No. 3 Iowa turns back No. 4 Penn State in Big Ten clash, 23-20

No. 3 Iowa has lived much of the season with its defense carrying the offense. The Hawkeyes flipped the script Saturday as they rallied to a 23-20 defeat of No. 4 Penn State.

Things looked bleak in the first half as Penn State led by 14. An injury to Nittany Lions quarterback Sean Clifford drastically changed the outlook. Ta’Quan Roberson, a sophomore with just seven passes this season, was forced into action and could only muster three points in the second half. 

Iowa slowly worked its way back into the game after trailing 20-10 in the third quarter. The success was led by maligned quarterback Spencer Petras, who completed just one of his first nine passes. 

His 42-yard pass to Keagan Johnson in the fourth quarter set up a field goal that trimmed the deficit to 20-16. After another defensive stop, Petras, who  finished 17-for-31 for 195 yards and two touchdowns, found Nico Ragaini for a 44-yard touchdown on the first play of a drive to give Iowa the lead for the first time.

The Iowa defense that leads the nation in turnover margin clinched the win with an interception of Roberson on fourth down with 2:10 left. It was the team’s fourth interception of the game.

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