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Sean Clifford was fortunate indeed. His first snap as Penn State’s starting quarterback in a road game was basically gift-wrapped for him.
Jan Johnson’s early interception against Maryland and a pair of penalties set the Nittany Lions up with first-and-goal. And the call opened up the defense so that Clifford could run in untouched for a touchdown, the first play of a record-setting first half and a 59-0 win.
It won’t be nearly that easy tonight.
Clifford watched firsthand as his predecessor, Trace McSorley, and the Lions racked up tons of yardage against Iowa but few points in the 2017 game, needing an 85-yard touchdown drive in the final two minutes just to escape with a win.
“I do know the environment,” Clifford said. “I’m excited to go back there.”
And then a memory hit him. He smiled.
“I do remember when I was there, I specifically remember I had a great warm-up. I’m just trying to transition that into this Saturday.”
A little levity ahead of what should be a tense weekend, if history is any indicator. The Hawkeyes ruined Penn State’s national title hopes in 2008 at Kinnick Stadium and nearly derailed the 2017 team in September.
A month later in that season, they demolished Ohio State in Iowa City 55-24, keeping the Buckeyes out of the College Football Playoff.
Penn State’s own 2016 run to the Big Ten title and the Rose Bowl was made possible by Iowa ambushing league frontrunner Michigan 14-13 at Kinnick in November. The Hawkeyes were three-touchdown underdogs in that game.
One of the differences of tonight’s matchup is that Iowa is no longer the plucky long-shot. The Hawkeyes are still ranked No. 17 in the country despite suffering their first loss last week at Michigan. And they get full credit from all sides for the atmosphere they create for night games.
“We know how successful they have been in these types of games,” Lions coach James Franklin said. “… I think they are a program and a team that has an identity and have built towards that identity and recruited towards that identity and schemed towards that identity for a long time.”
That would be thanks to Kirk Ferentz, now in his 21st season leading the program. But while Ferentz once dominated the Lions — winning eight of nine matchups from 2000-10 — he has now lost five straight against three different Penn State coaching staffs.
“I can’t answer (what has changed), really,” Ferentz said. “I can look at things game-to-game, basically. In 2012 it wasn’t very competitive. I remember that distinctly. 2016 wasn’t very competitive.
“The last two years have gone right down to the last series, basically. Our challenge right now is to make it a close game and then figure out a way to win and that’s the challenge in front of us.”
THREE AND OUT
Clifford’s improvement
Penn State’s biggest step forward this season may have come during the bye week, when Clifford said he doubled down on his film study and looked to correct what he saw as a mistake-filled outing against Pitt.
He responded with one of the best statistical performances by a quarterback in Penn State history in the rout of Maryland.
“I think that each week you’ve gotta find something to critique yourself about,” Clifford said. “Footwork’s been, in the past few weeks, definitely something I’ve been really watching for myself. I think I’m getting better at it every week, keeping sound footwork throughout the pocket. I thought there was a couple times I got a little bit of happy feet again this last game.
“But I think overall I’m making significantly better strides in that. And that just comes with even more time. So I’m excited for another opportunity on Saturday.”
Franklin has been pleased with his development.
“I love his approach,” Franklin said. “He’s been aggressive since really the day he stepped on campus from a football perspective, from a weight room perspective. Really all of it, and from a leadership perspective. He’s probably more vocal than what Trace was.
“But he is fiery and he’s competitive, and he understands how to prepare. He understands that playing the quarterback position is a lifestyle.”
Learning from Michigan
That film study is also notable this week because the Hawkeyes are coming off a rock fight against the Wolverines, whose offense is now run by former Penn State assistant Josh Gattis.
Michigan is still in a transitional period on offense, and has the struggles to show for it. But seeing how Iowa attacked the Wolverines is useful.
“That offense is similar in ways,” Clifford said. “So that tape is very good from a formation standpoint, seeing what Michigan lined up with. Very valuable tape.”
“Yeah, I think whenever you’re breaking down an opponent, you want to break down similar-type teams,” Franklin said. “They also played Mississippi State (led by former Lions coordinator Joe Moorhead) in the bowl game. … Obviously if they played (triple-option schemes from) Army or Navy last week, you’re not even gonna use that game. You throw it out because it’s useless for us.
“Defensively, you’re trying to break down the four most recent games that ran a similar defense to us or the four most recent games that are most valuable that ran a similar offense to us. And you try to use those.”
Pink yes, bugs no
Franklin, who has a degree in psychology, is a big fan of Iowa’s infamous visiting locker room, which is painted entirely pink as a sort of mind game for opponents to grapple.
“Some people hit me up about, are you going to go in and cover the walls and that kind of stuff,” Franklin said. “No, we are going to embrace it. I think the pink locker room is awesome. I think it’s one of the better stories in college football. It’s one of the better historical things in college football.”
For many of the Lions on the travel roster, this will be their first trip to the stadium. One of them, linebacker Micah Parsons, said paint schemes aren’t what bothers him.
How would he design a locker room to mess with opponents?
“I don’t know, man. I never thought of something like that before,” Parsons said. “I’d say put in ants or something in the room. Some bugs. I get creeped out by bugs.”