One week after capturing an ugly road victory over Illinois to open up conference play, the Penn State Nittany Lions dropped a hammer on Saturday night. In front of a White Out crowd at Beaver Stadium, the Nittany Lions absolutely dominated no. 24 Iowa in a 31-0 victory.
Penn State scored 31 points while the Hawkeyes only ran 33 plays. Following an 18 yard scramble by Cade McNamara in the 1st quarter, Iowa had 22 yards of offense the rest of the game.
This was one that felt great for the Nittany Lions and fans. It's one that all parties involved wanted badly after what unfolded in Iowa City in 2021. A win like that will also lead to a great report card for the Nittany Lions.
Quarterback: A
After struggling at times against Illinois a week ago, Drew Allar put together a strong game in his first White Out start. He finished the game 25/37 for 166 yards and a career high 4 touchdowns. He also converted a pair of 4th and 1 plays with a quarterback sneak.
Beau Pribula once again got most of the 4th quarter action rushing for 55 yards on 8 carries while also completing a 16-yard pass to Trey Potts while leading a long drive that ended in a missed field goal.
Running Backs: B
You get the feeling there is still a lot more in the tank with this running back room. That said, the group once again did enough on Saturday. Kaytron Allen rushed for 72 yards but averaged just 3.4 yards per carry. Nicholas Singleton averaged just 2.9 yards per carry while rushing for 49 yards. Potts added 17 yards on 3 carries.
Wide Receivers: B
After taking a step back against Illinois, the wide receivers were not targeted much on Saturday night. When targeted, however, the group was able to bounce back against Iowa.
KeAndre Lambert-Smith led the way with 8 receptions for 66 yards and a touchdown. Dante Cephas had an 11-yard reception and Liam Clifford caught 2 passes for 17 yards. That was it for Nittany Lion wide receivers on Saturday night.
Tight Ends: A+
Through the first few weeks of the season you kept waiting for the tight ends to put it together for Penn State. Saturday night, that happened. Khalil Dinkins caught the first touchdown of the night. Theo Johnson finished with 6 receptions for 42 yards, and Tyler Warren caught a pair of passes both being touchdowns.
Offensive Line: A
In need of a bounce back performance, Penn State's offensive line turned in just that. Allar was kept clean throughout the night and the Nittany Lions rushed for 215 yards. It was a plenty good enough performance against a good Iowa defense.
Defensive Line: A+
Saturday night was probably the best game yet this season for Penn State's defensive line. Chop Robinson, Amin Vanover, and Adisa Isaac all had sacks. Isaac and Zuriah Fisher each recovered a fumble, and Dani Dennis-Sutton forced one of the six Iowa fumbles. It was also a strong game for the defensive tackles as the Nittany Lions held Iowa to 20 yards rushing and 1.2 yards per carry.
Linebackers: A
Curtis Jacobs continues to be the best player on Penn State's defense so far this season. Abdul Carter was all over the field for the Nittany Lion defense and Kobe King had a strong game as well. Even Tyler Esldon got in on the action in a positive fashion with a quarterback pressure on a 3rd down that forced a poor throw by McNamara that fell incomplete.
Secondary: A+
It was another dominant night by Penn State's secondary. McNamara and Deacon Hill were just a combined 6/16 for 56 yards and were very lucky neither threw an interception. No Iowa wide receiver was able to get open at any point in the game. Outside of a 20-yard gain by Erik All in the 1st quarter, Iowa's pass "attack" did absolutely nothing.
Special Teams: C
It was a mixed bag for Penn State's special teams units on Saturday night. Kaden Saunders muffed a punt but was able to recover it and fielded a punt inside the 5 setting up Penn State's offense for failure on their first possession.
Alex Felkins was 4/4 of PATs and hit a 45-yard field goal. However, he missed a 43-yard kick and had another attempt blocked although it was negated by a penalty. Riley Thompson continues to struggle to punt the ball averaging just 37.8 yards per punt with a long punt of just 42.
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