Entering Week 4, the last three teams ranked in the Top Five entering Kinnick Stadium had exited with a loss. In dramatic fashion, No. 4 Penn State flipped that script.
Trailing 15-13, Iowa scored on a 35-yard touchdown run by Akrum Wadley that put Iowa up, after a failed two-point conversion, 19-15 with 1:42 left in the game. Penn State then proceeded to go 65 yards in 12 plays and 1:42 of game time, with Trace McSorley connecting with Juwan Johnson on a seven-yard touchdown pass with zero ticks left on the clock to secure a wild 21-19 win.
That fourth quarter also featured Penn State blocking a field goal... only to see Iowa return the favor 10 minutes later to set up what would’ve been the game-winning touchdown by Wadley.
If you simply looked at the box score, however, you would’ve thought this was a blowout that swung heavily toward the visitor.
The Nittany Lions outgained the Hawkeyes 579-273. In fact, Penn State had more yards rushing (295) than Iowa had total offense. First downs? PSU 29, Iowa 11. The Nittany Lions held the ball for nearly two-thirds of the game for good measure.
In the end, however, it was Penn State that came out on top on both the scoreboard as well as the stat sheet as the Nittany Lions kept their perfect season afloat as, after games against Indiana and Northwestern the next two weeks, they get set for season-defining games against No. 8 Michigan (Oct. 21) and No. 10 Ohio State (Oct. 28). And Saquon Barkley, who set a single-game school record for all-purpose yards -- 211 rushing, 94 receiving, 53 returns -- will get to continue to state his case as the best football player in the country and one of a handful of Heisman Trophy front-runners.
