Tale of the Tape: Sean Clifford Vs. Aidan O'Connell

The Penn State and Purdue quarterbacks will kick off the season as 24-year-old veterans still writing their legacies.

Penn State's Sean Clifford, who turned 24 this summer, is older than seven projected NFL starting quarterbacks. Purdue's Aidan O'Connell, who turns 24 on Thursday when the Boilermakers host Penn State, is older than six.

They're both sixth-year seniors with active off-field lives. O'Connell, who has a master's degree, got married this summer. Clifford, who is pursuing his second bachelor's degree, co-founded an NIL agency.

They also share one more trait: Clifford and O'Connell returned to college football daring themselves to be great.

"Do I want to make this year special? For sure," Clifford said. "I want this year to be the biggest, baddest year I've had. I want to end this thing the way I see it."

The comparisons between Clifford and O'Connell, who will duel at 8 p.m. ET Thursday on FOX, are demonstrable. They're veteran quarterbacks living their futures now, aware that everything is unpredictable.

How to watch the Penn State-Purdue game

Since arriving at Penn State in 2018, Clifford has had four offensive coordinators, only one for more than a year as a starter. O'Connell joined Purdue's roster that same year as a walk-on and did not play his first two seasons.

Clifford turned 24 in July, making him older than seven projected NFL starters: San Francisco's Trey Lance, Jacksonville's Trevor Lawrence, Chicago's Justin Fields, Houston's Davis Mills, New England's Mac Jones, the Jets' Zach Wilson and Philadelphia's Jalen Hurts. O'Connell is older than six of them; Hurts beat O'Connell to 24 by about three weeks.

Clifford accepts the jokes, as does O'Connell. Penn State coach James Franklin said of Clifford that "he's 45 years old and teaching classes," referring to Clifford serving as a teaching assistant. Purdue's Jeff Brohm has said that O'Connell's experience, on field and off, makes him less likely to get rattled.

"He's very comfortable where he's at in life," Brohm told The Athletic.

A career comparison of Penn State's Sean Clifford and Purdue's Aidan O'Connell

As is Clifford. Prior to this season, he always had one more opener. Knowing that this will be his last gives Clifford both perspective and incentive.

"It definitely comes with a little more sentimental value to me," he said. "Being able to play with my brother [Liam] one more year, and then just having more go with Penn State football. This place has given me so much. I’ve just enjoyed every single minute I’ve been here."

Clifford is more experienced than O'Connell, having started more than double the number of games (33-15). But O'Connell had a much better 2021, though he started just nine games.

O'Connell set a Purdue completion-rate record (71.8 percent) and tied Drew Brees for most 500-yard passing games (two). He threw for 534 yards and five touchdowns against Tennessee in the Music City Bowl despite missing his two top receivers.

Teammates measure Clifford's impact in leadership and trust, though the quarterback had a strong camp. Safety Ji'Ayir Brown said Clifford made a few plays of which only veterans are capable.

"Sean made some crazy plays that, with him being a year-six guy, you can't defend," Brown said. "He's reading defenses extremely well. His leadership is nothing short of amazing. Sean has been the guy we expected him to be coming into this season, ... and he's going to do some special things for us this year."

The most fascinating component of their duel will arrive when one blinks. Clifford and O'Connell have the success and scar tissue that experience affords, so both should be able to respond properly.

Clifford, at least, is confident he will.

"I'm way more confident [than he was at the beginning of 2021]," Clifford said, "just knowing exactly what [offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich] wants to accomplish and what this offense wants to accomplish on every play. Not that I didn't [know] last year, but it's just a different sense of confidence. I've seen a lot more."

Read More

The Penn State-Purdue prediction

Five things we learned this week about Penn State-Purdue

Freshman Drew Allar named Penn State's No. 2 QB for Purdue trip

How starting an NIL agency made Sean Clifford a better quarterback

AllPennState is the place for Penn State news, opinion and perspective on the SI.com network. Publisher Mark Wogenrich has covered Penn State for more than 20 years, tracking three coaching staffs, three Big Ten titles and a catalog of great stories. Follow him on Twitter @MarkWogenrich. And consider subscribing (button's on the home page) for more great content across the SI.com network.