Penn State’s outcome against Iowa took a hard left turn the moment starting quarterback Sean Clifford made his way to the locker room midway through the second quarter and returned to the sideline after halftime in street clothes. The dynamic of the game against Iowa shifted entirely in Iowa’s favor as the Hawkeyes feasted on an immobile Penn State offense without Clifford at the helm. So naturally, the biggest question facing Penn State moving forward is when will Sean Clifford return to the playing field?
Or perhaps more importantly, will he return?
As of Monday morning when this post was written, there has been no word on what Clifford’s status will be moving forward. The only thing is, Penn State head coach James Franklin is not likely to share much information about Clifford. Franklin has a history of not revealing much information with regard to personal injuries barring any major significant injury situation. If the worst-case scenario plays out and Clifford is done for the season, then Franklin would be likely to confirm such news. There is no indication we have reached that point, fortunately.
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Franklin did not have an update to share on Clifford following Penn State’s loss to Iowa on Saturday, but he will likely be asked again for one during his regularly scheduled Tuesday media availabilities. Whether or not Franklin shares any information about Clifford remains to be seen, but any news not about a season-ending injury could be perceived to be optimistic.
Penn State actually reaches the bye week at a good time considering the injury status for Clifford. The hope would be Clifford benefits from having a week off to recover from whatever the medical issue may be. If it is not deemed to be a severe injury, perhaps Clifford can come back in two weekends when Penn State hosts Illinois. Or, maybe the following week for a road game at Ohio State.
If Clifford is unable to return in two weeks for Illinois, then the bye week also comes at a fortunate time so Mike Yurcich can work more with TaQuan Roberson to have him more prepared for the starting job against the Illini. We can cross the Ohio State matchup when we get there, but it should be expected Roberson would be much more successful as a starter against Illinois at home than he was as a backup option on the road against Iowa.
But the fate of the season rides on Clifford at this point. His loss against Iowa was clearly significant. A Penn State offense without Clifford facing the schedule Penn State has in front of them could make for a bumpy ride to the finish line.
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