Penn State Football: Grading Nittany Lions vs. Iowa

Penn State Football: Grading the Nittany Lions vs. Iowa

By Dylan Burd | Oct 15, 2019

IOWA CITY, IOWA- OCTOBER 12: Quarterback Sean Clifford #14 of the Penn State Nittany Lions scrambles on a keeper in the second half in front of linebacker Nick Niemann #49 and defensive end A.J. Epenesa #94 of the Iowa Hawkeyes, on October 12, 2019 at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City, Iowa. (Photo by Matthew Holst/Getty Images) /

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IOWA CITY, IOWA- OCTOBER 12: Quarterback Sean Clifford #14 of the Penn State Nittany Lions is sacked in the first half by defensive lineman Chauncey Golston #57 of the Iowa Hawkeyes, on October 12, 2019 at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City, Iowa. (Photo by Matthew Holst/Getty Images) /

B. . . . THE OFFENSIVE LINE

As several positions did on Saturday night, the offensive line struggled at the beginning of the game but got better as it went on. The offensive line allowed two sacks in the first three plays of the game, but only one sack the rest of the game.

That’s extremely impressive for an Iowa front seven that’s among the best in the nation and featuring A.J Espenesa, a likely top-ten selection in the 2020 NFL Draft. Iowa also had four QB hurries, but once Penn State began to do a bunch of short passes and screen passes, the effect of the Iowa front seven was minimized.

In terms of running the football, Penn State was about as successful as you can ask. Penn State had 177 rushing yards and a touchdown on 53 carries. That comes out to 3.3 yards per carry.

Coming into the game, Iowa ranked 11th in the nation in rushing yards allowed with 85.6. It’s pretty safe to say that Penn State made those numbers a little bit worse.

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