No. 7 Penn State (4-0, 2-0) dominated No. 24 Iowa (3-1, 0-1) on both sides of the ball en route to a 31-0 victory in front of a White Out crowd on a rainy Saturday night at Beaver Stadium.
The Nittany Lion defense held Iowa to 76 total yards and forced three turnovers (PSU got another on special teams). Penn State’s offense controlled the clock while racking up 397 yards.
Penn State kept possession for 45:27 to Iowa’s 14:33 and ran 97 plays to the Hawkeyes’ 33.
Quarterback Drew Allar was 25-37 for 166 yards and a career-high four touchdowns in just over three quarters of work before getting the rest of the night off with the game well in hand.
The Nittany Lion ground game pounded its way to 215 rushing yards, led by Kaytron Allen’s 72.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Iowa picked up a first down on the first drive of the game, but stalled near midfield and punted. Penn State’s Kaden Saunders fielded Tory Taylor’s 45-yard boot at his own 5 and went nowhere, pinning the Nittany Lion offense deep in its own territory.
A Penn State three-and-out and a 42-yard Riley Thompson punt set the Hawkeyes up at the Nittany Lion 48, the first time an opponent has started in Penn State territory this season. Iowa looked as if it would capitalize, with quarterback Cade McNamara breaking off an 18-yard run and Leshon Williams rushing for 5 to get to the Penn State 25.
McNamara’s second-down pass to Erick All would have been a first down in the red zone, but Penn State safety Jaylen Reed forced a fumble and linebacker Curtis Jacobs jumped on it for the recovery.
Penn State converted the turnover into the game’s first points. Quarterback Drew Allar and tight end Theo Johnson got the offense moving on consecutive completions. From there a combo of Allar passes and Kaytron Allen carries, along with an Allar push for 6 yards to convert on fourth and 1, got the Nittany Lions to the Iowa 23. A holding call derailed the momentum, however, and Penn State settled for a 46-yard Alex Felkins field goal to take a 3-0 lead with 1:35 left in the first quarter.
Iowa was stagnant after that, going three and out on each of its four remaining first-half drives as the Nittany Lion defense took control, limiting Iowa to 63 total yards in the game’s first 30 minutes.
Penn State, meanwhile, took advantage of a turnover to extend its lead. After what looked to be a three and out to start the second quarter, Thompson’s punt hit a Hawkeye in the back at the Iowa 39, where Jacobs recovered the muff for Penn State.
The Nittany Lion offense used a series of short plays to get inside the Iowa 10. Facing fourth and 1 at the 9, Allar dropped back and found tight end Khalil Dinkins for a touchdown and Penn State jumped ahead 10-0 with just over nine minutes left in the half.
That would be it for the scoring in a first half that saw the Nittany Lion offense pick up 100 yards passing and 62 yards rushing.
While Penn State set the tone in the first two quarters, it showed total domination on both sides of the ball in the third.
Penn State opened the second half with a methodical 15-play, 75-yard drive that ate up 6:40. Nicholas Singleton broke free for a 19-yard run on the second play of the half and had 26 yards on the drive. Allar went 5-7 for 38 yards, and capped off the drive rolling out on play action and finding a wide open Tyler Warren on the opposite side for a 2-yard touchdown throw. With Felkins’ extra point, the Nittany Lions opened up a 17-0 lead with 8:20 left in the third.
The Penn State defense turned up the pressure on Iowa’s ensuing drive, forcing another three and out, and the Nittany Lion offense went on another long march to the end zone.
Allar and Allen keyed a balanced, 12-play, 71-yard drive that ended with a 7-yard touchdown toss from Allar to Warren. The 5:50 drive put Penn State ahead 24-0.
Just one play later the Nittany Lion offense was back on the field. Chop Robinson forced a fumble on a sack of McNamara and Adisa Isaac recovered at the Iowa 19.
Penn State was back in the red zone as the third quarter came to a close, 15 minutes that saw the Nittany Lions offense on the field for 13:26 and outgain the Hawkeyes 136 to -9.
The Nittany Lions found the end zone again early in the fourth. Iowa blocked a 23-yard Felkins field goal attempt on fourth and 6, but the Hawkeyes were penalized for leaping and Penn State got a fresh set of down. On the next play, Allar connected with KeAndre Lambert Smith, who made a diving grab on a 3-yard fade for the score, and the Nittany Lions blew the game open 31-0.
Penn State’s defense continued to baffle the Hawkeyes, forcing another three and out, and the Nittany Lions got backups some significant play for the fourth time in as many games.
Beau Pribula came in at quarterback and Trey Potts subbed in at running back with 10:53 left in the game. The duo led Penn State to the Iowa 26, before Felkins missed on a 42-yard field goal attempt.
Iowa began to move the ball behind backup QB Deacon Hill and running back Kamari Moulton against a mix of Penn State depth, getting the Hawkeyes’ first first down since the first quarter. On third and 7 from the Penn State 37, however, Penn State end Amin Vanover forced a Hill fumble and Zuriah Fisher recovered for the Nittany Lions fourth turnover of the night.
From there, Penn State’s offense ran out the clock for the 31-0 win.
Penn State hits the road next week to face Northwestern (2-2, 1-1) for an 11 a.m. CDT/noon EDT kick on Big Ten Network. The Wildcats overcame a 21-point fourth-quarter deficit to defeat Minnesota 37-34 in overtime on Saturday.
NOTES
• Drew Allar has yet to throw an interception in 185 career attempts.
• Penn State is the only remaining FBS team to have no lost turnovers this season.
• Penn State has scored 30 or more points in 11 consecutive games, extending its FBS-leading streak. The Nittany Lions have scored in 28 consecutive quarters dating back to last November, which is also the nation’s longest streak.
• The crowd of 110,830 was the second largest in Beaver Stadium history, just short of the 110,889 at the Sept. 29, 2018 game against Penn State.
• Redshirt freshman QB Beau Pribula was Penn State’s second leading rusher with eight carries for 55 yards. Pribula was on the field for about eight minutes of game time and had 71 yards of offense, five fewer yards than Iowa had the entire game.
• KeAndre Lambert-Smith led all receivers with eight catches for 66 yards. The tight ends were also in the mix all night, with Theo Johnson hauling in six receptions for 42 yards, while each catch by Khalil Dinkins (1) and Tyler Warren (2) was for a touchdown.
• Iowa’s 76 yards were the fewest allowed by a Penn State defense since 2006, when Temple gained 74 in a 47-0 Nittany Lion victory.
• The Hawkeyes were shut out for the first time in 23 years. The last time Iowa failed to score was a 31-0 loss to Illinois in 2000, Kirk Ferentz’s second season as the Hawkeyes head coach.
• Iowa’s meager offensive showing meant few tackles on the stat sheet for Penn State. Linebackers Abdul Carter and Curtis Jacobs, who also had two fumble recoveries, led the way with three each.
• In Penn State’s stunning third quarter, Iowa ran just four plays with an average of -2.3 yards and held the ball for only 1:34. The Nittany Lion offense ran 29 plays in 13:26 of possession during the quarter.
• Punter Tory Taylor was a bright spot for the Hawkeyes, averaging 52.3 yards on his seven punts with a long of 62. Four were downed inside the 20, including two inside the 10.
