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Iowa was in formation for the win and the excitement was about to boil over as dusk settled over Kinnick Stadium.
Spencer Petras took the final snap, knelt down and took off, apparently thinking he could leave the pitch before the students and other fans coming out of the end zone seats could catch him.
He barely reached the midfield. This is where he and his teammates were swarmed and the mosh pit formed over the Hawkeyes logo to celebrate Iowa’s hard-earned 23-20 victory over Iowa’s No.3 over fourth-placed Penn State on Saturday. .
“It’s a pretty special place when the lights come on and the sun goes down,” Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said.
Petras threw a 44-yard touchdown pass to Nico Rgaini to complete Iowa’s comeback after a two-touchdown deficit, all accomplished while the Penn State offense did next to nothing after the quarterback. fullback Sean Clifford was eliminated from the game.
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The Hawkeyes (6-0, 3-0) took control of the Big Ten West with their 12th straight win and got into the college football playoff conversation.
“It was like the biggest in history, which was pretty awesome,” Ragaini said. “You don’t get moments like this every day, taking the opportunity. It was a mentally exhausting game for sure, and physically exhausting.
“On the sidelines, I was so emotionally drained that I almost cried because we care so much about each other. We all want everyone to be successful.”
An hour after the game, Ferentz choked as he reflected on his players’ dressing room celebration.
“It’s fun,” he said, pausing. “That’s what they’re supposed to do.”
Penn State (5-1, 2-1) lost for the first time in 10 games and returned to Happy Valley with a list of injuries that could make their way through the rest of the season difficult.
“It’s just a bump in the road,” said Lions defensive end Arnole Ebiketie. “We have to improve.”
The Hawkeyes’ crushing offense isn’t designed to play from behind, but it did manage to come back in the biggest game at Kinnick Stadium since then – No. 1 Iowa then beat-No. 2 Michigan in 1985.
Iowa won the battle for field position thanks to the work of punter Tory Taylor, who repeatedly pinned Penn State deep in his own camp after Clifford came out in the second quarter.
Iowa trimmed Caleb Shudak’s goals down to 20-16. The winning play came on the first play after the Hawkeyes got the ball at Penn State 44 with 6:35 to go.
Petras rolled over to his right and found Ragaini alone on the left side. Linebacker Curtis Jacobs got him out of bounds, but not before he got the ball over the goal line. All-America center Tyler Linderbaum was the first man to welcome him into the end zone.
Penn State coach James Franklin has not disclosed the nature of Clifford’s injury. He was injured while the Lions were leading 17-3 when he received a big blow from linebacker Jack Campbell, and he was not in uniform on the sidelines in the second half.
After Ta’Quan Roberson replaced Clifford midway through the second quarter, Penn State only managed 50 yards on 46 plays the rest of the way.
“We talk about all the big stats all the time, and we haven’t done a good job on any of them,” Franklin said. “We didn’t win the battle for field position, we didn’t win the turnover battle, we didn’t win the penalty battle, we didn’t win the game battle explosive.”
Five of Roberson’s playoffs started inside the Penn State 10, and a sixth started at the 11. The sold-out crowd of 70,000 had a major impact when the Lions were in their own end, their roars forcing out. many false starts as Roberson’s applause for the shot went inaudible to his linemen.
On the last three possessions of the Nittany Lions, they returned the ball on the downs, Matt Hankins proposed the fourth interception of the game of Iowa and they returned it again on the downs.
“We weren’t counting on the interceptions, but it was a great job there,” said Ferntz. “We played physically, knocked out their quarterback – I hope he’s doing well. It’s the team we have.”
Take it away
Penn State: Franklin did not disclose the nature of Clifford’s injury. The Lions have also lost a few key defensive players. PJ Mustipher, their 326-pound stopper, was released less than two minutes after kick-off with a left knee injury and did not return. Neither did safety Jonathan Sutherland, who started in the second quarter with an undisclosed injury.
Iowa: It’s always about defense with this team. The offense responded when needed in the second half, but the defense was special throughout. Four more interceptions gave the Hawkeyes a national record of 16. The only sour note was an injury to cornerback Riley Moss, who appeared to injure his left knee after an interception.
DISASSEMBLE THE CLASSIFIED
Iowa beat a Top 25 team for the third time this season and won six in a row against ranked opponents for the first time since 1960. It was Iowa’s first victory against a top team five since defeating No. 3 Ohio State in 2017.
FOLLOWING
Iowa welcomes Purdue on October 16. The Hawkeyes have lost three of the last four in the series.
Penn State has an open date before hosting Illinois on October 23.
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