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Penn State-Iowa notebook

Hawkeyes just miss big upset

IOWA CITY, Iowa — One of the reasons Penn State won the Big Ten last year was because Iowa upset Michigan in a key game at night at Kinnick Stadium.

The 2008 Penn State team also knows how tough it is to win here at night, suffering its only regular-season defeat at Iowa.

There nearly was a repeat Saturday night, but this time, the No. 4 Nittany Lions found a way to knock off Kirk Ferentz’s team in a 21-19 thriller that was decided on the final play.

“Needless to say, we’re all really disappointed with the outcome of the game tonight,” said Ferentz, the longest-tenured coach in major college football at 19 years.

“It’s going to hurt for a while, but we’ll move on.”

The game unfolded in typical Iowa fashion, with the Hawkeyes slogging through large portions of the evening just trying to hang around against a team with more talent. That style of play can be tough to watch at times, but when it does work — and when the opposition makes a lot of mistakes as PSU did — it can lead to upsets.

Iowa’s offense didn’t cross midfield in the first half and needed an interception and 33-yard return by linebacker Josey Jewell to do that. But the Hawkeyes figured out a way to beat PSU’s tough defense by throwing the ball deep with a quick score there for a 7-5 lead at the half.

In the second half, Iowa caught Penn State in blitz mode twice and made the Lions pay with long touchdowns. Still, it wasn’t enough as PSU’s offense found a way to come back in the final two minutes.

“We played a really good football team,” Ferentz said. “That game is illustrative of what it takes to win in the conference.”

Jewell had a huge game for Iowa with 16 tackles, an interception, three tackles for loss and two pass breakups. Defensive end Anthony Nelson also came up big with 2 ¢ sacks and two pass breakups.

“Just incredibly proud of the effort and the toughness our guys played with,” Ferentz said.

Nate Stanley completed 13-of-22 passes for 191 yards and two touchdowns. Akrum Wadley had a tough time getting going on the ground but finished with 80 yards on 19 carries. He was enormous in the fourth quarter with a 70-yard TD reception and 35-yard scoring run that put Iowa on top, 19-15, with 1:42 to go.

Iowa had no answers for PSU’s star running back, though, as Saquon Barkley ran for 211 yards and caught 12 passes for 94 on his way to a school-record 358 all-purpose yards. That total is the second most ever by an Iowa opponent, just shy of the 368 that Christian McCaffrey had for Stanford two years ago.

“The running back’s a special player,” Ferentz said of Barkley. “I don’t know if I’ve seen any better or many better in my 19 years.”

Davis has tough night

Tyler Davis was 22-of-24 on field goals last season and made a school-record 18 in a row, but he missed two kicks Saturday and has missed four already this season.

Davis missed wide left from 41 yards in the second quarter. He came on for a 31-yard try in the closing minutes but had it blocked.

Coach James Franklin said the field goal unit is just not consistent at this point in the season.

Apke in on big plays

Safety Troy Apke was beaten on a TD throw by Iowa late in the first half, but he atoned for it in big spots late in the game. He blocked a field goal early in the fourth quarter and broke up a pass on a two-point try when the Lions were up 15-13.

Personnel report

Andrew Nelson started at right tackle over Chasz Wright, who’s injured. But Nelson had some issues and was replaced by Will Fries.

Altoona product Kevin Givens lined up at defensive end on occasion, something the usual tackle hadn’t done before.

DeAndre Thompkins got his right leg banged up returning a punt early in the third quarter. It looked like it could be bad initially as he lay on the ground, but Thompkins walked off the field and was running a few seconds later. He was back returning punts later in the quarter.

Punter Blake Gillikin had a great first half, pinning Iowa back to its 9, 10 and 1-yard lines on three punts.

Keegan-Michael Key channels Franklin

Comedian and PSU alum Keegan-Michael Key once again did his James Franklin impression on ESPN’s “College Gameday” Saturday morning. He lampooned last week’s field goal-gate, in which Franklin was criticized for calling a timeout with a 56-0 lead over Georgia State

“Did I call a timeout,” Key said as Franklin. “Of course I called a timeout. It was the right thing to do, and to be honest with you, that’s what I did. That’s what I’m going to do every time.”

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