Penn State Football: 3 takeaways from Homecoming blowout of Purdue

2. Sean Clifford continues to grow as budding legend

Sean Clifford has progressively improved as he progressed through his first month as the Penn State starting quarterback. The Week 5 blowout of Maryland was his breakout performance, and Clifford followed it up with an even bigger day at home in front of a raucous Homecoming crowd at Beaver Stadium.

Clifford completed nine of his first 10 passes for 176 yards and three touchdowns through the first 20 minutes of the game. He had also run a fourth Penn State touchdown at that juncture. Sometimes growth isn’t always comfortable or happy, as Clifford floated his 11th pass of the game that Purdue cornerback Simeon Smiley was able to pick off. The mistake set up the Boilermakers for the chance to break their shutout in the second quarter.

Mistakes are inevitable when you pin your fortunes on young quarterbacks. But in general, the redshirt sophomore has been a difference-maker for the Nittany Lions this year. Clifford was able to brush off the mistake and get right back to dominating the Purdue secondary, as he finished the game with 264 yards and three touchdowns on 20-of-29 passing and used his wheels to add 33 more yards and the running score.

As he heads into the biggest stretch of games yet in his young career, Clifford is already developing into a Penn State legend in real time. He will need to continue building that legend against Iowa and the Michigan schools to get out of October with an undefeated record.