3 Factors to Make or Break Penn State 2019: Factor #1

With Penn State football only nine days away, James Franklin decided to finally name his team"s starting quarterback. Coming as a surprise to literally no one, the team declared redshirt sophomore Sean Clifford QB1. From the moment Tommy Stevens decided to take his talents to Starkville, Mississippi, all of Happy Valley knew they had entered the Sean Clifford Era, the announcement just made it official. Now, you don"t need me to tell you how important a football team"s starting quarterback is, but the pressure of the position intensifies when you replace a legend. Trace McLegend, that is. Trace McSorely completely exhausted his college football eligibility and left Penn State as the school"s leader in just about everything, and is now dropping [preseason] dimes for the Baltimore Ravens:

Anyway, back to the Nittany Lions" new QB. Just how can Sean replace such prolific production?

Factor #1: Sean Clifford

The number one thing that will determine whether Penn State will be an 8-4 team or a 10-2 team will be the quarterback. It always comes down to the quarterback. Nittany Nation has only seen Clifford in garbage time last season, and it"s safe to say, he"s impressed: 5-7, 195 yards, 2 TD. If you"ve watched all 7 of his throws, you can obviously see that his stat-line is heavily inflated by this one throw:

If you follow me on twitter (hint: you should), you know I loathe when fans brag about this TD throw. If I had to split up the credit for this play, 80% would go to Daniel George, 10% would go to a terrible Kent State CB, and the remaining 10% to Sean Clifford. The cornerback bit hard on a double-move by George, and Clifford completed a lob throw most high school QB"s could make. Clifford"s other touchdown pass was significantly more impressive in my opinion:

That throw was a 40+ yard dime that was perfectly placed, all while taking a hit in the pocket. Passes like that are what give me hope that Cliff" could be special, but the Ohio-native has always had the arm talent to play the position. It"s Sean"s running ability that constantly comes into question — does he have the escapability to run State"s RPO offense? Well according to James Franklin, Clifford ran a faster 40 than Trace; take from that what you will. On the field, so much more goes into elusiveness than just vertical straight-line speed, but it"s good to see Sean"s no statue.

My 2019 Verdict:

So much of Sean"s success (or failure) will hinge on the play-calling of second-year OC, Ricky Rahne. I"m arguably Nittany Nation"s biggest critic of Rahne, but I must admit, his play-calling improved as the 2018 season progressed. But what will the Joe Moorehead-wannabe now do with a QB who may not be as mobile? My opinion: I think Clifford will have success, but unfortunately, he (and PSU) will continue to struggle against elite competition. I"m projecting another average year out of the offensive line, which will deliver an all-too-familiar problem to PSU fans: losses to Michigan and OSU.

At this point, the back-to-back away games in Kinnick and East Lansing seem like 50/50 toss-ups, which means an 8 win season could be on the horizon. I see PSU splitting those two, meaning they end 9-3, and depending on how things shake up, could sneak into an NY6 Bowl appearance.

Not too shabby. Not what most State fans want to hear, but it"s a very realistic prediction. The previous pieces in this series mentioned that special teams and the o-line need to step up. If they do, the White Out against the Wolverines is there to steal, and a 10-2 finish would be phenomenal. It"d put the Lions squarely in the discussion for their first College Football Playoff berth. Fingers crossed.

How do you guys think the Lions" season will shake out? Let me know in the forums or twitter, and we"ll have a discussion! Also, follow @OTH_Football for more content!