Having a blast, Sean Clifford makes statement against Maryland
COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- With the Victory Bell a state away, safe from Sean Clifford’s post-win rage of jubilance, the first-year starter found a replacement vehicle for his joy in the form of the outstretched hands of a few Penn State fans in the front row.
Clifford’s enthusiastic high-fives must have left those fans with their skin stinging. His performance must have left their faces smiling. Reveling in the feeling of a breakout showing and 59-0 win over Maryland, Clifford just wanted to make sure those fans felt some love.
“I’m having a blast out here, and I want the fans to know that,” Clifford said. “I am having a blast. This is the most fun I’ve ever had playing football. I owe it to my teammates, I owe it to my coaching staff, and I owe it to the fans.”
Clifford spent a good chunk of his postgame media scrum deflecting the credit, but he’s at least partially responsible for a statement Penn State win in what began as a hostile environment inside Maryland Stadium.
On the heels of a struggle against Pitt, Clifford sent out a memo of his own. He passed for three touchdowns and rushed for another, while accumulating 398 yards through the air. The lone critique James Franklin could offer for his signal-caller stemmed from an interception, which required an acrobatic effort by Maryland defensive back Nick Cross.
“I thought Sean was on fire,” Franklin said. “He really handled being on the road for the first time in a Big Ten environment.”
On his first play of the game, staring down Maryland’s student section, filled with black tee shirts and more than a bit of vitriol toward the Nittany Lions, Clifford provided an early indication of how being on the road would affect him.
Simple — it wouldn’t.
He scampered into the end zone for an 8-yard score, setting the tone for his best performance to date as a Nittany Lion and what Franklin called one of the most complete showings Penn State as produced in his time as head coach.
The key lied in the preparation. Clifford spent the bye week watching film of his mistakes from the Pitt game, while Franklin prepared him for the noise factor at practice with music so loud it made Clifford and the other quarterbacks lose their voices.
“I don’t know if we’ll ever face a stadium that has that type of noise,” Clifford said.
“It helps a lot,” he continued. “...It was a little bit loud. Practicing it helps a lot. It really didn’t affect anything. We had no communication problems tonight.”
Feeling prepared, Clifford visualized this. He knew what he showed against Pitt wasn’t good enough if this Penn State team is going to get where it wants to go. He’ll leave this game with an entirely different feeling.
He certainly got some help from his offensive line, which kept the pocket clean on almost every snap, and from Penn State’s skill players. KJ Hamler’s explosiveness shined on the first pass Clifford threw — a slant pattern that was slightly high that Hamler took 58 yards to the house anyway.
Known as one of the more eccentric Nittany Lions, Hamler said Clifford is even more keyed up on game days than he is.
“He’s always yelling and stuff, like ‘Let’s go,’ ‘This is our house,’ — stuff like that,” Hamler said.
By the end, it sure seemed like Penn State’s house. Those wearing white comprised the vast majority of the fans in the seats, and Penn State chants rang throughout the stadium.
Clifford helped make it that way, sending Terrapin fans home early by putting on a show with his right arm.
Really, Clifford insists, he’s just having fun.
“I don’t really know what I’d do without football,” he said. “And that’s just the truth.”