Harsin is on one of the hottest seats in the country, and this was a win that would've gone a long way to buying him some time. It's fair to wonder how the team we saw against Penn State figures out a way to win six games and get to a bowl game.Īnd if that's the case, what are Auburn coach Bryan Harsin's chances of returning in 2023? What are the chances he finishes this season? You can't ignore what nearly happened during the offseason nor that the athletic director who hired Harsin has moved on. November is a little nicer, but only a little. Who knows what happens next week against Missouri? October features games against LSU, Georgia, Ole Miss and Arkansas. Instead, Auburn won its first two games but looked mediocre in its 24-16 win over San Jose State, and now it suffered a blowout loss to Penn State. Other than that, the Tigers should've cruised against Mercer and San Jose State before finishing the month against Missouri. Yes, it got Penn State, but at least the game was at home. The schedule doesn't get any easier: September was supposed to be the easy part of the schedule for Auburn. That should help Penn State avoid the kind of collapse it suffered during the second half of the 2021 season.Ĥ. When you combine a healthy Clifford with an effective run game, the Penn State offense will be a lot more difficult to stop in Big Ten play. Kaytron Allen had two rushing touchdowns and finished with 52 yards on nine carries. During the third quarter, Singleton was responsible for every inch PSU picked up on a three-play, 58-yard scoring drive, finishing with a 1-yard touchdown run. He had a 54-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter, his second gain of at least 50 yards in the game. Five-star freshman Nick Singleton balled out against Auburn, picking up 124 yards on only 10 carries. The Nittany Lions have an impressive duo of young rushers: It's been a few years since Penn State had game-changers at the running back position, and now it might have two or three. He threw for 178 yards, rushed for a touchdown and even caught a 25-yard pass that led to another score.Ģ. Clifford was a triple threat on Saturday. When he can buy time in the pocket to allow receivers to get open or find easy yards with his legs, Penn State becomes a lot more difficult to defend. It's no surprise how much better the Nittany Lions' offense looked against the Tigers as Clifford was able to move as a scrambler and on rollouts. Penn State won the game, but it was ugly. Clifford is not a good enough passer, nor is Penn State's offensive line strong enough for the Nittany Lions offense to thrive that way. For the rest of the night, he was essentially a statue in the pocket. A mobile Sean Clifford is a good Sean Clifford: In Penn State's season-opener against Purdue, Clifford was wearing a knee brace on his left knee and took a hit to the leg in the first half. Let's take a look at four key takeaways from the game.ġ. Auburn falls to 2-1 after missing out on the chance to exact revenge for last season's 28-20 loss in State College, Pennsylvania. The win improves Penn State to 3-0 on the season and should help it climb a few more spots in the top 25 polls. Penn State finished drives and took care of the football. Football is a complicated game, but sometimes it's straightforward, which was the case here. The Nittany Lions were spotless with ball protection, while Auburn gave it up four times. Turnovers also played a significant role in Penn State's dominance.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |