Lip reading is an inexact science. But if you looked closely at Pat Fitzgerald during the telecast of Saturday’s game, it sure looked like Northwestern’s head coach was saying, “They’re going to have to play the whole game today” following the Wildcat touchdown that cut the Penn State lead to 14-7 with 2:10 left in the third quarter.

Indeed, the Nittany Lions had not really had to play four quarters of football since the opener at Purdue, having taken care of business early, to varying degrees, against Ohio, Auburn, and Central Michigan. And until a few minutes earlier, just before Jacob Gill’s 47-yard touchdown reception, Penn State appeared to have done enough to put this one to bed on the miserable sort of rainy November afternoon that arrived in State College on the first day of October.

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• Meteorologists will tell you today’s unrelenting rain came from the remnants of Hurricane Ian. Octogenarian Penn State season-ticket holders will tell you it was God crying at the administration’s choice to sell alcohol inside Beaver Stadium.

Enough fun…time to vent:

• Cardholding members of the Clifford Club, please stand down. Don’t you dare scoff at social media posts suggesting that Drew Allar should replace Clifford like you all did last week. Read the room. Because, honestly, the 6^th-year senior who is a just a few months shy of reaching the legal age requirement to run for Congress played like a true freshman, at best, today. Sure, it was wet. It was also wet in East Lansing back in 2019 when Clifford threw for 3 TDs in a convincing win, so the weather can’t be an excuse. It’s asinine to claim anymore, ‘Starting Allar would be giving up on the season.’ Quite the contrary. Keeping Clifford as QB1 would be giving up on the season, lowering the Nittany Lions’ ceiling of success to 10-2 and a worthless NY6 bowl appearance no one gives a flying rip about. Allar’s insertion as QB1 DOES lower the floor for Penn State — 9-3 at worst and a non-NY6 bowl appearance no one gives a flying rip about — but also gives the Nittany Lions a better shot of escaping this upcoming trinity of scheduling pain with 2 wins (hell, maybe 3…dare to dream).

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