#3 Penn state loses at Iowa

Down 23-14 entering the 4th quarter, the Iowa Hawkeyes mounted a furious comeback that culminated in a last second FG to shock undefeated Penn State 24-23.  The loss dashes any realistic chance for 81 year old Joe Paterno to win another national title.  Penn State entered the game ranked #3 in the BCS behind Texas Tech and Alabama, and they’ll certainly drop in the standings following this loss and #4 Texas’ home win over Baylor.

The Nittany Lions dominated the first half statistically as they outgained Iowa 203 yards to 70 and owned the time of possession battle by a lopsided tally of 23:34 to 6:26.  Despite the overwhelming disparity in offensive production and possession, Penn State could only muster a 13-7 lead at halftime.  They started to play poorly in the second half and the Hawkeyes took advantage of their miscues to get back in the game.  Overall, Penn State owned an impressive 35:52 to 24:08 time of possession advantage, and a slight advantage in yardage (289-272) and first downs (24-19).

The winning blow was struck by a backup FG kicker, Daniel Murray, who lost his starting job early in the season and hadn’t kicked a field goal since the first week.  Due to the strong, swirling winds Hawkeye coach Kirk Ferentz opted to have Murray try the game winner.  He nailed a perfect shot right down the middle from 31 yards out with 1 second left to boost Iowa to their biggest win of the season and give Penn State their first loss.

Perhaps due to the perspective and wisdom of his experience, Nittany Lion coach Paterno wasn’t particularly downtrodden over the loss:

"We need to keep our heads up. We can still have a heck of a year. Their balloon still isn't busted. If we win the next two we'll have an opportunity to go to a big bowl."

Paterno, who once again coached from the press box due to his hip and leg ailments, has the dubious distinction of going undefeated and not winning the National Title on three separate occasions—most recently in 1994. Needless to say, JoePA isn’t a big fan of the BCS system.

Iowa improved to 6-4 with the win and has two games remaining on its schedule against Purdue at home and Minnesota on the road.  Penn State dropped to 9-1 and has two home games left on its docket against Indiana and #15 Michigan State.