Inside the box score: Key stats from Penn State’s win over Villanova

Penn State had themselves a game today, defeating Villanova 38-17. Sean Clifford continues to look more poised and confident after his first career 400-yard game, complete with his third four-touchdown performance in his Penn State career.

Let’s take a look at the official box score of some key players from both teams.

Sean Clifford - Penn State QB

Matthew OHaren-USA TODAY Sports

19/26, 401 passing yards and four touchdowns

Clifford played out of his mind today. He is just the second Penn State quarterback in Penn State history to finish with four passing touchdowns, joining Christian Hackenberg. He got the offense clicking today in the passing game.

Parker Washington - Penn State WR

Matthew OHaren-USA TODAY Sports

5 receptions, 148 yards and two touchdowns

As mentioned, the offense was clicking today, and Parker Washington had two big plays throughout the game where he showed off his speed, including a nice touchdown catch in the second quarter.

Jahan Dotson - Penn State WR

Matthew OHaren-USA TODAY Sports

7 receptions, 117 yards and one touchdown

Jahan Dotson continues to put himself on the map as a draft prospect and played where he left off from last week. He not only has impressive speed, but he has really grown as a route runner route runner throughout his time at Penn State.

KeAndre Lambert-Smith - Penn State WR

2 receptions, 88 yards and one touchdown

Lambert-Smith also showed off his speed late in the game with a nice catch and topping it off with an impressive yards-after-catch score in the third quarter. It was very promising to see multiple receivers involved in the passing game today, especially going into a tough matchup next weekend against Indiana.

Penn State Defense

Matthew OHaren-USA TODAY Sports

As usual, the defense played lights out the entire game today. We are used to seeing the secondary show out and seeing some nice highlight-reel plays from guys like Brandon Smith and the rest of the linebacker core. However, we also saw some nice plays by the defensive line by guys like PJ Mustipher, whom the announcers had praised for his development during the game. We also saw some nice stops by defensive end Jesse Luketa, who has been an exciting player to watch all season.

Daniel Smith - Villanova QB

Matthew OHaren-USA TODAY Sports

20/34, 222 passing yards, 2 touchdowns and one interception

Smith had some nice plays here and there throughout the game. However, there were multiple struggles from him all game and lots of overthrown passes to his receivers.

Villanova Defense

Matthew OHaren-USA TODAY Sports

Villanova’ss defense struggled to make any sort of noise the entire game. They allowed 17 points to the Nittany Lions in the first half, and it progressively got worse in the second half, giving up 21 points to the Penn State offense. Villanova doesn’t quit, but they struggled to find any momentum throughout the game today.

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