Penn State quarterback Sean Clifford reaches crowning achievement in Rose Bowl win over Utah

PASADENA — With Penn State up 35-14 over Utah on Monday at the Rose Bowl, Nittany Lions coach James Franklin called a timeout.

He called for his quarterback, Sean Clifford, to exit the game.

The senior jogged off the field in Pasadena for the final time as a member of Penn State to a standing ovation from the white-clad Nittany Lions faithful.

Clifford’s six-season career ended with a curtain call after leading Penn State to its first Rose Bowl win since 1995.

Clifford exited the game in tears, hugging nearly every one of his teammates and coaches on the sideline.

“It means a lot, just being able to see all my teammates on the sideline with smiles on their faces,” Clifford said of the curtain call.

“Just being able to see those faces of my teammates, it just means the world. I couldn’t be prouder to be a Penn Stater.”

It was an ideal ending for Penn State’s all-time leader in passing yards and passing touchdowns, the player who has been Penn State’s starting quarterback since 2019.

“I wanted to take a moment for him to come out of the game and be recognized because Sean has experienced it all at Penn State, he really has,” Franklin said.

It was a full-circle moment for Clifford. He took a trip to the Rose Bowl Game when he was in fifth grade, flying out with his dad. All these years later, he won it in his final collegiate game and was named the offensive MVP of the contest.

“I couldn’t have wrote the script any better for Sean Clifford to be the offensive MVP,” Franklin said.

Franklin, who had lost 11 straight games against top 10 teams, finally won the big game. In his ninth season at the helm at Penn State, Franklin was mobbed by players after the final whistle.

He hugged safety Ji’Ayir Brown so hard that both of them fell to the ground, and Nittany Lions players doused Franklin in Gatorade and a bucket of roses.

Somewhere along the way, Franklin’s glasses were knocked off. They were eventually found on the field and returned to him postgame.

Clifford, who had an up-and-down career at Penn State, was the best player on the field on Monday, throwing for 279 yards and two touchdowns.

He went 16 for 22, didn’t make a mistake, and looked every bit a four-year starter. He was calm and in command of Penn State’s offense all game.

“(Penn State’s) quarterback was exceptional. High completion percentage, threw for a bunch of yards,” Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said.

Clifford delivered what was essentially the game-sealing touchdown pass early in the fourth quarter, as his 88-yard strike to a wide-open KeAndre Lambert-Smith gave Penn State a 14-point cushion.

“Defense got big-played,” Whittingham said of his team. “That’s evidenced by over 400 yards of offense by Penn State.

“Only 15 first downs. That’s not a lot of first downs, which means they’re getting some big-chunk-yardage plays, which definitely led to our demise.”

The 88-yarder was the longest pass completion in Clifford’s career.

“It was up for debate whether we wanted to take a shot. It was third down and 4, and I’d been seeing the same look all game, so I was definitely a proponent for taking that shot, and I know KeAndre wanted it, too,” Clifford said.

“Great players make great plays, and KeAndre did. Anybody could have thrown that one. Kudos to Dre.”

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With Utah quarterback Cameron Rising out because of injury, Utah never could get going on offense in the second half, only scoring one touchdown in the final two quarters — and that came in garbage time.

Following the celebration and the postgame press conference, Clifford returned to the empty Rose Bowl field, soaking in the moment one final time, walking around the end zone before exiting through the tunnel with a rose in his hat and a Rose Bowl champions T-shirt on in his final moment as a Nittany Lion.

“I just respect, love and appreciate every single man that has came through Penn State’s program and impacted me in whatever way,” Clifford said, “whether that be coaches, administration, staff, and especially my teammates.”