Penn State Football: 3 keys to victory in 2019 Cotton Bowl vs. Memphis

STATE COLLEGE, PA - NOVEMBER 30: Tyler Rudolph #21 of the Penn State Nittany Lions celebrates with teammates after recovering a kick against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights during the second half of the game at Beaver Stadium on November 30, 2019 in State College, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images) /

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(Photo by Scott Taetsch/Getty Images) /

3. Sean Clifford needs to stay healthy

Quarterback Sean Clifford was injured during the Ohio State game and he did not play in the regular season finale against Rutgers. It will be key for him to be 100 percent for the bowl game.

Per Clifford himself, his pain lingered throughout the final stretch of the regular season and he was not playing like his normal self. The coaching staff expects him to be ready to go for the Cotton Bowl.

Clifford’s first year as the starter was a pretty good one. He completed just under 60 percent of his passes for over 2500 yards, 22 touchdowns to only six interceptions. He also added 374 yards on the ground and five scores. Unfortunately for the Nittany Lions, of his six interceptions, three of them occurred in the loss at Minnesota. The game cost Penn State a chance to be playing in Pasadena.

Seeing backup Will Levis in action for the injured Clifford shows the coaches were correct in naming Clifford the starter at the beginning of this season. While Levis performed admirably as the Lions tried to stage a comeback against Ohio State, he did not look so good against Rutgers the following week. Levis is the better runner, but Clifford is the better overall quarterback. He must be 100 percent ready to go for the Lions to win the game.

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