As we prepare for Penn State Football’s showdown with Auburn in the heart of SEC country, let’s take a one-minute stab at bold predictions for this one.
It was a clean sweep amongst our writers that Penn State Football will walk out of Auburn 3-0, but let’s see how it happens:
Here are 3 BOLD predictions for Penn State Football at Auburn:
3) Penn State’s Defense Scores a Pick 6
Penn State Football features one of the best secondaries in the country, and leads the nation with 25 pass breakups through their first two games.
In Week 1, cornerback Joey Porter Jr. had a pick-six go through his hands early in the game that could have changed the momentum of that one early on.
Auburn quarterbacks TJ Finley and Robby Ashford have underwhelmed to this point, collectively completing 50% of their passes with one touchdown and four interceptions between them. They have not faced top competition either with the likes of Mercer and San Jose State and the Lions will undoubtedly be a major step up in competition.
Manny Diaz’s aggressive defense should put pressure on Finley in obvious passing downs and that will lead to one or two mistakes for the maligned signal caller and one of them is going to go the other way.
We are going to call our shot here and say Porter makes amends from week one and steps in front of one and takes it back to silence the Jordan-Hare Crowd.
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2. Parker Washington Becomes a Household Name
Wideout Parker Washington was in the shadow of Jahan Dotson his first two years on campus and many expected this to be his breakout season but he has been relatively quiet through the first two games while Mitch Tinsley has made a few plays.
The junior has six receptions for 90 yards to this point but Saturday afternoon he is going to make sure SEC country knows his name. Quarterback Sean Clifford had a career game against Auburn in 2021 completing 28 of 32 passes and once again it will be on him to carry this offense, and in doing so he will look to his safety blanket in the slot, Parker Washington.
Washington goes for 9 catches, 100 plus yards and finds the end zone in this one, making multiple crucial third-down catches to keep drives alive and move the chains. The Tigers’ secondary is not their strong point and they have been admittedly susceptible to the short passing game this season, which does not bode well for them with Parker Washington and this offense coming to town.
Parker Washington finally has the breakout game Lions fans are waiting for this season.
1. Sean Clifford FINALLY Starts to Get the Respect He Deserves
As we mentioned above, Clifford had a career day passing against War Eagle last season which we do not expect him to replicate this time around.
However, despite the pick-six that almost cost the Lions the game in Week 1, we saw what his veteran presence can do for this team when he took the Lions 80 yards in 57 seconds to win the game at Purdue in a hostile environment.
Clifford is unfairly one of the most criticized and polarizing quarterbacks in the country, even this Penn State Football fan base is seemingly torn on their opinions of him, some already calling for the 5-star freshman to take over full time.
As Lee Corso would say, not so fast my friend.
Clifford came back for games like this, for moments like that drive against Purdue. He has seen it all in college football; Kinnick Stadium, The Horse Shoe, White Outs, Black Outs, you name it. Jordan-Hare will be on fire Saturday afternoon, but it will not phase the sixth year senior. Last year in Kinnick he threw an interception on his very first pass of the season, he responded with a 75 yard touchdown drive when he got the ball back in his hands.
He may not light up the scoreboard or stuff the stat sheet Saturday, but he is going to lead this team to victory and make massive plays with his arm and legs when they need it most. He is going to be nationally recognized as the good college quarterback he is, as the Nittany Lions will be a team on the rise.
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