Penn State's James Franklin on Sean Clifford status, fans booing injuries
Penn State Nittany Lions football head coach James Franklin said there is no update on quarterback Sean Clifford after he left Saturday's loss to Iowa in the second quarter.
Penn State led 17-3 when Clifford left the game, and scored only three points afterward in the 23-20 loss.
"Losing Cliff, PJ [Mustipher], Jonathan Sutherland and John Lovett was significant in the game," Franklin said. "It's a next man up mentality, and we weren't ready for that on the road. We didn't do a good job of that. That starts with me."
In his place, backup Ta'Quan Roberson completed seven of his 20 attempts for 34 yards and an interception. He did make some nice plays with his legs, rushing 10 times for 27 yards, which includes sack yardage.
Ultimately, it wasn't enough for the Nittany Lions to hang onto the win.
Penn State's defense was put under immense pressure in the second half, spending 17:23 of the 30 minutes on the field, eventually breaking as the Hawkeyes pulled ahead late.
Clifford was one of several Nittany Lions to experience some discomfort on Saturday night. Mustipher — perhaps the most important run stopper for the Nittany Lions — left the game in the first quarter with a lower-body injury and was seen on crutches.
Iowa fans could be heard booing the Nittany Lion players whenever they went down injured.
"I do have a little bit of a hard time with our players getting hurt, the fans, the coaches and the staff booing our players," Franklin said. "They don't run tempo, that was not part of our plan.
"I just don't know if I necessarily agree, I don't think it's the right thing for college football, booing guys when they get hurt — however it looks. If one of those kids would have been significantly hurt, I just have a hard time with that."
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