Analyzing Penn State’s 30-24 win over Iowa: The Good, the Bad & the Ugly

Eventually, Trace McSorley made his triumphant return from an apparent right knee injury, ripping off a 51-yard touchdown run and guiding the Nittany Lions to their 30-24 win over Iowa. But for two series, it was Tommy Time.

Tommy Stevens — Penn State’s “Lion” and beloved backup quarterback — entered the game with 10:30 to go in the second quarter to loud cheers from the Beaver Stadium student section, a moment worth basking in.

For the better part of three seasons, Stevens sat behind the program’s most prolific passer, biding his time. He made spot appearances as a running back or receiver, producing splash plays here and there. But this was Stevens’ first opportunity with the first-team offense in a meaningful situation. And he took advantage, leading a field-goal drive and barreling into the end zone for a 3-yard touchdown run.

“I want to put this in the most right way,” Stevens said after the game. “I would never wish ill will upon Trace. He’s one of my better friends at Penn State. But this is something you prepare for. I felt like I’ve been preparing for this moment since my redshirt freshman year. So here I am as a redshirt junior. ... I was prepared for this.”

It showed, too. At times, Stevens looked like a kid seeing his first real action. But when he stood in the face of three Iowa blitzers and delivered an 18-yard bullet to KJ Hamler, setting up Jake Pinegar’s 44-yard field goal as the clock nearly expired, QB2 looked like QB1.

Penn State head coach James Franklin, after praising McSorley’s toughness in his opening statement, gave credit to Stevens. He called the quarterback’s decision to stay at Penn State “a great story for college football.”

McSorley couldn’t agree more.

“Everyone on the team loves him. I love that kid,” the starter said. “Honestly, everyone thought at the end of last year that he was going to be gone. No one on our team would have faulted him if he left because he has that ability, and there were opportunities for him to go somewhere else. For him to stay and then come in and take advantage of the opportunities and be successful ... you never know when it’s going to pay off, but eventually it does.

“It’s fulfilling for everyone to see him have that success. And I’m sure it’s fulfilling for him, too.”

Good

• Two elder statesmen produced turnovers when the Nittany Lions needed them most. Midway through the second quarter, Iowa led 14-7 and had an opportunity to drive down the field to make it a two-score game. Instead, redshirt junior John Reid — who dealt with rust earlier this season as he came back from a serious knee injury — picked off Hawkeyes quarterback Nate Stanley and returned it 44 yards to Iowa’s 3-yard line. Reid said after the game that he thought he was going to score, but thankfully for the Nittany Lions, Stevens finished things off. Two quarters later, Iowa — down 30-24 with five minutes to go in regulation — had a first-and-goal at the Penn State 3-yard line. The Hawkeyes could have gone ahead, but senior safety Nick Scott intercepted a confused Stanley to help ice Penn State’s win. For a unit that has struggled to generate turnovers, Reid and Scott’s takeaways came at critical junctures.

• Hat tip to true freshman Jake Pinegar, an Iowa native who showed out. Pinegar — who earned the starting job in fall camp but never really settled in until Saturday — accounted for 12 points. He hit field goals from 44, 45 and 49 yards in less-than-ideal conditions and nailed all three extra-point attempts. Pinegar, who was 6 of 10 overall and 0 for 3 from 40 yards or more prior to this weekend, made good on the trust Franklin placed in him.

• Pat Freiermuth just keeps scoring. The true freshman tight end found the end zone for the fourth time in five games and is becoming one of McSorley’s favorite red-zone targets. With Mike Gesicki departing for the NFL after contributing 14 touchdowns over the last two seasons, one of Penn State’s big question marks entering 2018 was who’d replace him. Freiermuth has done the job, surprising his teammates along the way. “I really didn’t expect this out of him,” Hamler said. “We didn’t know nothing about the kid. But he’s big and moves like a receiver. So I’m happy he’s on our side.”

• Considering the ongoing drop issues, it was a solid day for Penn State’s receivers. Hamler had five catches for 98 yards, including an impressive 39-yarder. True freshman Jahan Dotson made a tough, 15-yard catch on fourth-and-3, which set up Freiermuth’s 18-yard score in the first quarter. But perhaps the most important and surprising performance came from fifth-year senior DeAndre Thompkins. The leader of the wideout room has not had a highlight-filled season, losing a grip on his starting job in September as he became plagued by drops. But Thompkins had five catches for 59 yards, three of which went for first downs. It was a positive outing for a veteran who’s had so few this year. “He went a little quiet, but ‘Dre is ready for anything,” Hamler said of Thompkins. “I know I can count on ‘Dre. Everyone can count on ‘Dre.’ ”

Bad

• McSorley’s interception wasn’t pretty — and it turned into a pick-six by a kid from Pennsylvania. Iowa safety Geno Stone, a New Castle native who camped at Penn State but surprisingly never received a scholarship offer by the Nittany Lions, read McSorley’s eyes and broke on a poor decision. Stone secured the interception at Penn State’s 24-yard line and ran it in for a touchdown, a play that cut Penn State’s lead to 27-24 with 10 minutes to go. The turnover was Penn State’s second in a three-play span; on the previous drive, the Nittany Lions had a chance to make it 31-17 — but McSorley and Miles Sanders botched a handoff exchange on Iowa’s 9-yard line and the Hawkeyes recovered. Penn State had chances to put the game away, but let Iowa stay around.

Ugly

• You know you have a problem when the student section offers a Bronx cheer after Blake Gillikin cleanly catches the snap and gets the punt away. It hasn’t been a banner year for first-year special teams coordinator Phil Galiano, and that extended into Saturday. Iowa scored 17 of its 24 points on special teams: Two safeties, two field goals and a fake field goal touchdown. The safeties were a byproduct of bad snaps. And the touchdown? A 10-yard pass from Iowa punter Colten Rastetter to defensive end Sam Brincks, a play the Nittany Lions were apparently familiar with before the game. “We worked on their exact fake field goal play in practice all week long,” Franklin said. “I don’t see too many No. 90s making an exactly over-the-shoulder catch. I mean, he makes an unbelievable play. They are on scholarship, too. Awesome play by them. We won the game.” But as Franklin has said in the past, wins can act as deodorant to mask what smells, what isn’t working. Outside of Pinegar and a 67-yard return by Hamler, special teams was ugly against Iowa — and it needs to be fixed before the Nittany Lions travel to Ann Arbor.

This story was originally published October 28, 2018 at 1:38 PM.