Strange week ends with bizarre victory
What a long, strange week it was for the Penn State football team.
While preparing to face Iowa on the road, the Nittany Lions dealt with an older fan who criticized a teammate’s hair, the airing of an HBO special on them and then one of the most peculiar game sequences you’ll ever see.
It ended with their bruising, hard-fought 17-12 victory Saturday night, which gave coach James Franklin his first road win over a ranked opponent in his time at Penn State.
“In major college football and being at a place like Penn State and the type of microscope that is on us, there’s always going to be something each week,” Franklin said. “But I’m pleased. Although we have one of the youngest teams in college football, we have a very mature approach.”
The Lions needed that maturity throughout the week, especially Saturday night at one of the most difficult venues in all of college football. The sellout crowd at Kinnick Stadium was dressed in black and gold for a Stripeout and primed to watch the Hawkeyes pull off another upset over a higher-ranked opponent.
The place was at a fever pitch all night.
“It’s tough,” Penn State linebacker Jan Johnson said. “There (are) a ton of teams that come in here and lose. The atmosphere is insane. It’s extremely loud in here. The fans are right on top of you and they play great football. It’s a hard place to come in and win.”
Penn State (6-0 overall, 3-0 Big Ten) did it for the second straight time in three years by keeping its poise despite Iowa’s fierce defense, the crowd and a series of calls by the Big Ten officiating crew that left the Lions and their fans scratching their heads.
Leading the Hawkeyes (42, 1-2) 7-6 in the third quarter, the Lions picked up a first down at the Iowa six-yard line. Journey Brown scooted around right end for an apparent touchdown, which was nullified by a holding penalty on Will Fries. On the next snap from the 16, Sean Clifford threw a strike to tight end Pat Freiermuth, who dove into the end zone for another apparent touchdown.
The Big Ten crew, however, led by referee John O’Neill, reviewed the play to see whether Freiermuth had crossed the goal line before his knee touched the ground. Replays in the press box and across Pennsylvania showed that Freiermuth had not touched the ground before he reached the end zone.
Yet O’Neill and replay official Tom Kissinger overturned the call on the field and gave Penn State the ball at the 1. Brown was stopped for no gain before Clifford threw an incompletion and C.J. Thorpe was flagged for holding on the next play.
On third-and-goal from the 11, Clifford ran and reached the left corner of the end zone, but it was wiped out by a holding call on Steven Gonzalez. Penn State then had to settle for Jake Pinegar’s 33-yard field goal, which made it 10-6.
“It was nerve-wracking,” wide receiver KJ Hamler said. “We scored three times on that possession and got them called back each time. It was frustrating. We had to knuckle down and suck it up.”
Which the Lions did. Led by Robert Windsor’s superb performance, the defense responded. In the fourth quarter, Windsor pressured Iowa quarterback Nate Stanley, who threw a pass into the arms of safety Jaquan Brisker for an interception.
Eight plays later, freshman Noah Cain took a pitch and ran around the left side for a five-yard touchdown, putting it out of reach. A few minutes later, Cain sealed it with a five-yard gain on third-and-three.
It was the first time in at least four years that the Penn State offense was able to run out the clock.
“That’s what we talk about,” Clifford said. “We want to keep our identity in our four-minute (offense). We want to end it on our terms. Being able to take that knee was a great feeling, especially after that type of game.”
Even though Iowa’s offense has struggled in recent weeks, Penn State’s defense was terrific. The Lions held the Hawkeyes to 70 rushing yards on 30 carries and kept them out of the end zone until the final 2½ minutes.
Including Saturday’s games, Penn State ranks second in the Football Bowl Subdivision in scoring defense, (8.2 points per game), tied for second in sacks (27), third in tackles for loss (59) and rushing defense (53.8) and fourth in total defense (259.7).
“We’re playing really good defense,” Franklin said. “We’re able to make people one-dimensional in terms of stopping the run. We’re able to get sacks and put pressure on the quarterback consistently.”
Beating Iowa was only the start of a difficult stretch that now includes this week’s White Out game against Michigan, a trip to nemesis Michigan State, a bye week and a game at Minnesota. In fact, Penn State’s next five opponents are 25-6, including two with perfect records, before a finale against lowly Rutgers.
The 2019 Lions still have a long way to go before they can define their season. So far, they’ve done all they could.
“I’ve been playing football since I was four years old,” defensive tackle PJ Mustipher said, “and I feel like this is one of the tightest groups I’ve ever been a part of. We’re on a mission and this mission doesn’t stop here. We’ve got to quickly rebound.
“During the offseason, we made up our minds on who we wanted to be this season.”