Fans got a pleasant surprise about 20 minutes before kickoff on Saturday as Penn State quarterback Sean Clifford was announced as the starter against Illinois. Clifford left the game in the second quarter at Iowa two weeks ago with an undisclosed injury, and had the bye week to recover.
Lions backup quarterback Ta’Quan Roberson played the rest of the way against the Hawkeyes, and had a lackluster performance of 7-for-21 for 34 yards and two interceptions.
The question for the last two weeks was if we would see Clifford on Saturday or not. Many thought that they would hold him in an emergency situation, or not play him at all.
For the season, Clifford has passed for 1,482 yards on 11 touchdowns and five interceptions. Many believe that the small chance the Lions have at the College Football Playoff lies on the shoulders of Clifford’s availability.
Penn State suffered many injuries throughout the game two weeks ago, including key defensive tackle P.J. Mustipher. Mustipher was declared out for the season.
