Penn State (3-4, 0-4) took a lead deep into the fourth quarter at Iowa on Saturday night but once again came up short, falling 25-24 to the Hawkeyes (5-2, 3-1) in the Nittany Lions’ first game since head coach James Franklin’s firing.
Iowa quarterback Mark Gronowski ran for a career-high 130 yards, including a 67-yard carry that set up the Hawkeyes’ go-ahead touchdown with 3:54 remaining to hand Penn State its fourth consecutive loss. The Nittany Lions moved to near midfield with just over a minute remaining, but couldn’t convert on a fourth down and Iowa ran out the clock from there.
Running back Kaytron Allen led the Nittany Lion offense with 145 yards on 28 carries, his second 100-yard rushing game this season and 10th of his career. Fellow senior back Nick Singleton was mostly a nonfactor, running six times for 15 yards.
Redshirt freshman Ethan Grunkemeyer, making his first start after Drew Allar’s season-ending injury a week ago, was 15-of-28 for 93 yards and two interceptions.
Safety Zakee Wheatley’s first-quarter interception in Iowa territory set up the Nittany Lions’ first score of the night, and defensive tackle Xavier Gilliam’s field goal block was scooped up by corner Elliot Washington and returned for a touchdown to give Penn State a 14-10 lead at the end of the first half. It was just the second time in program history that Penn State blocked a field goal and returned it for a score, joining the famous Marcus Allen-Grant Haley block and return in a 2016 upset of Ohio State.
The result this time was much different than that game nine years ago. Penn State, led by interim head coach Terry Smith, grew its lead to 21-10 after its first drive of the second half, but like two weeks ago against UCLA, the Nittany Lion defense couldn’t contain a scrambling quarterback when it mattered most.
Gronowski, who averaged 14.4 yards per carry on nine rushes while throwing for just 68 yards, had a 38-yard run before his own 4-yard touchdown carry that brought Iowa within 21-16 later in the third and broke a tackle for his big fourth quarter run. Running back Kamari Moulton also ran for 99 yards in the Hawkeyes’ 253-yard ground effort.
Penn State has a bye next weekend then travels to No. 1 Ohio State on Nov. 1.
HOW IT HAPPENED
1st Quarter
Penn State’s defense got a big play early as safety Zakee Wheatley picked off a deflected third-and-7 Mark Gronowski pass across the middle to give the Nittany Lions possession at the Iowa 35.
With excellent field position and redshirt freshman QB Ethan Grunkemeyer making his first collegiate start, Penn State largely relied on its ground game. Grunkemeyer converted a fourth and 4 as he scrambled to evade a blitz for a 9-yard gain, then Kaytron Allen ran for 7 and backup quarterback Jaxon Smolik came in for a keeper to pick up a first at the 10.
After Trebor Peña took an option pitch to the 1 on second down, the Nittany Lions faced fourth and 1. Allen punched it in from a yard out, and Penn State had a 7-0 lead with 8:45 left in the first.
Iowa’s rushing attack got going on the next drive, with Kamari Moulton carrying five times for 42 yards and Kaden Wetjen taking a screen pass for 12. The Hawkeyes stalled inside the 25 thanks to two Gronowski incompletions and settled for a 39-yard Drew Stevens field goal to narrow Penn State’s lead to 7-3 at the 4:24 mark of the first quarter.
After a Penn State three and out, Wetjen returned a Gabe Nwosu punt 25 yards to the Nittany Lion 35. But a false start and an incompletion derailed the Hawkeyes from the outset and following a 10-yard completion to the 28 on third down, Stevens came on for his second field goal attempt. This time his 46-yard try was wide right and Penn State’s lead remained at 7-3 as the first quarter ended.
Penn State 7, Iowa 3
2nd Quarter
Both sides traded punts to start the second. On Penn State’s second possession, Grunkemeyer started to find a rhythm in the passing game on a drive that started at the Nittany Lion 10, completing five passes to five different receivers for 42 yards while Allen ran four times for 12 to move Penn State to the Iowa 36. But after an incompletion and a short pass that went backwards, Grunkemeyer was picked off by Iowa corner Deshaun Lee at the Hawkeye 4.
Another Iowa punt gave Penn State the ball back after the two-minute warning and facing a third-and-6 from the Nittany Lion 24, Grunkemeyer’s pass across the middle was intercepted by Hawkeye safety Xavier Nwankpa, who returned it to the 1. Gronowski took it in from there on a keeper and Iowa took a 10-7 lead with 1:14 remaining in the half.
Penn State took little time off the clock as it went three and out on its next possession, and Iowa got another shot with 47 seconds remaining. The Hawkeyes moved past midfield, thanks in large part to a late hit by linebacker Dom DeLuca on Gronowski.
With six seconds left in the half, Stevens’ 66-yard field goal attempt with the wind at his back was blocked by defensive tackle Xavier Gilliam. Cornerback Elliot Washington scooped up the ball at the Iowa 35 and raced in for the touchdown to flip the script as the half ended with a 14-10 Penn State lead.
Penn State 14, Iowa 10
3rd Quarter
A 30-yard Allen run to the Iowa 45 got Penn State started to open the second half and Grunkemeyer converted a third and 7 on an 11-yard hookup with Devonte Ross. A defensive pass interference on a third-and-14 throw by Grunkemeyer into the end zone moved the Nittany Lions to the 20, and Allen took care of it from there. The senior back picked up a first with runs of 8 and 4, then took it home with an 8-yard touchdown run as Penn State extended its lead to 21-10 after the 10-play, 75-yard drive.
Iowa answered on its next possession. Gronowski found a wide open field in front of him on a third-down dropback and scrambled 38 yards to the Penn State 29. Wetjen then took a screen 9 yards, and Moulton ripped off an 11-yard gain to the 9. Two plays later, Gronowski took it in on a 4-yard touchdown run. A two-point attempt failed to leave Penn State’s lead at 21-16 with 4:19 remaining in the third after the eight-play, 74-yard drive.
Penn State picked up one first down, then facing fourth and 1 from the Nittany Lion 40 tight end Luke Reynolds took a direct snap and came up short. Iowa took over there and Moulton immediately broke through for a 21-yard gain to the Penn State 19 as the third quarter came to an end.
Penn State 21, Iowa 16
4th Quarter
An Audavion Collins tackle for a 5-yard loss put the Hawkeyes behind the chains, and Gronowski’s short throw to tight end Hayden Large came up short of the marker. Stevens connected on a 31-yard field goal to cut Penn State’s lead to 21-19 with 13:17 left to play.
Grunkemeyer converted two big third downs on the Nittany Lions’ long ensuing drive, running for 6 yards on a third and 4 and finding tight end Andrew Rapplyea for a 12-yard pickup on third and 11 to move into Iowa territory. Allen, meanwhile, carried five times for 34 yards, but the last of those went for no gain from the Hawkeye 10, and a Grunkemeyer incompletion and loss on a third-down draw forced a field goal try. Ryan Barker’s 31-yard kick was good and the Nittany Lions’ pushed their lead to 24-19 with 4:56 remaining after a 61-yard drive that took more than eight minutes off the clock.
Gronowski broke a tackle on the first play of Iowa’s next possession and ran 67 yards before he was chased down at the Penn State 9. Wetjen then took it off the right side into the end zone for the go-ahead score. Another two-point attempt failed, and the Hawkeyes had a 25-24 lead with 3:54 left in the game.
The Nittany Lions drove to midfield, but on fourth and 4 with just over a minute remaining Grunkemeyer’s pass under pressure went just beyond the reach of Peña and Iowa took over at the Nittany Lion 49.
Gronowski picked up a first down with a 14-yard gain on third and 6 with 44 seconds remaining to ice the game
