Penn State Vs Iowa Post-Game Analysis

It wasn't quite the dominating offensive performance I had predicted, but it was Penn State's defense and the shaky, but efficient, play of the Lion's offense that came through. Morelli had a very shaky first quarter throwing for just 38 yards on 5 of 11 completions. Kinlaw also didn't look so good in the first quarter contributing to the Lion's turnover column with a momentum killing fumble. However, the lions finally showed a little offense with 10 minutes left in the first half driving to the half yard line on the legs of Evan Royster, the Lions' red-shirt freshman tailback. On second and goal from the half yard line, Mickey Shuler caused a false-start penalty which eventually caused the Lion's to kick a 24 yard field goal. After another three and out for the defense, Penn State got the ball back with plenty of time left in the half. Morelli engineered an 8 play, 80 yard touchdown drive during which he went 6 of 7 passing, his only miss coming on a drop from a wide open Chris Bell in the endzone, who should've scored. The touchdown pass came instead to the Nittany Lion's big play receiver, Derrick Williams, on a 24 yard pass. After another impressive stop, the Lion's got the ball back with about 30 seconds left in the half. It looked as if Penn State would just run out the clock, but after a 17 yard gain on an Evan Royster run, the plan changed. Morelli threw a strike to Andrew Quarless to get the Lions down to the Iowa 36, and Kevin Kelly kicked a, career long, 53 yard field goal. The kick tied the longest by a Nittany Lion kicker in Beaver Stadium history. The Lion's defense continued to dominate the Hawkeyes throughout the second half after holding them scoreless in the first. It seemed that Jake Christensen was not being flanked by his own backs, but by the defensive line of Penn State. The four man front for Penn State found themselves in the back field very very often causing lots of pressure. The Lions sacked Christensen 4 times, and, more importantly, they shook him up nicely. All told, the final score was Penn State 27, Iowa 7. Rodney Kinlaw had the best day of his career rushing 28 times for a personal record, 168 yards, and two touchdowns. He scored on runs of 12 and 23 yards, one of which came late in the 4th quarter to seal the victory. The red-shirt freshman, Evan Royster, also had a spectacular debut rushing 16 times for 86 yards. Royster went out in the second half though with an undisclosed knee injury. Morelli had a fairly successful day throwing the ball going 18 of 31 for 233 yards and a touchdown strike to Derrick Williams. Numbers can be deceiving though, as described above. He threw two interceptions late, one coming on a play where Morelli tried to force the ball when he should've taken the sack. The two interceptions did not affect the final outcome of the game though. He looked solid for the first time against a Big Ten team, and he should feel good about his performance. He will need to take that confidence into next week. With the running game working very well, the passing game clicking at times, and the defense looking spectacular after a bit of a beating last week, the Lions earned themselves a B in my book. There are still too many issues with turnovers. The Lions will need to protect the ball against a much less forgiving Wisconsin offense. I would also feel bad if I didn't mention the beating laid upon Wisconsin, Penn State's next opponent, by the Fighting Illini. The final score there was 31-26, but that score is deceiving. Might I add that Penn State held Mendenhall, Illinois' tail-back, to just 76 yards rushing, while Wisconsin let him rip for 160 yards on just 19 carries? Check back here next friday for a complete preview of Penn State and Wisconsin which will include my score prediction.