Clifford, PSU pour it on vs. Spartans
EAST LANSING, MICH. >> Penn State exorcised one of its demons Saturday in a place where the Nittany Lions hadn’t won in 10 years.
Sean Clifford threw four touchdown passes, including three to tight end Pat Freiermuth, as No. 6 Penn State throttled Michigan State 28-7 during a steady downpour Saturday at Spartan Stadium.
The Nittany Lions (5-0 Big Ten, 8-0) beat the Spartans (2-3. 4-4) for only the second time in the last six meetings and most likely will move up one spot in the polls after No. 5 Oklahoma’s loss at Kansas State.
Michigan State had upset Penn State twice in the last two years when the Nittany Lions were ranked in the top 10 by scoring in the final minute.
“We found a way to get a win on the road in this conference, which is tough to do,” Penn State coach James Franklin said. “It’s hard to win week after week in this conference, especially on this side (the East Division) of the conference.”
The Lions posted only their third 8-0 start since joining the Big Ten in 1993 by jumping to a 28-0 lead in awful weather conditions. They completed a difficult three-game stretch with victories over Iowa, Michigan and Michigan State and established themselves as Ohio State’s greatest challenger in the Big Ten.
They have a bye next week before traveling to unbeaten Minnesota on Nov. 9.
“As much as I want to take it one game at a time, every single one of our 700,00 alumni and you guys (the media members) looked at this three-game stretch on our schedule and we knew it was going to be a challenge,” Franklin said. “For us to be able to get through it and get into the bye week is really important.”
Clifford completed 18-of-32 passes for 189 yards for the Lions and got Freiermuth involved in the offense early. Freiermuth caught five passes for 60 yards and wide receiver KJ Hamler had five receptions for 57 yards and a touchdown.
Freiermuth, a sophomore, tied Mike Gesicki for the school record for career touchdown catches by a tight end with 15.
“Each week we’d love for Freiermuth to get the ball because he’s a really good player for us,” Franklin said. “It really just depends on what the defense does. A lot of those to Pat were RPOs (run-pass options) for us.
“We easily could have handed the ball off. How they defended to stop the run allowed us some one-on-ones. He was fortunate to execute them.”
The Lions dominated the first half, building a 21-0 lead behind Clifford’s three touchdown passes, two to Freiermuth and one to Hamler.
He went 12-for-17 for 127 yards in the first half before the rain got even heavier. He made a poor decision in the third quarter when he threw the ball across his body and into the arms of Michigan State safety David Dowell for his third interception of the season, Penn State’s only turnover.
“He played really well in the first half,” Franklin said. “We’ve done a great job of protecting the football. The interception we had is not how we do things. That’s not how we operate. That one bothers me more so because I have such high expectations for him.
“That’s not who we are. That’s not good football.”
The Lions got Freiermuth involved from the start, with Clifford finding him twice on their second drive. He lobbed a pretty pass over two defenders that Freiermuth hauled in near the goal line to make it 7-0.
Penn State used 13 plays to drive 86 yards for a touchdown on its next possession. Clifford ran for 14 yards on third-and-11 and two plays later faked a handoff and hit Freiermuth for a 19-yard score. Jake Pinegar missed the PAT, which kept it 13-0.
Later in the second quarter, Michigan State drove from its 13 to the Penn State 27. But the Lions stiffened, Shaka Toney stopping Brian Lewerke for no gain and then blocking a 46yard field goal try by Matt Coghlan.
Penn State turned around and moved 54 yards for its next score, Clifford’s 27-yard touchdown pass to Hamler. Clifford then ran for a two-point conversion, which made it 21-0 at the half and sent the Lions on their way.
They added a fourth touchdown early in the third quarter after Dan Chisena recovered a fumbled punt at the Michigan State 6.
“This is a tough place to come and win,” Franklin said, “especially under these conditions.”