No. 4 Penn State survives Iowa by winning on last play of game

The No. 4 Nittany Lions survived their trip to Kinnick Stadium as quarterback Trace McSorley found Juwan Johnson for a seven-yard touchdown as time expired — beating Iowa 21-19 on Saturday night.

It was a final drive to remember. Penn State had just 90 seconds to go 80 yards to overcome the 19-15 deficit. It got to the 7-yard line thanks to seven McSorley completions and a 12-yard McSorley run. With four seconds left, on fourth-and-goal, McSorley audibled and found Johnson over the middle to complete the last-second comeback.

Penn State’s quarterback stepped up when he needed to, and Saquon Barkley trampled the Hawkeye defense.

Penn State outgained Iowa 579 to 273 with Barkley outpacing the Hawkeyes 110-54 in the first half alone.

It was ugly early but turned out to be a wild finish.

Player of the game

Saquon Barkley: This is as safe a pick just about any week. But Barkley put together his finest performance in a Heisman-caliber campaign, tallying 358 all-purpose yards (211 rushing, 94 receiving and 53 returning) while breaking Twitter with an absurd 44-yard run on Penn State’s first touchdown drive. In the third quarter, Barkley took a handoff from McSorley, looped around the Iowa defense for 11 yards down Penn State’s sideline and then made Iowa LB Josey Jewell look silly. With the star linebacker closing in on the sideline, Barkley stopped as Jewell ran by. Then the back shot out of a cannon, running rampant through the Iowa secondary for another 33 yards. Seven plays later, Barkley capped the drive, diving for the pylon on an eight-yard score. Before that play, Barkley amassed 202 offensive yards without Penn State finding the end zone. Oh yeah, and then in the fourth quarter, Barkley hurdled an Iowa defender for a critical first down. Unreal performance by the junior.

Turning point

Fourth downs: On fourth-and-2 with a minute to go on its own 40-yard line, Penn State needed a first down to keep the game alive. It succeeded, as McSorley found Saeed Blacknall for a six-yard gain. A few plays later, the Nittany Lions were knocking on the door. With seven seconds left, Penn State had three shots at the end zone from Iowa’s 7. After two incompletions, one of which was a pass batted-down by Iowa DE Anthony Nelson, it again came down to fourth down — this time with four seconds left. McSorley then found Johnson in the back of the end zone to keep Penn State’s undefeated season alive.

Top highlight

Shareef’s safety: Outside of the final play, this one was a highlight that shouldn’t be forgotten. This play took a 6-4 finish out of play, which is probably for the best. Shareef Miller’s second-quarter safety gave Penn State a 5-0 lead, epitomizing the Nittany Lions’ stellar defensive effort and Miller’s monster night specifically. Blake Gillikin pinned Iowa back at its own 1-yard line, and the Hawkeyes used a QB sneak to get a bit of breathing room — but a delayed crackback toss was a terrible next play call. Miller made Iowa pay for it, too. Akrum Wadley was chased down by Miller, who wore Torrence Brown’s No. 19 in honor of the injured senior. Miller made him proud, ripping Wadley down for the two-point play. It was the second safety in as many weeks for the Penn State defense — and it turned out to be precious points.

What’s next

Returning home: After their Big Ten-opening trip to Kinnick, the Nittany Lions come home to face Indiana at Beaver Stadium. The Hoosiers are 2-1 after blowing out Georgia Southern 52-17 on Saturday afternoon. Their lone loss came to Ohio State on Thursday, Aug. 31 — falling to the Buckeyes 49-21. On a non-football note, it’s also Penn State’s “Generations of Greatness” game. The Nittany Lions will wear retro uniforms to go along with a throwback theme. Penn State and Indiana kick at 3:30 p.m.

This story was originally published September 23, 2017 at 11:17 PM with the headline "No. 4 Penn State survives Iowa by winning on last play of game."