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POSTGAME NOTES: Penn State at Iowa

TEAM

  • Penn State moves to 6-0 on the season to become bowl eligible for the 50th time in program history.
  • Penn State leads the series, 17-12, and has won the last six meetings against the Hawkeyes.
  • The Nittany Lions are 10-5 in games played in Iowa City.
  • Head coach James Franklin won his 75th career game.
  • Penn State improves to 8-3-1 all-time against the No. 17 ranked team. The Nittany Lions last met the No. 17 team in 2010 at Iowa (L, 24-3).
  • The Nittany Lions picked up their first win over a ranked opponent in a true road game for the first time since a 31-24 victory at No. 14 Wisconsin in 2013.
  • The Nittany Lions have won their last 12 games against Big Ten West opponents. Penn State's last loss to a West Division opponent was at Northwestern in 2015.
  • The Nittany Lions were outgained 356-294. Penn State's last win while being outgained came in a 30-24 win over Iowa on October 27, 2018.
  • Penn State held Iowa to 70 yards rushing, its fourth-straight opponent under 100 rushing yards. The Nittany Lions have held 5-of-6 opponents under 100 rushing yards this season.
  • Penn State hosts No. 16 Michigan in the annual Penn State White Out at 7:30 p.m. on ABC next Saturday.
  • ESPN College GameDay will be making a trip to Happy Valley for the third-straight season next Saturday. It is the 19th time the show has been broadcast from the site of a Penn State game.

 
 
OFFENSE
 
Sean Clifford

  • With 52 rushing yards, QB Sean Clifford moved into 13th place on Penn State career quarterback rushing yards list with 249 yards. He passed Jack White (239 yards; 1964-66).
  • Clifford is now 14th on Penn State's single-season quarterback rushing yardage list with 252 yards. He passed Zack Mills (201; 2002), Daryll Clark (211; 2009) and Richie Lucas (234; 1958).
  • With his 15th career touchdown pass, Clifford broke a tie with John Sacca (14, 1991-93) for 20th all-time at Penn State.
  • With 169 yards of total offense on the day, the sophomore has 2,004 total yards this season. He sits 23rd all-time for total yards in a season. He passed Doug Strang (1,912; 1983), Kevin Thompson (1,923; 1999) and Tony Sacca (2,003; 1990).
  • Clifford has 24 completions of 20 or more yards this season.

 
Noah Cain

  • RB Noah Cain posted his second-straight 100-yard game with 102 markers on a career-high 22 carries.
  • Cain scored on a 5-yard run in the fourth quarter, his sixth rushing touchdown this season.
  • Cain became the first Nittany Lion freshman to run for 100 yards in back-to-back games since Saquon Barkley in 2015 (115 yards vs. Buffalo on Sept. 12, 2015; 195 yards vs. Rutgers on Sept. 19, 2015).

 
KJ Hamler

  • WR KJ Hamler extended his streak to all 19 games of his career with at least one catch with a catch in the second quarter.
  • With 114 all-purpose yards against Iowa, Hamler surpassed the 2,000 all-purpose yards mark for his career.
  • Hamler scored on a 22-yard touchdown pass from Clifford in the second quarter, his 10th career touchdown reception. Hamler is tied for 18th all-time in career touchdown receptions, matching Ted Kwalik (1966-68), Chuck Herd (1971-73), Bryant Johnson (1999-2002) and Graham Zug (2007-10).
  • With 61 receiving yards on the day, Hamler now has 1,209 for his career, moving into 23rd all-time at Penn State. Hamler passed Geno Lewis (1,181; 2013-15) and Saquon Barkley (1,195; 2015-17).
  • Hamler caught a career-high seven receptions.  His previous high was six at Maryland.

 
Pat Freiermuth

  • TE Pat Freiermuth had two catches, giving him at least one catch in 18 consecutive games (18-of-19 for his career).

 
 
DEFENSE
 
PJ Mustipher

  • DT PJ Mustipher forced his second career fumble on a TFL in the third quarter, which was recovered by Jan Johnson on the Iowa 16.
  • Mustipher had a career-high seven tackles, surpassing his previous mark of four stops, which has accomplished twice.

 
Robert Windsor

  • DT Robert Windsor tied his career high with six tackles, equaling the mark he has had three times.
  • Windsor also equaled his personal mark with 2.5 tackles for loss, which he also accomplished against Illinois in 2018.

 
Jaquan Brisker

  • S Jaquan Brisker recorded his first career interception in the fourth quarter.

 
Jan Johnson

  • LB Jan Johnson had his first career fumble recovery in third quarter at the Iowa 16 on a forced fumble by PJ Mustipher to set up Penn State's field goal.

 
Trent Gordon

  • CB Trent Gordon recorded his first career tackle for loss in the first quarter.

 
Keaton Ellis

  • CB Keaton Ellis tied a career high with two tackles.  He also had two at Maryland.
  • Ellis forced a fumble in the third quarter. It was Ellis' second forced fumble of the season. He also had one against Maryland.

 
 
SPECIAL TEAMS
 
Jake Pinegar

  • K Jake Pinegar converted both extra point attempts and has now hit 43 straight extra point attempts.
  • Pinegar converted a 33-yard field goal in the third quarter.
  • With two extra points, Pinegar has made 86 in his career. He moved into a tie for ninth all-time at Penn State with Massimo Manca (1982, 1984-86). Pinegar passed Collin Wagner (85; 2006-10).

 
Blake Gillikin

  • P Blake Gillikin hit a 62-yard punt in the third quarter, his 47th career punt over 50 yards and seventh career punt of 60 or more yards.
  • Gillikin tied his career high with three punts inside the Iowa 10 to bring his career total to 43 punts inside the 10.
  • Gillikin landed five punts inside the 20 and now has 83 career punts inside the 20.

 
KJ Hamler

  • KR KJ Hamler had 48 kick return yards, raising his career total to 628 yards. Hamler moved into 13th all-time at Penn State in career kick return yards. He passed Rich Mauti (583; 1974-76), Shelly Hammonds (608; 1990-93) and Rodney Kinlaw (627; 2004-07).