The Iowa offense sputtered for the second game in a row on Oct. 12, resulting in a 17-12 letdown against Penn State. The running game didn’t work, the offensive line was constantly shuffling, and Nate Stanley made his fair share of questionable throws.

The unit that stood out among the overall stagnant Iowa offense was the Hawkeye wide receiver corps. Specifically, Iowa’s top three receivers put on an impressive display of offense.

Brandon Smith led the way as a passing threat for Iowa, hauling in seven receptions for 86 yards and the only Hawkeye touchdown in their last eight quarters. 

Nico Ragaini also caught seven passes after finding himself often lined up as the slot receiver in the Iowa offense. He acted as a security blanket for Stanley against Penn State.

“I’m just trying to get open for him as much as possible,” Ragaini said. “I like getting the ball, so I’m trying to get open and make the team better.”

Ragaini worked himself open on routes in the middle of the field on multiple occasions, giving Stanley an outlet to get rid of the ball. Stanley targeted him 11 times against Penn State, and Ragaini took full advantage of having the ball in his hands.

On Iowa’s second drive of the game, Ragaini made a move to get open between the hashes on third-and-4, making a contested catch right around the first-down marker. He wound up picking up six yards after fighting his way through the Penn State defense.

Unfortunately for the Hawkeye offense, the first downs didn’t translate to touchdowns even when a big play sets the unit up for one.

Ihmir Smith-Marsette showed his dynamic abilities against Penn State, averaging 14.4 yards per catch on offense. Smith-Marsette totaled 72 yards receiving, including a 36-yard contested reception in the second half along the Nittany Lion sideline, setting up Iowa up with excellent field position.

Iowa, however, failed to score once again.

“I think we did a pretty good job of moving the ball,” Ragaini said. “I think we’ve done that this week and last week. We’re just having a little bit of trouble getting in the end zone and putting points on the board. We know we have to get in the end zone the next couple games, because we don’t want the outcome to be like this anymore.”

The lone time Iowa put a touchdown on the board came on a 33-yard touchdown reception by Smith with 2:31 remaining in the game.

Smith went up and over his defender to snatch the Stanley’s pass out of the air in a fashion that resembled Randy Moss. 

“They had been disguising some coverages,” Stanley said. “I thought I was getting man coverage over on that side; they ended up playing cover three. But I like Brandon against anyone, really. I’m going to go give him a chance to make a play, and he did a great job. He bailed me out on that one, he went up and got that 50-50 ball for me.”

Iowa’s receivers gave a solid Penn State defense trouble on Saturday. The offense hit a wall the past two weeks as a whole, but the playmakers are there to be productive.

“I feel like whenever we go out there, we are the better team,” Smith-Marsette said. “We just have to go out there and execute certain plays. Make sure that we come out to win.”