Penn State Football: Grading the Nittany Lions vs. Iowa

Penn State Football defeated Iowa 17-12 at Kinnick Stadium on Saturday night to move to 6-0 on the season.

In the most anticipated game of the season so far, Penn State Football overcame “Kinnick Voodoo” to beat No. 17 Iowa. As it always is in Iowa, it was a low-scoring game with a weird score, coming right down to the end, but there’s no doubt that this was a statement win for the Nittany Lions.

The win moved Penn State up three spots to No. 7 in this week’s AP Poll, as they jumped Georgia, Florida, and Notre Dame.

The main takeaway from this game is that this very well might be the most complete team that James Franklin has had in his Penn State coaching tenure. As shown in the first quarter, the Penn State offense can struggle, and the team will still be in the game due to its stout defense.

In recent seasons, Penn State may have been one of the most explosive teams in the country offensively, but if they struggled, the team was in trouble. Now, the defense keeps the team in every game, no matter what.

While it’s understood Penn State won’t play a great offensive team until Ohio State (Iowa, Michigan, and Michigan State have all struggled offensively as of late), the Nittany Lions rank fourth in yards allowed per game, and second in points allowed per game with 8.2. Penn State has still yet to allow more than 13 points in a game.

Before we begin to look ahead, let’s dive into each position’s performance from Saturday’s action.