James Franklin: Penn State needed spark Will Levis provided

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Penn State coach James Franklin said starting quarterback Sean Clifford could have re-entered Saturday’s 28-17 loss at Ohio State.

The team decided, however, it needed a quarterback who could fully function, which the redshirt sophomore apparently couldn’t do and also has struggled to do for a few weeks.

Enter Will Levis.

No program wants to give a redshirt freshman his first true game action on the road against the No. 2 team in the country, but Penn State had no choice. Clifford was hit by a pair of Buckeyes early in the third quarter, and medical personnel rushed onto the field. He tried to ride the sideline training bike in an attempt to return, but it quickly became clear it was going to be Levis’ game from there.

Levis led his team on a 17-point run to get back within striking distance, but a fourth-quarter interception on a bad read over the middle helped was damaging.

All told, it was a solid effort considering the circumstances, but Clifford is the starter for a reason.

“Sean has not been healthy the last couple of weeks, and it takes an aspect out of our offense, and then when we got Will involved, it opened up another element of our offense, and we were able to get back in the game,” Franklin said.

“I thought Will did some good things, gave us a spark. He’s a big, physical runner.”

Clifford has taken a number of big shots this season, especially the last two weeks against Minnesota and Indiana. Ohio State’s fast and talented defensive line got in a few shots, too, but it was that one in the third quarter that sent Clifford out of the game for good.

Until that point, the Lions had failed to generate any points and struggled to move the ball. After Levis entered, however, Penn State made its counterstrike thanks in large part to short fields set up by turnovers. Still, the new quarterback and his teammates had to execute. Late in the fourth quarter, though, the offensive line could not hear Levis’ snap count, which led to confusion in protection and more instances of not sustaining drives.

There is no quarterback controversy, but it would be no surprise to see Clifford sit and Levis start against Rutgers next week, considering the former is banged up, the latter would benefited from more game experience, and the opponent is one of the weakest ones on the schedule.

Levis, like his teammates, put in a strong effort Saturday on the road. It wasn’t enough, but if nothing else, it points to what could come in the future for Franklin’s bunch.

“We got a strong locker room, a bunch of really good guys, and everybody in there is totally invested and had a lot of confidence that we could come here and win,” Franklin said. “Going down 21-0 to the No. 2 team in the country is not ideal, but we battled. You got to give them credit. They’ve done a really good job. They’re well-coached. They’re talented, but we have a pretty good team, as well.

“We did not play well enough to win. We did not have enough explosive plays, and early on (Justin Field’s) legs were significant. We battled. That’s who we are. We’ll fight and we’ll battle, but again, you have to give Ohio State credit.”