Here are three takeaways from Penn State football’s 23-20 loss to Iowa
Penn State football is undefeated no more.
Iowa handed the Nittany Lions their first loss of the season with a 23-20 score in Iowa City. Penn State was beaten, battered and bruised, with a number of players missing large swaths of the game, including quarterback Sean Clifford. Entering the game in relief for Clifford was backup Ta’Quan Roberson, who went 7-for-21 on passes for 34 yards and two interceptions.
Iowa quarterback Spencer Petras went 17-for-31 with 195 passing yards, two touchdown passes and one interception. His most important touchdown came on a 44-yard pass to Nico Ragiani to take a 22-20 lead with 6:26 left on the clock. The James Franklin-led Penn State team was out-gained 305 total yards to 287.
Injuries pile up, but what comes next?
The injuries just kept coming for Penn State throughout the game. Defensive tackle PJ Mustipher went down early with a lower body injury and came back out in the second half with crutches. Clifford walked off under his own power after being slammed into the dirt by Iowa defenders in the second quarter. He, too, returned in street clothes after halftime and was out for the remainder of the game. Clifford finished the game going 15-for-25 with 146 passing yards and two interceptions. He also had three rushes for 36 yards and a touchdown.
Throughout the game, safeties Jonathan Sutherland and Jaquan Brisker and defensive linemen Dvon Ellies and Arnold Ebiketie all went down with injuries. All returned and held Iowa to 23 points. It was a strong effort by a defense that was consistently backed into their own territory and had to make a stand. Despite the injury to Mustipher, the defense looked just as strong as it has been through the first five games of the season. Credit has to go to defensive coordinator Brent Pry, whose defense still generated three sacks for 19 yards lost.
If Clifford misses multiple games, can Roberson step up and fill the void?
As of Saturday evening, the answer looked like no. He turned the ball over twice and couldn’t find open receivers on many of his drives. The offense looked pedestrian at best and downright putrid at its worst. The blame doesn’t rest totally in his lap because the offensive line did him no favors, allowing constant pressure on the inexperienced quarterback.
Roberson now has two weeks to prepare for Illinois. It’s homecoming week and Penn State will take on a 2-5 team that was completely dominated, 24-0, by Wisconsin on Saturday. If there was any time to completely lock in and ingest the playbook for the redshirt sophomore, now is the time. Reps are key, too. If one sits behind a three-year starter and doesn’t get ample reps, it’s tough sledding. He only had eight career passing attempts entering the game. He had two against Ball State, with one going for a 23-yard touchdown to tight end Theo Johnson, and he went 3-for-5 against Villanova with 28 passing yards. Two weeks of getting opportunities to throw with the first-team receivers should give him a chance to build a rapport and find his footing if Clifford is out for an extended period.
Offensive line woes continue to show
Eight false start penalties is unacceptable by Penn State’s offensive line. Multiple times with the game on the line, they couldn’t hear the clap of Roberson’s hands. It’s a team effort and while right guard Juice Scruggs had three penalties of his own, he isn’t solely responsible. A chop block penalty on Noah Cain, with center Mike Miranda engaged with a pass rusher, crushed a drive.
While they only allowed one sack on the night, Roberson and Clifford both ran for their lives. The running game only had 101 yards with Clifford’s 36 yards leading the way for all rushers. Penn State cannot afford to play like that if it wants to remain in the national conversation, even against Illinois. It’s just one loss, and while it may have knocked the Nittany Lions out of the top 10, they can remain in the hunt for the College Football Playoff by mauling Illinois first and punching Ohio State in the mouth on the road.
This story was originally published October 9, 2021 at 9:06 PM.
