According to Pro Football Focus, Sean Clifford has the highest red zone completion rate among Power Five this season.
Clifford ranked best P5 quarterback in the red zone
- Thread starter Richie O
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Any PSU supporter that isn't a fan of Clifford needs to have his-her head checked. Although not flashy, the kid is just rock solid. PSU is really lucky he decided to return this year when you take into account the youth of their QB room. He ranks just behind Cappy and with Saquan as my favorite all-time PSU players
People are gonna hate on it but it's probably THE most important QB metric aside from possibly turnovers.
No measurables can achieve a quantification of such a statistic.
Funny this came out I was just thinking I feel like PSU is gonna score a TD any time they threaten the end zone area and additionally I figured Cliff would be in the top 10, come seasons end of TD's responsible for based on his run/pass style.
It's his medium and long range passing accuracy that perplexes people with him and sometimes his unwillingness to throw it away and live to fight another day.
The boy is ballin in the red zone though. These are the type of metrics you see in teams that win or contend for titles.
No measurables can achieve a quantification of such a statistic.
Funny this came out I was just thinking I feel like PSU is gonna score a TD any time they threaten the end zone area and additionally I figured Cliff would be in the top 10, come seasons end of TD's responsible for based on his run/pass style.
It's his medium and long range passing accuracy that perplexes people with him and sometimes his unwillingness to throw it away and live to fight another day.
The boy is ballin in the red zone though. These are the type of metrics you see in teams that win or contend for titles.
The hatred for Clifford is just nuts. These people clearly don't recall some of the starting QBs from previous years. Will he win the Heisman? No. Will he (has he) led PSU to A LOT of wins? Absolutely.
But....but....but....Drew, Drew he's our man. If he can't do it .....nobody can!
Again. I'm very happy we have Allar as our future. I don't know when the future begins. We have a whole room of seasoned D1 coaches who will decide when the time is right.
I know that doesn't match the mighty NNNNNCAC...with hundreds of collective years of couch coaching, but
that's life.
Glad to have Cliff for now and Drew for tomorrow.
Again. I'm very happy we have Allar as our future. I don't know when the future begins. We have a whole room of seasoned D1 coaches who will decide when the time is right.
I know that doesn't match the mighty NNNNNCAC...with hundreds of collective years of couch coaching, but
that's life.
Glad to have Cliff for now and Drew for tomorrow.
Wow, it’s not even close. Nine points better is a huge jump over the pack.
Wow didn't realize this. He doesnt have it on deep throws but he is good with short throws. Now can he get us to the redzone enough is the question.
You heard it here - Clifford is the heart and soul of this PSU team. Considering the youth at QB for PSU, he might be the B1G's MVP this year and depending how the season plays out, maybe in all of CF. But many people want Allar, Allar Allar........He'll be fine in time but.........
We are...13th in Red zone offense (9 rush TD, 7 pass TD, 3 FGs, 19/20) as well.
I've watched a few PSU games over the last couple of years and to say I've been impressed with Clifford is an understatement. He just comes across as a smart - savvy leader. I've read this board for a few years and seems like some (a few) people only want to point out the negative stuff on Clifford which is garbage. I sure wish he was the QB at Notre Dame this year
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"Don't tell me how to feel!"Don't be confusing us with facts.
I'll defer to Coach Wally and his metrics.
Yep, we're finding that out right now with our HC hire. BUT THE PLAYERS WANTED HIM !!!!!
According to Pro Football Focus, Sean Clifford has the highest red zone completion rate among Power Five this season.
That kind of Redzone Efficiency shows you how devastating the RB Fumbles were to our Scoring Output against NW. If there is any knock on Cliff, it's his inconsistent accuracy which has stalled drives.... so he's great when he gets there, but the knock is that we have made enough trips into the Redzone (i.e., our consistently in getting drives to the Redzone is poor).
Evaluating Sean Clifford's Season So Far
Watching Sean Clifford is a quarterback Rorschach test. After a rewatch, one staffer attempted to best evaluate Clifford's season thus far.
onwardstate.com
Some stats in this article about pressure and Clifford '21 vs '22.
Some good stuff in there, thanks.Evaluating Sean Clifford's Season So Far
Watching Sean Clifford is a quarterback Rorschach test. After a rewatch, one staffer attempted to best evaluate Clifford's season thus far.
Some stats in this article about pressure and Clifford '21 vs '22.
The biggest issue I see with Clifford is that when he gets excited he tends to sail his passes high. Like when Ohio got close in the second quarter. And in big games last year he started out over throwing guys right off the bat because he was so pumped.
He needs to start these coming games with a calm, workmanlike attitude. He has the tools and skills to win these games. Perhaps being a six year vet will give him that calmness.
If he does that......and stays healthy.....we could win the Big.
Don't know about the OSU players and Ryan Day - don't follow OSU that closely - but i feel safe in saying that Marcus Freeman is NO RYAN DAY - not even remotely close.
And I have read this site for a few years now and some of the hate directed at James Franklin, but I also feel Marcus Freeman is light years behind your coach.
I'm pulling for you guys as I'm sick and tired of those OSU rednecks and especially those pompous asses in Ann Arbor who just flat-out think they're God's gift to college football. And when Michigan isn't winning, they throw the education BS at you. It's funny how we all recruit the same blue bloods but if a player chooses another school other than Michigan, they're sacrificing their education
Great, play Allar and then sub in Clifford when in the red zone.
Perhaps it might be best to reserve judgement until a season or two passes.
Lou Holtz was 5-6, Kelly 8-5.
I meant that as ADs seeing Ohio State replace Meyer with an on staff coordinator with zero head coaching experience and thinking it's a good idea. Riley did so at OU. Dabo did so at Clemson and his only time as OC was while interim HC.
Heck, Ryan Day was a relatively unknown guy before landing on Meyer's staff. Definitely didn't have a resume that said "future blue blood coach" prior to coming to OSU.
Net result I'm seeing: this seems to work better for offensive coaches than defensive coaches. Maybe I'm just seeing the successful ones. I've not researched it.
6 teams batting 1000. 2 outliers, ULM and Vandy, with 11 and 17 total attempts. 1 miss and both drop from tied for 1st to 25th or so. 5 others who only have 1 failed attempt, but more total attempts. 8 others with 1 failed attempt, but less opportunities.
I guess you could say it's a great place to be, but will be a better statistic come November 1 than it is today.
The stats are interesting. Both Clifford and Bo Nix on the list. They are similar in some ways - capable of great performances, but you don't always know what you'll get. I'm not a Clifford hater, though not as high on him as you are. Like the kid or not, his play on Saturday was not what I expect from a 6th-year QB. Which means he'll probably play lights out at Michigan.
Which led me to some looking.
Tucker saying total pass defense...
While Sparty has such ranks...
Total pass efficiency defense...105th
Passing yards allowed...115th
3rd down conversion defense...106th
We are 105th in yards allowed, but 26th in 3rd downs, which is better than Michigan's at 29th, and 8th in TPED; the outlier here is that our 226 passes defended is the MOST in FBS by 15 attempts, 1 of 3 teams to have 200 passes defended.
Another stat that doesn't seem right:
5th in rushing defense. 3 ypc, 79.6 ypg. However, the best rushing teams we have faced is Auburn at 66 and Purdue at 85. Aka our run defense has been great for the competition but hasn't met a competent rushing team yet.
Another overrated statistic is total tackles. I remember PSU LB Gino Capone getting a bunch of tackles which were usually after he had been dragged for 5 yards downfield.
They have shown that two little followed stats by layman are highly correlated to winning.... YPP ("Yards Per Point") both offensively and Defensively. Essentially, this normalizes the yards & points. Net YPP (i.e., DEF YPP - OFF YPP) generally identifies the best teams (the higher the Net YPP number the better).
For instance, duhO$U's OFF YPP is 10.85 yards. Their DEF YPP is 17.82 yards. So their NET YPP is 7 yards. IOW, duhO$U's opponents need +7 more yards per point they score. PSU's OFF YPP is 12.89 and their DEF YPP is 23.08. And their NET YPP is almost +10 yards. Michigan's OFF YPP is 10.05 and DEF YPP is 21.72. Their NET YPP is +11.67 yards. Maryland's OFF YPP is 13.62 and DEF YPP is 18.67 - so their NET YPP is +5. Minn's OFF YPP is 12.83 and DEF YPP is 25.23 - net is roughly +12.5. Wisco's OFF YPP is 13.02 and DEF YPP is 14.36 - NET YPP is barely +1.
The one thing these numbers demonstrate is that PSU's Offense is somewhat inefficient - we need a lot of offensive yards per point we score (duhO$U and scUM are much better in this department - anything around 10 or lower is very, very good). Our Defense otoh has put up exceptional numbers - opponents need just over 23 offensive yards per point they score (and that includes a Pick-6 that doesn't accrue to the defense!). High teens DEF YPP is above average, but not "awesome". Into the 20s is very, very good. IOW, duhO$U's Defense has not performed as well as PSU's and scUM's. But given duhO$U's Offensive Efficiency and the fact their averaging 530 Offensive YPG, they are going to be a tough match-up for our defense (i.e., even using our excellent DEF YPP it suggests that duhO$U will score mid-20s to 30 points on us. Given our bad OFF efficiency number, it's going to be difficult for us to put up enough points.
The numbers suggest we are going to have to score mid-20s to beat scUM.
Found these stats.
PSU record with QB Sean Clifford:
Less than 29 att: 16-1 (Neb '20 only 8 att and only loss)
30+ att: 9-9
35+ att: 1-5 (MD '21)
(Does not include '19 OSU, '20 Iowa, '21 Rutgers)
5-5 when PSU rushes for less than 100 yds
11-2 when PSU rushes for more than 190 yds
PSU record with QB Sean Clifford:
Less than 29 att: 16-1 (Neb '20 only 8 att and only loss)
30+ att: 9-9
35+ att: 1-5 (MD '21)
(Does not include '19 OSU, '20 Iowa, '21 Rutgers)
5-5 when PSU rushes for less than 100 yds
11-2 when PSU rushes for more than 190 yds
garbage. Just watch a game and you see the wounded ducks being thrown, and the reluctance to run because he is already hurt. Unfortunately, he decided to return this year, which will ruin our chance of get great!According to Pro Football Focus, Sean Clifford has the highest red zone completion rate among Power Five this season.
