Sean Clifford rallies Penn State to win over Purdue [updated]

Sep. 2—WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Sean Clifford's up-and-down Penn State career was captured perfectly in the fourth quarter Thursday night at Ross-Ade Stadium.

After throwing a pick-six, Clifford lobbed a 10-yard touchdown pass to Keyvone Lee with 57 seconds left to give the Nittany Lions a pulsating 35-31 victory over Purdue in a season opener.

The 24-year-old in his sixth college season never had any doubts after his interception.

"You can't really harp on things that go wrong in a game," Clifford said. "There are going to be ups and downs. We still put up a bunch of points. I'm proud of what we did tonight. We have a lot to improve on, starting with myself."

Clifford completed 5-of-6 passes for 72 yards on the game-winning drive and finished 20-for-37 for 282 yards and four touchdowns, including the game-winner on a wheel route to Lee.

"My number was called and I just made the most of the opportunity," Lee said. "I wasn't expecting it. I didn't know it was coming, but it came and I made the most of it."

Moments after throwing a go-ahead 29-yard touchdown pass to KeAndre Lambert-Smith in the fourth quarter, Clifford overthrew a wide-open Mitchell Tinsley over the middle on his next attempt.

Purdue's Chris Jefferson intercepted and returned it 72 yards for a touchdown to give the Boilermakers a 31-28 lead with 8:29 left.

"I've overcome a lot at Penn State, so that was nothing new," Clifford said. "It was just another play."

Penn State beat the Boilermakers for the 10th straight time and avoided its first loss to them since 2004.

Aidan O'Connell, also a 24-year-old sixth-year quarterback, completed 28-of-57 passes for 350 yards and one touchdown for Purdue.

"O'Connell is really good," Lions coach James Franklin said. "They run a great scheme. He gets the ball out of his hands very quickly."

Penn State's defense rose to the occasion in the fourth quarter, stopping the Boilermakers offense five times. Purdue coach Jeff Brohm chose to stick to the air with a three-point lead and called one rushing play in the final three series instead of running time off the clock.

On the Boilermakers' last series, cornerback Johnny Dixon blitzed and sacked O'Connell for a 10-yard loss. On the final play, O'Connell underhanded an incompletion as end Chop Robinson brought him to the ground.

"This was a character win for our program," Franklin said. "It was a tough win. To do it in a two-minute drive at the end with Sean's experience and confidence, we were able to get it going."

Clifford missed the first series of the second half while being treated inside the Penn State locker room for cramps, according to Franklin. He missed Purdue's 75-yard drive to open the third quarter, which was capped by King Doerue's 2-yard touchdown run that cut it to 21-17.

Five-star quarterback prospect Drew Allar made his college debut on the Lions' next series and completed two passes for first downs. But the drive stalled after tight end Tyler Warren dropped a pass inside the Purdue 30.

Clifford returned for the next series, but he could not help move the ball after a drop by Lambert-Smith.

"We have to be more consistent on offense," Franklin said. "We had three-and-outs and long drives."

With O'Connell receiving plenty of protection and throwing darts, the Boilermakers marched downfield and took a 24-21 lead on a 7-yard TD catch by Iowa transfer Charlie Jones in the final minute of the third quarter. Jones finished with 12 catches for 153 yards.

Lambert-Smith made up for two earlier drops by catching a pass over the middle and breaking a tackle on his way to his touchdown, which put the Lions up 28-24 with 10:44 left. Clifford completed three straight passes for 55 yards on the drive.

"In my opinion, Sean has shown character over his entire career," Franklin said. "You never want turnovers. Turnovers that turn into touchdowns are significant."

Penn State freshman running back Nick Singleton, the former Gov. Mifflin standout, was credited with nine carries for 22 yards and returned three kickoffs for 64 yards.

In the first half, Penn State forced a late turnover inside its 20 and converted it into a touchdown that changed the complexion of the game, at least for a while.

Zakee Wheatley stripped the football from Purdue's TJ Sheffield, and Joey Porter Jr. recovered at the Lions' 18 with 30 seconds left in the second quarter. But instead of running out the clock, Franklin attacked.

"We want to be aggressive in those situations," he said. "I thought, 'Let's see if we can get something going.' "

On first down, the Boilermakers were flagged for pass interference on a deep pass over the middle to Tinsley. Two snaps later, Clifford rolled right and found tight end Brenton Strange at the Purdue 45. Strange broke two tackles inside the 40 and sprinted into the end zone with two seconds to go.

It was at least a 10-point swing and possibly a 14 — point one.

Purdue opened the scoring by driving from its 9 behind O'Connell to the Penn State 18, where linebacker Curtis Jacobs stopped a run short of the sticks. Mitchell Fineran kicked a 36-yard field goal for a 3-0 lead.

The Lions answered quickly. Clifford hit Parker Washington for a 20-yard gain on a play-action pass and later Devyn Ford for a 12-yard pickup on fourth-and-2 on a smart call by offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich.

Three snaps later, Clifford stepped up and connected with Tinsley on a crossing pattern for a 12-yard touchdown early in the second quarter. Tinsley finished with seven receptions for 84 yards in his Penn State debut.

The Boilermakers then drove 75 yards with the help of two 15-yard penalties, a targeting call on freshman linebacker Abdul Carter and an interference flag on Dixon.

Doerue capped it, stiff-arming safety Ji'Ayir Brown and scoring from the 3 to give Purdue a 10-7 lead with 9:43 to go in the second.

Several minutes later, after a 43-yard punt by Barney Amor pinned the Boilers at their 3, Penn State took over at the Purdue 43 after Washington's 10-yard punt return.

Clifford scrambled for a first down before he completed a 10-yard pass to Strange and Singleton ran for 6 to the 2. With Penn State lined up in a T formation, Clifford then burrowed his way into the end zone from the 2 to put Penn State up 14-10 with 1:44 left.

Clifford went 8-for-15 for 141 yards and two touchdowns in the first half when Purdue tackle Lawrence Johnson went low and directly hit the left knee of Clifford, who got up slowly.

"I wasn't scared," Clifford said. "You know why? I wore my knee brace. I was not going to wear it. I always wear it in practice. I feel comfortable with it. I feel comfortable making the throws with it.

"It probably would have been one of the craziest knee injuries. Kudos to that knee brace. I was really glad I had it on."