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Four Takeaways From Penn State’s Win Over Auburn

Annnnnnnd exhale! The Nittany Lions survived Auburn in front of a White Out crowd on Saturday night

Heather Weikel | Black Shoe Diaries

SEC Officiating Sucks

Y’all... SEC officials freaking suck. From the get go the officials played a huge role in the game. Any time the officiating crew plays a big role in any sporting event it is not a good thing, and that was the case on Saturday night.

This was on display early in the game when Sean Clifford was called for an intentional grounding that wasn’t intentional grounding. Then on that drive the Nittany Lions were screwed out of a possession as the officials flipped the down marker from 1st down to 3rd down... screwing Penn State out of a down.

Later in the game Bo Nix threw the ball away on what appeared to be a clear intentional grounding, Chris Fowler even said as much on the broadcast. Instead, it was simply ruled an incomplete pass.

On a fake punt where the whistle was never blown PJ Mustipher powered his way forward for the first down only for the officials to spot him a half yard short. Oh, let’s not overlook the super soft late hit call on Brandon Smith.

The Nittany Lions were playing both the Tigers and awful officiating on Saturday night. SEC officials I remind you. In the end the Nittany Lions overcame it all to defeat Auburns 28-20 to improve to 3-0 on the season.

Sean Clifford Could Be Turning A Corner

Saturday night was very possibly the best game on Sean Clifford’s career with the Nittany Lions. The redshirt senior signal caller was 28/32 for 280 yards and 2 touchdowns. He threw an interception in the loss, but it came on a pass to the end zone prior to the half on which Clifford was walloped.

Clifford looked more confident in the pocket. Unlike in the past when he would have tucked the ball and ran, Clifford hung in the pocket, used his feet to extend the play and went through his progressions to find open receivers.

On the season Clifford is 67/94 for 757 yards, 4 touchdowns and an interception. He has used his leg to keep plays open and has rushed for 86 yards and a touchdown. Clifford has looked more poised and confident than ever in his career. Offensive coordinator/QB coach Mike Yurcich deserves a ton of credit for this. Cliff may finally be turning a corner.

Jahan Dotson Is A DUDE

Hear me out.. Jahan Dotson might be the best wide receiver in the country. Seriously. The senior is an absolute stud. He can not be covered, he makes plays and he makes defensive backs look silly.

In the 28-20 victory over the Tigers he hauled in 10 passes for 78 yards and a touchdown. The touchdown came on ap lay where Dotson never gave up and found himself wide open in the back of the end zone as Clifford was going through his progressions.

Dotson also threw a pass on Saturday night. This pass came on an end around pass on which eh hit tight end Tyler Warren for a 22-yard gain.

Dotson also helped keep other receivers open throughout the night. The precise route running by Dotson helped draw defensive backs away from other wide receivers, as well as helping guys like Parker Washington and KeAndre Lambert-Smith being open throughout the night. Dotson has reached the level where he impacts the Penn State offense in multiple ways,

The White Out Is Still Unrivaled

Contrary to what some Auburn people believe... the White Out is better than ay atmosphere Auburn will play in this season. Even though some folks downs out believe the White Out is jsut another atmosphere.

Saturday night Beaver Stadium was rocking. This led to a n A+ atmosphere and one that the Tigers struggled with. The White Out atmosphere made it difficult for Auburn to execute offensively and including multiple false start penalties.

Auburn faced a hostile environment on Saturday night and, more times than not, Nix and the Tiger offense folded. The White Out still rattled opponents and the White Out is still unrivaled.