UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- What difference would it make if Penn State goes 10-2 while continuing to start Sean Clifford at quarterback?
Would that 10-2 mean much -- while playing a 24-year-old, sixth-year college quarterback instead of a freshman phenom -- given that the Nittany Lions lost the two games that matter most, to Ohio State and Michigan?
At this point, who cares if Clifford can lead this team to a 10-2 mark. Seriously.
Who? Cares?
Drew Allar is the future of the program. And the future needs to start right now, with James Franklin benching Clifford and giving Allar a chance to start the final five games of the season.
It's time.
Going even 8-4 with Allar starting the rest of the way and getting experience for next year would be better. It absolutely would -- for him, for the program and for Franklin.
And that doesn't mean Penn State would go 8-4 with Allar starting, either. The schedule coming up isn't terribly difficult -- at Indiana, vs. Maryland, at Rutgers, vs. Michigan State -- and it's possible Allar could lead the way to 10-2. Still, even if he doesn't, just having Allar play and gain as much experience as possible is more important than Clifford playing a single down more during a season where all the top goals are now gone.
What about getting to a good bowl game, you might ask?
So what! I hate to say this, but bowl games hardly matter anymore. They mattered a ton when I was growing up, and I want them to matter. But they don't, not with more and more players opting out to keep themselves healthy and prepare for the NFL draft.
Even if Penn State were to go 10-2 with Clifford starting and get to, say, the Orange Bowl, it would be idiotic to start the sixth-year quarterback in that game anyway. All of that practice time and game experience would be crucial for Allar's development, so he would have to get the start in the bowl.
So, why mess around with starting Clifford in the meantime then?
Well, it's all because of Franklin's 1-0 mentality.
The most important thing to the coach is and always has been to win the next game. That's generally a good philosophy to have, because it keeps everyone focused on the task at hand, rather than looking ahead.
But in this case, Franklin finds himself in a difficult position, because his philosophy is designed to fail him. And the program.
It is far more important to start looking ahead than it is to keep playing Clifford. And yet, the way Franklin's mind works, he can fall back on the notion that Clifford probably still gives the Lions the best chance to win each game the rest of the season.
So, in all honesty, do I expect Franklin to make a quarterback change this week?
No.
All because his 1-0 mindset doesn't seem to allow for flexibility, the kind needed to make the program better OVER TIME.
Sure, maybe Clifford does give the team a better chance to win at Indiana this week -- which is debatable, but let's go with that assumption. It's still more important to start Allar in that game because, you know, it might actually put the Lions in better position to beat Michigan and/or Ohio State next year.
The only thing that continuing to play Clifford will do is hinder Allar's development.
Oh wait. There is one more thing it could do. It could lead Allar to get fed up with Franklin and decide to bolt via the transfer portal. It seems doubtful he would do that with a starting job waiting next year, but none of us has any way of knowing what these college players are gonna do anymore with the lure of the portal and potential NIL money.
For a lot of Penn State fans, it was time to make a QB change a couple weeks ago. That's why fans booed Clifford prior to last week's game against Minnesota at Beaver Stadium. Ironically, Clifford went out and played great to earn the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week honor.
I've held off a couple extra weeks pressing for a quarterback change, for one reason. This season was always going to come down to the Michigan-Minnesota-Ohio State stretch, and the Lions needed to have their most experienced quarterback leading the way for their best chance to win and stay alive for a playoff berth.
Clifford gave Penn State its best chance to beat the Buckeyes on Saturday, and the Lions were in position to do so with a 21-16 lead in the fourth quarter. But Ohio State scored to take the lead, and Clifford fumbled a minute later to set up another Buckeye score that made it 30-21. Clifford later threw a pick-6 -- his fourth turnover of the day -- and Penn State wound up losing, 44-31.
OK, so maybe Clifford does give the Lions their best chance to win. But when he plays like that, he's also often a big reason why they lose. Would Allar have played any better than Clifford did while building the 21-16 lead? Doubtful. But Allar also may not have played as poorly as Clifford did after that.
There is a very important part of this whole discussion, and this guy brought it up in this tweet:
@CoryGiger I want to know what evidence people have seen from his play on the field, not what they have read, that convinces them that Drew Allar gives us a better chance of winning
— Jim Nolan (@jimnolanjr) October 30, 2022
That's a good point. I cannot sit here and say I know for a fact that Allar is ready to succeed right now as the starter. None of you fans can say that, either, based on the limited playing time the freshman has received. For all we know, Allar might stink. Really. He might be lousy in practice, all the coaches and players know it and see it, and he might not be remotely as good as Clifford is right now.
So what.
Honestly.
Clifford has been around forever. He's ho-hum, mediocre. Penn State is going nowhere with him. The primary goals are gone this season.
If the Lions are going to achieve anything great in the next few years, it almost certainly will be up to Allar. And to best prepare him for those situations, he needs to play.
Right now.
Finishing 10-2 or 8-4, it doesn't matter as much.
Going 1-0 this week isn’t what matters most.
Beating Ohio State and Michigan is what matters. Franklin has to do whatever it takes to help begin that process for next year and beyond, and that means taking Clifford aside and pulling a Chuck Noll by telling him, "Thank you for all you've done, and it's time to get on with your life's work."