Highs and Lows: Nittany Lions toppled in brutal clash with Iowa, 23-20

IOWA CITY, Iowa - Sean Clifford could only watch from the sidelines.

The Nittany Lion's teammate, quarterback Ta'Quan Roberson, tried desperately to move Penn State's offense in the starter's absence but could only muster three points and two possessions even crossing into Iowa territory.

The result was a 23-20 loss for the No. 4-ranked Nittany Lions against the No. 3 Hawkeyes.

Reflecting on the biggest moments of Penn State's performance against Iowa:

PLAYER OF THE GAME No player impacted the game for Iowa more than punter Tory Taylor on the day.

With his eight punts, Taylor averaged 44.2 yards per attempt and, more important, pinned Penn State inside its 20-yard line on six separate occasions.

Calling Taylor’s punts “inside the 20” doesn’t go far enough, though, as Taylor nailed the Nittany Lions to their 2, 3, 12, 1, and 8-yard line, all helping to produce two Penn State interceptions.

PLAY OF THE GAME In what felt like a slow-drip of inevitability in the second half, the Hawkeyes finally cracked the Nittany Lions’ defense. On a play-action rollout, quarterback Spencer Petras hit a wide-open Nico Ragaini, who collected the football and surged the rest of the way into the end zone for a 44-yard touchdown.

The play delivered a 23-20 advantage to the Hawkeyes in a game they had trailed as many as 14 points with 6:26 remaining. A fourth-down stop for the Hawkeyes on Penn State’s ensuing possession finished it off.

BEST PASS Petras didn’t need to do much, but his completion to Ragaini finally put the Hawkeyes ahead in a climb back from what had been a 17-3 deficit in the first half. With a 44-yard connection for the score, Iowa took a 23-20 lead on the play and wouldn’t be threatened the rest of the way.

WORST PASS Immediately under pressure in his end zone, Penn State quarterback Sean Clifford instantly put the Nittany Lions in a bind when his first pass attempt was picked off by Joey Labas at the sideline. Nearly brought down for a safety, the pass intended for Jahan Dotson resulted in a crushing interception.

Clifford gets a second nod here for his second interception of the first quarter, this time airing out a floater to Dotson in double coverage, with Jack Koerner making the centerfielder-like catch at the goal line.

BEST RUN Clifford had multiple nice, critical carries before his first-half injury knocked him out of the game, but none were more impactful than his 4-yard touchdown carry to give the Nittany Lions a 14-3 lead late in the first quarter.

BEST CATCH With Penn State safety Ji’Ayir Brown blanketing him, tight end Sam LaPorta reeled in an impressive first-down catch on third-and-7 for the Hawkeyes late in the third quarter. The conversion moved the Hawkeyes to the Nittany Lions’ 35-yard line as the clock dwindled in the third quarter.

WORST DROP Penn State tight end Brenton Strange let a simple pitch-and-catch from Ta’Quan Roberson slip through his hands on the Nittany Lions’ first possession of the second half. Coming on third down, with a first probable if the tight end had made the catch, the snafu served as an inhibitor to badly needed confidence for the inexperienced quarterback.

BEST SACK Arnold Ebiketie picked an important moment to make his first sack on Petras. Staring down a backs-against-the-wall third-and-goal, the Temple transfer defensive end got to Petras’ blindside to force a 34-yard Iowa field goal try.

Desperately needing to keep Iowa out of the end zone with the Hawkeyes threatening late, Daequan Hardy’s third-and-goal sack forced the hosts into a field goal try with 8:08 left to play.

BEST HIT On Iowa’s third-and-12 pass to LaPorta, Penn State safety Jonathan Sutherland and linebacker Ellis Brooks met in the middle, sandwiching LaPorta to jar the ball loose, force a fourth down and, consequently, return possession to the Nittany Lions. Iowa linebacker Jack Campbell’s hit on Clifford early in the second quarter left the Nittany Lion quarterback to pick himself up from the turf gingerly. It would ultimately force him out of the game and change its complexion entirely.

BEST EFFORT Jaquan Brisker’s interception on Petras’ pass over the middle to tight end Nico Ragaini virtually erased Clifford’s picked pass just two plays prior. Reeling in the loose ball in the middle of the field, the safety gifted Penn State possession at the Iowa 39-yard line to set up another score.

BEST KICK Iowa punter Tory Taylor changed the game on his very first attempt of the afternoon. Pinning Penn State at the Nittany Lions’ 2-yard line, the very next play was Clifford’s ill-advised interception to the sideline to deliver a first-and-goal to the Hawkeyes at the 8-yard line.

Iowa placekicker Caleb Shudek topped the effort with his nailed 48-yard field goal attempt late in the third quarter to bring the Hawkeyes to a 20-13 deficit. Taylor again did it in the fourth quarter when his 53-yard punt pinned the Nittany Lions at their 1-yard line.

WORST DECISION Owning a fresh possession, KeAndre Lambert-Smith’s false start in the fourth quarter, out of position when the ball was snapped, upended what would have been a big pickup for running back Noah Cain on the play. On the same set of downs, a chop block on third-and-long sent the Nittany Lions back farther, this time to their 11-yard line, with a false start providing the icing on the late-game breakdown. The sequence gave Iowa excellent field position with 6:35 left in the game.

MOST TELLING MOMENT With 13:07 left to play in the first quarter, Penn State’s in-game nightmare was realized when defensive tackle P.J. Mustipher was unable to make it off the field of his own accord. Crumpling to the Kinnick Stadium turf on the first-and-10 play, the Nittany Lions’ defensive leader was forced to the sidelines.

Another nightmare for the Nittany Lions came to life shortly thereafter, and this one was even more damaging. With the officiating crew examining a review of Iowa’s first touchdown of the afternoon midway through the second quarter, Clifford quietly exited the playing field toward the locker room, hurt by the shot taken from Campbell, ultimately unable to return.

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