Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1332070
sobering news that Brown had been diag- nosed with a heart condition called hyper- trophic cardiomyopathy that would prevent him from ever playing football again. "I know that's been something that's been kind of hanging out there and you guys had questions about," Franklin said. "But that came as a huge blow in Septem- ber for our team." MOMENT NO. 2 MARYLAND @ PENN STATE NOV. 7 Already trailing the Terrapins by three touchdowns at halftime, Penn State needed a strong possession to open the third quarter if it hoped to reverse its abysmal trajectory. The Nittany Lions had been stunned in overtime at Indiana to open the season, then were hammered by Ohio State in week two. Those early difficulties made the Mary- land game their best opportunity to right a ship that was taking on water quickly. But with virtually nothing working on ei- ther side of the ball, they were running out of redemptive chances. And on third- and-1 just two minutes into the second half, those chances evaporated entirely. Looking downfield, Clifford was forced to quickly abandon his passing attempt, as Maryland defenders bulldozed their way into the backfield. He scrambled to his right but was knocked off his feet, sending the ball bobbling into the waiting hands of Maryland linebacker Chance Campbell, who trotted 29 yards into the end zone to give the visitors a 35-7 lead. The play brought an end to Penn State's dreams of what the 2020 season might have been. Already forced to confront the disappointment that its big preseason goals had been upended within the first two weeks, PSU now had to confront the humbling reality that not only was it no longer a title contender, it wasn't even a particularly good team. "Mentally, I'm pissed. That's probably the only way I could describe it," Clifford said. "We're an 0-3 football team. I've never been on an 0-3 football team. I never lost like this in my life. So to say I'm disappointed and frustrated are all un- derstatements. "We keep talking about it. We talk about the extra buy-in, and we talk about being better, and we talk about what type of football team we are. I mean, it's very ap- parent what type of football team we are. We're an 0-3, poor performing football team currently, and we need to change TURTLE POWER Maryland wide receiver Rakim Jarrett scored first-quarter touchdowns of 42 and 62 yards, helping the Terra- pins build a 28-7 halftime lead over the host Lions in early No- vember. Photo by Steve Manuel