Review: Iowa 21, Penn State 10

Penn State fell to Iowa last night, 21-10 in both teams' Big Ten conference openers. The Nittany Lions were stymied on offense, forcing the young defense to carry the load. Mistakes were plentiful for both teams, but Penn State's proved most costly. One could say this is the most important week of the season for Penn State. Will they step up, or step down?

In today's game review, we'll break down Penn State's unit by unit performance.

Offense

• Offensive Line: A ton of questions were answered last night. Unfortunately, all the answers were negative for Penn State. The offensive line gave Daryll Clark very little time to throw early on, which led to Clark's shaky play the rest of the game. When the quarterback gets hit a lot early, he's unable to concentrate on throwing later.

The most egregious error by the line came in the second quarter, when RT DeOn'tae Pannell was beaten badly by Broderick Binns in the end zone. Binns forced Clark to fumble. Penn State recovered, but surrendered two points on the safety.

Penn State coaches decided to pull Pannell from the game, subbing in senior Nerraw McCormack at right tackle. The move didn't help all that much, as it wasn't just one player causing Penn State headaches. But none of this should take away from Iowa, as its defensive line played fantastic.

Stats: 3.3 yards per rush; 2 sacks (-7) allowed

• Receivers: There wasn't much Penn State's receivers could do to help the outcome of this game. If the ball can't get to you, you can't catch it. When the ball was thrown, it was usually rushed, off balance or tipped at the line. Chaz Powell (3/96, TD) was able to burn Iowa's corner on the first play of the game for a 79-yard scoring strike, but Penn State failed to stretch the field the rest of the game.

I thought Andrew Quarless (3/35) played a fantastic game, despite the coaches not utilizing him enough. Quarless was able to gain a critical first down late in the game, when he effortlessly threw aside the Iowa defender and proceeded to steamroll over three more. The coaching staff said earlier this year that the tight ends were going to be a big part of the offense. Really? When is that supposed to kick in?

Graham Zug was held without a reception. Derek Moye (2/48) was hindered by penalties and a bad call on an incompletion (he caught the ball!). After the hugely successful first play, play-action was all but abandoned by the coaches upstairs, who opted for quicker plays that still didn't work.

Stats: 8 receptions, 179 yards, 1 TD

• Running Backs: I feel bad for Evan Royster (17/69). It doesn't matter if you're Barry Sanders; if you don't have any blocking, you can't run well. And the one time Royster seemed to strike a big run late in the fourth quarter, he coughed it up. He also tipped a poorly-thrown ball that was intercepted. The coaching staff should have recognized early on that Iowa was easily pressuring Clark. Where were the screens to Royster? I can only recall one that worked, and another that didn't. That's it.

Another underutilized back was Stephfon Green (3/15), who like Royster, should have gotten the ball more on screens and passes into the flats. Penn State's running backs are fantastic in space, but were run in traditional fashion against Iowa. Without a decent offensive line, you can't run consistently against a front like the Hawkeyes'.

The quarterback runs for Clark (9/19) were supposed to loosen up the defense. They did, at first. But the inexperience of the offensive line did not allow plays to develop correctly, highlighted by the QB draws.

Stats: (RB/QB only) 31 attempts, 102 yards

• Quarterbacks: Daryll Clark (12-32, 198, TD, 3 INT) went from looking like a true Heisman darkhorse, to just another college quarterback, in less than a quarter. Clark's first strike to Powell seemed to set the tone that Penn State would not be timid, as they were in Iowa City last year. But after Clark was hit a few times, and it was apparent that the line wasn't going to give him as much time as everyone thought, Clark clammed up and played excruciatingly tight.

I hate to peg this all on Clark, but he became rattled way too easily by the Iowa pressure. Again, something we thought would change from the 2008 loss. Even with the quarterback runs for Clark, the game plan wasn't designed to combat the kind of pressure he was facing all night long. Worse yet, the coaches did a very poor job of adjusting their attack during the half time break.

Stats: 12-32, 198 yards, 1 touchdowns, 3 INT, 2 sacks (-9)

Defense

• Defensive Line: I was really impressed by Penn State's defense overall. Tom Bradley had his boys ready to roll early, including Larry Johnson's defensive linemen. While this unit did give up more than four yards per carry, it was able to keep Ricki Stanzi and the Iowa passing attack under pressure all game. Jack Crawford (5 tkl, TFL(-4), Sack(-4) came up with another great performance, along with Eric Latimore (4 tkl, TFL(-1), PBU) who came in off the bench.

Jared Odrick (3 tkl) wasn't very noticeable this week, but he and Ollie Ogbu (tkl, TFL(-1) kept Iowa from running up the middle, and provided very good pressure on Stanzi. Penn State's defensive line, while not dominant, did its job against a very good Iowa offensive line.

Stats: 4.4 yards per rush allowed; 16 tackles, 2.5 TFL (-6), 0.5 sacks (-4)

• Linebackers: While most fans were anticipating the return of Navorro Bowman (13 tkl, 3 TFL(-7) to the lineup, it was Josh Hull (13 tkl, 2 TFL(-8), Sack(-7) who stole the show in the linebacking corps.

I was very pleased with Penn State's defensive game plan, which some might compare to the old "bend but don't break" style played under Jerry Sandusky. Tom Bradley dialed up significant pressure on blitzes all night, which really shook up Stanzi, and forced multiple mistakes by the Iowa signal caller. Fans have been calling for more blitzes by Penn State, especially with such talent at linebacker. Well, we got just that on Saturday night.

But the absence of All-American captain Sean Lee loomed large, even though the defense played well without him. Bani Gbadyu (7 tkl) did very well filling in for Lee. I was very surprised to see Nate Stupar (no stats) come in when Gbadyu went down with an injury.

Stats: 33 tackles, 5 TFL (-15), Sack (-7)

• Defensive Backfield: Penn State's secondary gave up a few big pass plays, but none of them were particularly devastating. Again, "bend, but don't break." I thought the secondary played the best overall of any unit Penn State fielded Saturday night. Of course, that's all relative, since we have to consider that this was supposed to be the absolute biggest liability going into the season.

Looking at this unit's overall performance, they just seemed to always be in the right place at the right time. Hero (SS) Nick Sukay (9 tkl, 4 PBU, INT) had a career night against the Hawkeyes. Free safety Drew Astorino (5 tkl) was fantastic again on run support, while tipping a ball into Sukay's arms. Starting corners Knowledge Timmons (3 tkl) and D'Anton Lynn (tkl, 0.5 TFL(-4), 0.5 Sack(-4) kept the Iowa receivers in check. I absolutely loved the corner blitz by Lynn.

Even coming off the bench, AJ Wallace (4 tkl, INT) and freshman Stephon Morris (PBU) made their presence known. This unit played a great game.

Stats: 22 Tkl, 5 PBU, 2 INT, 0.5 TFL (-4), 0.5 Sack (-4).

Special Teams

• Kicking/Punting: I'll get to the blocked punt in a minute. But I thought the kickers did well overall. Colin Wagner (1-2, lng 27; 4 KO, 61.8 avg) only missed on a long 47 yarder. We could get on his case about that, since he's supposed to have a strong leg, but he wasn't the reason Penn State lost this game.

Jeremy Boone (53.5 YPP) was again great on punts, including a 57-yard bomb.

• Returns/Coverage: Now, the blocked punt. Joe Paterno said after the game that it was a mistake in blocking, that it wasn't Boone's fault. I agree. Boone got the ball off in time, but Iowa's Arian Clayborn shot through Nick Sukay's block with little effort. It's unfortunate, because I felt overall the special teams played well. Besides the blocked punt, the special teams did its job.

Overall

Penn State has to use this loss as a "teachable moment." Daryll Clark can't get down on himself about this. He doesn't have time. The defense can't say "what if" all week. They don't have time. And the offensive line can't sit around skulking. No one has time for that. This will be the real test for this team. Will they rise up and take control of their season, or let it spiral out of control? It will be up to the senior leadership we heard so much about this summer to get this team back on track.

Iowa came to play. There is no question the Hawkeyes are a team not to be underestimated by anyone the rest of this season. I was quite shocked to see that Iowa was ranked No. 17 in the Coaches Poll this week, a full four spots behind the Nittany Lions. Iowa has been completely impressive this season, with wins over two BCS conference foes, and then-No. 5 Penn State in Happy Valley.

But don't let it fool you. The Big Ten race is just beginning. There is still plenty of football to be played, and both of these teams have the talent to take home a title.

• Official Stats, via GoPSUSports.com:

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