Inside Penn State football’s game-winning drive to beat Iowa

Penn State needed a touchdown. Down four with 1 minute, 42 seconds left in regulation, the Nittany Lions knew it.

As his team’s offense took the field with that purpose in mind, Nittany Lions safety Marcus Allen paced the sideline.

“I was just walking back and forth trying to get my team ready,” Allen said. “Keep the faith. This is what we do.”

To a degree, this is what the Nittany Lions do: Dating back to their improbable 2016 run, they come back late in games. Penn State is a second-half team, remember? The Nittany Lions didn’t need any of that mojo through the first three games of 2017. Outscoring opponents 141-14, those results were never in doubt.

Penn State’s 21-19 win over Iowa on Saturday night was a different story. And, ultimately, it was a story that came down to one drive.

One drive with an ending that’ll be remembered for years to come.

“We just had to be us,” Penn State tackle Ryan Bates said. “Just the same old things we believe in. We stuck to what we know.”

Added Heisman Trophy candidate Saquon Barkley: “For people who appreciate football, that was a clinic.”

Yep, Penn State’s 12-play, 80-yard march to the end zone was textbook. That 12th play was a heart-stopper, too — but we’ll get to that in a bit.

Before Trace McSorley found Juwan Johnson for a crowd-silencing, walk-off score, the quarterback had to find his mojo. He was uncomfortable all night, throwing an interception under pressure and fumbling away a possession earlier in the evening.

McSorley started the final drive off right with a 12-yard connection with Johnson, then hit Barkley for an eight-yard gain three plays later. On fourth-and-2 from Penn State’s 40, McSorley threw a dart to Saeed Blacknall on a six-yard slant.

The Nittany Lions were moving.

“We were able to continue pushing,” McSorley said, “getting better and better.”

After Blacknall’s snag, Penn State rattled off three consecutive first downs: a 12-yard run by McSorley, an 18-yard pass to Johnson and a 14-yard reception by Barkley, who shimmied an Iowa defender in open space like only he can do.

With a first-and-goal from Iowa’s 10, McSorley took three easy yards on a throw to Mike Gesicki in the flat. Then he missed high on a throw to DeAndre Thompkins and a tunnel screen to DaeSean Hamilton was batted down.

Seven seconds left, and Penn State faced a fourth-and-goal from the Hawkeye 7-yard line. James Franklin burned his final timeout.

“Coming down to that last play, it was now or never,” McSorley said. “Everyone in the huddle was saying, ‘Guys we got this. Don’t panic. We’re going to score a touchdown.’ That was just the mentality.”

Offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead made the call during the timeout.

He trusted Johnson to cleanly run a route Penn State wideouts never really run: a post. Before the Nittany Lions took the field for that final drive, Johnson and wide receivers coach Josh Gattis discussed the possibility of a post working against the Iowa defense. The Hawkeyes defended Penn State’s corner routes tightly all night.

“I knew when I’d break out and go back in, I’d be gone,” Johnson said.

Adjusting on the fly and drawing up a new version of the play, it was truly backyard football. And it worked.

Iowa rushed six, and the Nittany Lions picked it up. McSorley took less than three seconds let loose a laser just to the right of the goalposts. Johnson and Hamilton were running crossing post patterns, and McSorley fit the ball in a “windshield wiper” window.

Bates, guarding the quarterback’s blind side at left tackle, remembers it vividly.

“Trace rolled back out the other way, and I knew he wasn’t coming back my way, so I just turned around and watched. I’ll probably get yelled at while we’re watching film, but I just turned around and watched the play,” Bates said with a smile. “I see him launch the ball, and my eyes fell on the ball the whole time. There’s a linebacker and he jumped up, and I’m like, ‘Oh, s***.’ And it went over his head.”

It went over Amani Hooker’s head and outstretched fingers and into Johnson’s breadbasket. The wideout’s first career touchdown reception kept Penn State’s undefeated season alive and well.

“I kind of blacked out, to be honest with you. I couldn’t believe it happened,” Johnson said. “It was a dream.”

McSorley knew he had man coverage. His objective was to put it high in a spot only his 6-foot-4 receiver could get to. Well, he got to it.

As much as it was terrific concentration on Johnson’s part — securing the game-sealer — all the credit in the world goes to McSorley for the winning march. On that drive, the redshirt junior was 7 of 11 for 68 yards while running for another 12.

As the clock waned, it was on the quarterback to guide his teammates to victory.

“That guy is cold-blooded,” Barkley said of his backfield mate. “He steps up in big moments.”

That much is unquestioned after Saturday night. McSorley’s will and expertise in slinging it around the yard was what helped clinch it for the Nittany Lions.

McSorley, Johnson, Barkley, and Bates — even Allen walking up and down the sidelines — had a purpose on that final drive.

The 12-play, two-minute “clinic” may have felt long and taken years off the lives of Penn State fans.

But next week, next month and next year, that drive will be ingrained in the minds of many. Whoever watched that final 112 seconds unfold will remember where they were when it happened.

The Nittany Lions will certainly remember. They were rushing the field at Kinnick Stadium.

This story was originally published September 24, 2017 at 3:32 AM with the headline "Inside Penn State football’s game-winning drive to beat Iowa."