Tag: KeAndre Lambert-Smith

Penn State football: Injury report roundup

Let’s get all caught up on the Penn State injury situation during the bye week

Penn State has the week off, but we have seen a whirlwind of events transpire these past few days, especially on the injury side of the Nittany Lions. Penn State has been lucky enough to have a very limited injury report this season. However, that wasn’t the case last weekend against Iowa.

Inside the box score: The key factors that lead to a Penn State loss

Penn State’s offense was in an uphill battle against the Iowa defense after Sean Clifford was knocked out. Inside the box score…

Penn State held onto the lead for well over the majority of this game. However, penalties really hurt them big time and it came back to bite them. And the offense was a mess after the injury to starting quarterback Sean Clifford.

Let’s take a look at the key factors that lead to Penn State eventually losing this football game.

 

Sean Clifford’s second drive was perfect answer following horrible start vs Iowa

In-game analysis: Penn State and Sean Clifford showed early resiliency after rough start vs Iowa, leading

It had been a while since you could say Penn State quarterback Sean Clifford tossed a bad interception. But after Iowa pinned the Nittany Lions back against their own end zone for the first offensive series of the game by the Nittany Lions, Clifford had one of those “uh-oh” moments. But he responded with authority on Penn State’s second drive as the Nittany Lions scored the first touchdown of the game to take an early lead on the Hawkeyes.

Under pressure and in his own end zone, Clifford threw an ill-advised pass along the left sideline on the first offensive snap, and Iowa’s Jestin Jacobs was sitting and ready to get the easy interception at the Penn State eight-yard line.

It was shades of the Clifford miscues witnessed at the start of the 2020 season that cost Penn State on multiple occasions. But because things are different this year, Penn State’s defense rose to the occasion and forced Iowa to settle for a field goal. And then Clifford got his chance for redemption.

Penn State marched the length of the field, 75 yards, for a go-ahead touchdown with Noah Cain pushing one across the goal line from the Iowa two-yard line. Clifford completed five passes by spreading the ball around between KeAndre Lambert-Smith, Parker Washignton, and Brenton Strange. A pass interference penalty on Iowa gave Penn State a free first down at the Iowa two, and the Nittany Lions powered their way to a score.

A year ago, this sequence of events would have gone the other team’s way. There is still plenty of football to be played on this Saturday, but this was a warm reminder that this team is capable of shrugging off moments of dread and rally behind them. If this is a gut check game, Penn State passed its first test.

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ESPN’s David Pollack explains how Penn State can beat Iowa

What is the biggest advantage Penn State has over Iowa, according to ESPN’s David Pollack?

Penn State is on the road for its biggest challenge of the season in Week 6. The Nittany Lions enter Iowa’s Kinnick Stadium for a matchup of top four undefeated teams in a significant Big Ten showdown with the Iowa Hawkeyes. Iowa and Penn State have been thriving on defense, but Penn State may have just enough offense to escape with a win on Saturday afternoon.

During the Friday edition of College Football Live on ESPN, analyst David Pollack gave his thoughts on how Penn State would defeat Iowa. According to Poollack, Penn State’s biggest advantage is the speed at the wide receiver position.

So far this season, Penn State quarterback Sean Clifford has thrown for 11 touchdowns and 1,336 yards. Clifford’s longest pass was 83 yards and went for a touchdown to KeAndre Lambert-Smith two weeks ago against Villanova.

WATCH: Sean Clifford extends play for third long touchdown pass vs. Villanova

Leading the way with the touchdown catches for the wide receivers is Jahan Dotson who has six touchdowns for 446 yards; second in touchdown catches is Parker Washington with two touchdowns with 331 yards. Rounding out the wide receivers is Lambert-Smith with one touchdown and 224 yards. 

We will see if any of the wide receivers make the big plays to help the Nittany Lions remain undefeated on the season.

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LISTEN: How KeAndre Lambert-Smith’s TD vs Villanova sounded on Penn State radio

What’s a big Penn State play without hearing how it was called by Steve Jones?

Big plays were the story of the day in Penn State’s Week 4 win over Villanova. Among the big plays from the passing game was an 83-yard touchdown pass from Sean Clifford to KeAndre Lambert-Smith in the third quarter, which extended Penn State’s lead to 24-3 shortly after the start of the second half.

The play came shortly after a scary scene on the field when a Villanova player was carted off the field with what was later reported to be concussion symptoms. Clifford rolled to his right looking to find an open receiver after a screen appeared to be covered by the Wildcats. Clifford found Lambert-Smith along the right sideline, and the receiver took off down the field after eluding a pair of Villanova defenders.

Here is the how the call looked and sound don the Big Ten Network broadcast:

Of course, what is key Penn State moment if you don’t get to hear how the voice of the Nittany Lions, radio play-by-play announcer Steve Jones, called the play as it developed?

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Report Card: Grading Penn State’s win over Villanova

REPORT CARD: Penn State’s passing game earned high marks in a win against Villanova while the running game can improve

Penn State defeated Villanova in fashion today 38-17, despite a scare in the end of what was almost a fumble recovery touchdown by the Wildcats. But all in all, there were plenty of positive for the Nittany Lions to reflect on. At the same time, there is clearly some room for improvement as Penn State returns to Big Ten play for the rest of the regular season beginning next week.

Let’s dive deeper and grade Penn State‘s performance

Quarterbacks: A+

Sean Clifford was on fire today. Several people and analysts were very hesitant as to how he would do the season. Through the first four games, he has not only looked more confident by the week, but he is also showing off his athleticism and the ability to get several of his weapons involved in the game.

Matthew OHaren-USA TODAY Sports

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Next: Running Backs

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Inside the box score: Key stats from Penn State’s win over Villanova

Inside the box score: Penn State had a big day through the air against Villanova in Week 4

Penn State had themselves a game today, defeating Villanova 38-17. Sean Clifford continues to look more poised and confident after his first career 400-yard game, complete with his third four-touchdown performance in his Penn State career.

Let’s take a look at the official box score of some key players from both teams.   

Instant Reaction: Penn State beats Villanova in fashion 38-17

Sean Clifford had a big day against the Villanova Wildcats as Penn State cruised to a 38-17 victory at home.

Penn State has defeated the Villanova Wildcats in fashion with a score of 38-17 for their 20th straight non-conference home win. After a late game scare of what was thought of a touchdown, Villanova struggled all game to get the ball moving.  

The run game still continues to struggle, but we saw tons of involvement from the passing game. Sean Clifford threw an early deep touchdown pass to Jahan Dotson, who is picking up right where he left off from last week’s game against Auburn.  

Clifford continues to play with confidence, recording 401 passing yards and four touchdowns on the day.  

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We also saw some big plays from Parker Washington, who turned on the jets for two big plays, including one in the second quarter.  

KeAndre Lambert-Smith even caught a touchdown pass late in the game. Despite the run game struggles of the run game, the passing game continues to shine every week.  

One point worth noting though is that Penn State still saw struggles converting on third down. By halftime, they were just 39% for 3rd down conversions. 

The defense is continuing to put themselves on the map. They held Villanova to just 222 yards passing on the day. Ji’Aiyir Brown had two tipoff interceptions while the rest of the guys like Jaquan Brisker and Tariq Castro-Fields played lights out. We still saw plays late in the game, including a late touchdown pass by Villanova quarterback Daniel Smith, although Penn State was playing with backups for the large majority of the fourth quarter.  

Next week Penn State will once again be at home to host the Indiana Hoosiers, who have started to play better football these past two weeks but have already lost two games this season against Iowa and Cincinnati.

WATCH: Sean Clifford extends play for third long touchdown pass vs. Villanova

WATCH: Penn State extended its lead on Villanova with an 83-yard touchdown pass from Sean Clifford to Keandre Lambert-Smith.

Big plays have been the story of the day for the Penn State offense against Villanova. Just as they have done in the first two quarters of the game, Penn State’s offense struck early in the third quarter with Sean Clifford using his legs to create something out of nothing. And some fine work by KeAndre Lambert-Smith led to yet another long touchdown for the Nittany Lions,

On 2nd and 10 from their own 17-yard line, Clifford didn’t have the initial read or reads he was looking for, so he used his feet to extend the time by running to the right side of the field. eventually, Clifford locker din on a wide open Lambert-Smith along the right sideline, and the receiver took off to the races for what turned out to be an 83-yard touchdown to put Penn State up 24-3 on the second play from scrimmage of the second half.

Clifford has already thrown for 309 yards and three touchdowns, all of which have gone over 50 yards.

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This was Lambert-Smith’s first catch of the game. Way to make it count!

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Report Card: Grading Penn State’s Week 1 win over Wisconsin

Grading Penn State’s performance against Wisconsin in Week 1, where the defense earns high marks all around.

Penn State defeated the Badgers 16-10 in a game that came down to the wire. There were gutsy performances on offense, despite them getting hot in the second half.

Let’s go ahead and grade Penn State’s performance today over the Badgers.

Quarterbacks: C

Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports

This is a fair grade, seeing as Sean Clifford struggled early in this game. He finished strong and performed well when it mattered. However, he was still making careless mistakes early in the game.

Penn State heads back to State College next weekend for their home opener against Ball State. This should be an easy one for the Nittany Lions and one for Clifford to really find his groove in the offense. He didn’t play four-quarter football against Wisconsin, but a game with a new offense is now under his belt.

Next: Running Backs

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