in 2019, let alone improved upon it.
While his completion rate has increased each season, his yards per attempt and touchdown rate have shrunk. However, while it’s easy to point at Clifford and declare him the problem, it’s not a fair judgment. First of all, considering the ridiculous conditions in which teams were forced to play during the 2020 season — particularly in the Big Ten, where the season suddenly stopped and started again — we probably shouldn’t hold anything against individual performances. Pandemic aside (if only it were that easy), Clifford has been tasked with playing behind an offensive line that has regressed far more than he has.
During the 2019 season, Penn State’s offensive line ranked 48th nationally in Football Outsiders’ Line Yards metric. In 2020, it improved slightly to 47th before falling off a cliff in 2021, ranking 116th. As you would expect, Penn State’s rushing attack went with it. During the 2019 season, the Nittany Lions offense ranked 13th nationally in rushing EPA. In 2020, it ranked 101st. Last season, it was 126th.
And just in case the lack of an excellent…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at CBSSports.com Headlines…