UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – A gutsy effort by senior quarterback Trace McSorley, big stops on defense and three 40-plus yard field goals by true freshman kicker and Iowa native Jake Pinegar led No. 17/16 Penn State past No. 18 Iowa, 30-24, in Big Ten football action Saturday in Beaver Stadium.
Iowa (6-2, 3-2) threatened late, but the Penn State defense (6-2, 3-2 Big Ten) came up with two big stops in the final minutes to preserve Penn State's lead. Senior safety Nick Scott halted a drive at the Nittany Lion 2-yard line with his second interception in as many weeks with 3:18 remaining, and then after Iowa regained the ball at its own 23 with 1:23 remaining and managed one first down, but time ran out after three-straight incomplete passes brought up fourth down. On the fourth down play, Iowa's Nate Stanley was forced to pitch in desperation to offensive lineman Tristan Wirfs. Wirfs gained 15 yards but was pulled down by Penn State defenders Micah Parsons and John Reid to end the game.
Penn State's defense shutout Iowa's offense in the second half, as the Hawkeyes' only second-half points came on a pick-six by Geno Stone with 10:00 remaining in the fourth quarter. The only other touchdown for Iowa came on a fake field goal play in the first quarter.
McSorley, who missed three offensive drives in the second quarter due to an apparent injury, scored his first touchdown of the game with a 51-yard run less than three minutes into the third quarter to give Penn State its first lead over the Hawkeyes, 24-17.
Pinegar added two field goals in the second half, including a career-long 49-yarder, to give the Nittany Lions a 27-17 advantage with 4:10 left in the third quarter. His 44-yard field goal at the 8:24 mark in the fourth quarter gave him three field goals of 40 or more yards, marking the first time this feat was accomplished by a Nittany Lion since Sam Ficken vs. Maryland in 2013.
KJ Hamler set a career long with a 67-yard kickoff return to set up the Nittany Lions' final scoring drive and Pinegar's field goal. He finished with 188 all-purpose yards, as he also led the team with five receptions for 96 yards. Quarterback Tommy Stevens stepped in for an injured McSorley in the first half and scored on a 3-yard run to tie the game at 14-14 with 6:45 left in the second half.
McSorley (63 yds.), running back Miles Sanders (62 yds.) and Stevens (18 yds.) combined for 143 yards rushing against Iowa's defense, which entered the game ranking second in FBS with an average of just 79.8 yards per game allowed.
Penn State outscored Iowa 13-7 in the second half after the teams went into the locker room tied at 17 after a wild first half that included Iowa tallying two safeties.
For the first time since 1894, Penn State has played four-straight games decided by six or less points.
Keys and Difference Makers
Trace McSorley and Tommy Stevens (PSU, QBs)
Despite missing three offensive possessions in the first half due to injury, McSorley completed 11-of-25 passes for 167 yards and a touchdown with one interception, and was Penn State's leading rusher with 63 yards on and a touchdown on 12 carries. McSorley had a career-long touchdown run of 51 yards to start the second half to give Penn State its first lead.
In McSorley's absence, Stevens filled in without missing a beat, completing 2-of-4 passes for 27 yards and rushing for 18 yards on five carries with a touchdown in the second quarter that tied the game for the first time.
Interceptions
All three interceptions in the game had a huge impact.
In the second quarter, with Penn State trailing by a touchdown, cornerback John Reid intercepted Iowa's Stanley at midfield and returned it 44 yards to the Iowa 3-yard line, setting up Stevens' rushing score.
Iowa got back in the game with a fourth-quarter interception, as Geno Stone intercepted McSorley for a 24-yard pick-six with 10 minutes remaining in the game, which pulled the Hawkeyes within three.
Iowa was threatening to retake the lead trailing by six points at Penn State's 3-yard line with less than 3:30 remaining, but Scott picked off a short lob at the 2 and returned it to the 9 to allow Penn State to run some clock and gain the upper-hand in the field possession battle.
Jake Pinegar (PSU, K)
Pinegar, a true freshman and native of Ankeny, Iowa, entered the game with an 0-for-3 mark on field goal attempts of 40 or more yards, but he went 3-for-3 from the distance against the Hawkeyes. His first was from 45 yards out at the end of the first half, allowing Penn State to go to the locker room tied at 17-17. He then delivered with a career-long 49-yarder in the third quarter and a 44-yarder in the fourth.
KJ Hamler (PSU, WR/KR)
Hamler tallied a game-high 188 all-purpose yards, catching five receptions for 96 yards, and totaling 82 yards on kick returns and 10 on punt returns. His career-long 67-yard kick return in the fourth quarter answered an Iowa pick-six, allowing Penn State to build its lead back to six points by setting up a Pinegar field goal. Hamler also had a 39-yard reception to key a drive late in the third quarter, but Iowa recovered a Penn State fumble at its own 10 for a rare red zone stop.
Yetur Gross-Matos (PSU, DE)
Gross-Matos led the Nittany Lion defense with nine tackles, two sacks and a career-high 4.0 tackles for loss.
Penn State Pass Defense
Despite 50 pass attempts by Iowa, Penn State only yielded 19 completions for 215 yards, becoming the sixth team since 2000 to hold a team to 19 or fewer completions after facing 50 or more attempts. The lone Iowa passing touchdown came on a fake field goal and Reid and Scott hauled in two interceptions, and Reid had a game- and career-high three pass breakups, leading Penn State to seven for the game. Iowa's Stanley was also pressured seven times and sacked three times. Penn State's 38.0 percent completion percentage allowed was its best since allowing Rutgers to complete just 35.0 percent of its passes (7-of-20) in November of last season.
Step-by-Step
Iowa jumped out to a 12-0 lead in the first quarter, starting with a safety on the first drive of the game. The Hawkeye defense forced a three-and-out, and then punter Blake Gillikin dropped the snap on the punt attempt, allowing Dominique Dafney to penetrate and block his kick. The ball went out of the back of the end zone for a 2-0 Iowa lead.
After the free kick, Iowa drove 47 yards on eight plays for a 27-yard field goal and a 5-0 lead.
Iowa forced another Penn State three-and-out and responded with a nine-play, 42-yard touchdown drive for a 12-0 lead with 5:22 remaining in the first quarter. Holder Colten Rastetter threw a 10-yard touchdown to defensive end Sam Brincks, as the Hawkeyes initially took the field in a field goal formation on fourth-and-goal, but switched to a traditional offensive set with Rastetter as the quarterback and Brincks as a tight end.
Penn State's offense got rolling on its next possession, as McSorley led a 10-play, 85-yard touchdown drive. McSorley went 4-for-4 passing for 54 yards, with his last pass going for 18 yards to the end zone to Freiermuth with 27 seconds left in the opening stanza.
Iowa extended its lead to 14-7 with another safety on Penn State's first possession of the second quarter, as an errant snap on a punt went over Gillikin's head and out the back of the end zone.
Penn State was able to tie the game though after an interception, as Reid returned his fourth career pick 44 yards to the Iowa 3-yard line. That set up a 3-yard touchdown rush for Stevens, who had replaced an injured McSorley at quarterback, with 6:45 remaining in the half.
Both teams added field goals, with Pinegar connecting on a 45-yard attempt for Penn State with three seconds remaining before the halftime break.
McSorley returned to the field in the second half and led Penn State to its first lead of the game. He completed a pair of passes for 26 total yards to Hamler, and then broke free for a 51-yard touchdown run for a 24-17 Penn State lead.
The Nittany Lions extended the lead to 27-17 on a career-long, 49-yard field goal by Pinegar with 4:10 remaining.
Iowa got back into the game with a pick-six by Stone. Stone stepped in front of a pass intended for Brandon Polk at the Penn State 24 and weaved his way all the way to the end zone to cut the deficit to three points, 27-24.
However, Hamler returned the ensuing kickoff a career-long 67 yards to the Iowa 31, setting up a 44-yard field goal for Pinegar for a 30-24 lead.
Iowa threatened twice late, but was stymied both times.
Up Next
The Nittany Lions return to action next Saturday at Michigan for a 3:45 p.m. kickoff on ESPN.
A limited number of single game tickets for the 2018 season presented by PSECU are available for the Maryland game. Verified resale tickets are available for all seven home games via ticketmaster.com. With more than 6,300 new season tickets sold, the season ticket allotment for the 2018 season is exhausted. For information on joining the Nittany Lion Club, as well as club seating in Beaver Stadium, fans can visit www.NittanyLionClub.com, call 1-800-NITTANY weekdays from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. or visit the Bryce Jordan Center ticket office weekdays from 10 a.m-6 p.m.