Earlier in the week, SDS columnist Matt Hayes detailed the ugly truth about Auburn’s quarterback room.

Saturday did nothing to assuage those concerns. If anything, they exposed them to a national audience.

TJ Finley was ineffective and mistake-prone (1 interception, 1 lost fumble). The prevailing question next week will be whether Robby Ashford, who offset a pick with a late TD throw, did enough to claim the job moving forward.

The result? A humbling 41-12 loss in which Auburn’s defense played well in spurts early and the offense sputtered throughout most of the game. Ashford provided a late spark, but his TD pass to Jarquez Hunter merely cut the deficit to 31-12 in the 4th quarter.

Penn State had built that 31-6 lead by winning the red zone and turnover battles to outslug Auburn for the second year in a row. It immediately answered Auburn’s late TD with one of its own, too, silencing those who remained in Jordan-Hare.

Sean Clifford provided hard-nosed leadership and enough clutch throws to guide the No. 22 Nittany Lions (3-0) past the Tigers (2-1) in another heavy-hitting early-season battle between programs trying to return to prominence in the tougher divisions of the best 2 conferences in college football.

The game had echoes to last September, when Penn State won 28-20 on a White Out Saturday night in State College. This time, Auburn fans did their best to Orange Out Jordan-Hare Stadium and hit the Lions with a wall of noise.

Penn State’s aggressive defense under new coordinator Manny Diaz set the tone early.

The risk-reward nature of the approach left Lions fans fretting at times, but it sped up Finley enough to force an interception and limit his offense to 2 field goals in as many red zone trips in the first half.

Meanwhile, Clifford bounced back from a huge hit early in the game to go 9-of-13 for 117 yards in the first half, and the Lions finished with touchdowns both times they reached the red zone.

Clifford, maligned at times over his struggles with accuracy, hit Mitchell Tinsley twice for 48 yards, both spot-on throws into tight coverage, to lead Penn State 75 yards on 9 plays for a go-ahead score in the first quarter. Clifford finished the drive himself with a 7-yard draw, showing no ill effects from nearly getting his head knocked off on the team’s first possession.

On Penn State’s second TD drive, Clifford went 4-for-4 for 49 yards, then handed to Kaytron Allen for a 3-yard score.

Meanwhile, Diaz’s defense sent pressure at Finley and backup Ashford more often than not, forcing quick throws. A sack by LB Curtis Jacobs forced Auburn to settle for its 1st field goal. A hurried dump-off pass for 2 yards on 3-and-goal from the 7 forced the 2nd Anders Carlson FG.

The first half ended with Penn State up 14-6, but with Auburn probably still thinking it could pound away in the trenches and forge a comeback. But despite a few solid runs, star running back Tank Bigsby couldn’t dominate. He had well under 50 rushing yards as the third quarter reached its midway point.

By the time Penn State built a 24-6 lead, its defense had 5 sacks and 4 turnovers forced.

Auburn merely had more questions about its struggling offense.