When referencing the Sept. 2 night game between Iowa and Penn State, ugly would be a good descriptor.
It could be used when talking about the 21-19 score Penn State won by, or the gross mismatch on the stat line, or just the way Iowa’s offense looked until the final quarter, or the very end of the game.
Penn State scored the game-winning touchdown as time expired on a fourth and 7, when Trace McSorley threw his only touchdown pass of the game to Juwan Johnson.
After getting flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct for rushing the field, Penn State took a knee on the extra-point attempt, and McSorley punted the ball, garnering plenty of hostility from Iowa fans.
“We’re disappointed with the loss. It’s going to hurt for a while,” Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz said. “We’ll flip the page on Monday.”
Though the score looks relatively close on paper, the game did not seem like it was a difference of just one score at all.
The Nittany Lions gained 579 yards, 305 of which belonged to Saquon Barkley, but had trouble when it came to actually putting the ball in the end zone — a large credit to Iowa’s defense.
The defense, which did not perform well over the past two games, had a much better showing against the No. 4 Nittany Lions. The D was led by Josey Jewell, who finished the night with 16 tackles, 11 solo and 3 for a loss, 2 pass breakups, an interception, and a fumble recovery.
Though he tried, Jewell’s efforts were not enough.
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His leadership extends off the field, where he will make sure his teammates stay focused on the road ahead.
“The season’s not over. You have to look at it as the season’s still going,” Jewell said. “You can’t let this game ruin the rest of them. You have to have this game help the rest of them.”
While Penn State and Barkley put up large numbers on offense, Iowa did not until it came down to the wire.
In the fourth quarter, Iowa added 160 yards and 12 points to take the lead with just 1:42 left to play.
However, the first three quarters were a very different story. The Hawkeyes mustered 113 yards, and there was a flashback of the 2016 Penn State game because only 43 of them were on the ground. Iowa ended the game with just 82 rushing yards.
The halftime score, 7-5 Iowa, gave little insight to what that first half entailed.
It could have easily been a 5-0 game heading into the locker room, but a Jewell interception and 33-yard return with 43 seconds left put Iowa in Penn State territory for the first time.
Immediately following the turnover, quarterback Nate Stanley dropped a 21-yard pass into Nick Easley’s hands for the Hawkeyes’ first score of the day.
Stanley added two more touchdowns to hike his season total to 13 and completed just 13 passes but tallied 191 yards.
He once again showed poise while marching his team down the field with little more than two minutes left of the game to score in a necessary situation. He said it wasn’t too hard, because he was mentally prepared for what was to come.
“We have the mental game plan in mind,” Stanley said. “Obviously, we ran the right plays at the right times.”
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