Penn State Ends Drought with 13-3 Win over Iowa

Story posted October 10, 2011 in CommRadio, Sports by Chris McKeown

Sophomore Silas Redd has had some big shoes to fill with Evan Royster, Penn State’s all-time leading rusher, graduating last year. Against Iowa on Saturday, Redd accumulated 142 yards on 28 carries in a breakout performance that helped propel the Nittany Lions to a 13-3 victory, their first win over the Hawkeyes since 2007.

“We had an extra chip on our shoulder,” Redd said. “Iowa’s had our number the past couple of years, so this win feels really good.”

The first quarter was full of long drives by Iowa as well as Penn State. Iowa’s initial drive of 11 plays and 47 yards resulted in a punt from Penn State’s 33-yard line.

Penn State found moderate success in their first drive. A fake field goal run by Evan Lewis put the Nittany Lions in position for a touchdown, but the team ultimately settled for a field goal on the 88-yard drive. Offensive tackle Quinn Barham said the team still felt confident that they would find the end zone.

“We moved the ball up and down the field and our confidence didn’t go down at all,” Barham said. “We stayed upbeat and we knew what we were capable of doing.”

Iowa answered Penn State with a 12-play, 72-yard drive that gave Mike Meyer an opportunity to kick a 23-yard field goal to tie the game 3-3 less than five minutes into the second quarter.

Then, Matt McGloin reminded everyone what he’s capable of. When given the reins, he completed four passes for 72 yards and brought Penn State back to the red zone. Upon failing to score a touchdown again, Fera booted a field goal to make it 6-3.

The game remained at 6-3 through the third quarter, with plenty of missed opportunities for both teams.

Dropped passes by Hawkeye receiver Marvin McNutt didn’t help Iowa’s cause, while Penn State safety Drew Astorino dropped an interception with open space in front of him. McGloin made a questionable decision in the red zone to end the third quarter, throwing an interception to junior cornerback Micah Hyde that appeared to swing momentum back in Iowa’s favor.

Fortunately for Penn State, the momentum quickly swung back their way. On a third-and-seven play, Penn State linebacker Gerald Hodges forced a fumble on a sack of Vandenberg that was recovered by linebacker Nate Stupar. The crowd at Beaver Stadium, looking for a reason to get excited all afternoon, finally erupted with deafening cheering.

“[Coach Vanderlinden] is always telling me that I’m just realizing what I can be,” Hodges said. “He’s always pushing me to make game-changing plays and I could tell how excited he was today.”

The Nittany Lions would finally find the end zone, rushing the ball on ten consecutive plays with Redd, running back Curtis Dukes and fullback Joe Suhey before McGloin connected with sophomore tight end Kevin Haplea for a two-yard touchdown.

Stupar was excited to see the offense finally punch one in.

“It was a great feeling,” Stupar said. “They were in the red zone before and we were ecstatic to see them score. It gave us a little relief and took some pressure off our backs.”

After the score, the defense could smell blood in the water. Safeties Malcolm Willis and Nick Sukay each had an interception in the fourth quarter. Three consecutive sacks of Vandenberg on Iowa’s final drive of the game ended any chance of Iowa continuing their dominance over Penn State.

Hodges knew the Hawkeyes were running out of fuel once they were down ten points.

“We could kind of see them getting drained and it seemed like they were tired,” Hodges said. “We were feeding off of their tiredness as well as our offense’s energy.”

Iowa’s Big Ten-leading pass offense didn’t come close to as advertised on Saturday afternoon. Hawkeye quarterback James Vandenberg was a mere 17 for 34 through the air (50%), racking up 169 yards and throwing two costly interceptions in the fourth quarter.

Penn State’s quarterback situation is still undecided. McGloin played in eight of the ten offensive drives today, but Jay Paterno stated that there is still much debate over the situation.

Penn State’s running back situation was much simpler and very effective, with Silas Redd and Curtis Dukes combining for 202 yards on the ground. Redd had a lot of praise for his fellow running back in Dukes.

“[Dukes] brings a change of pace,” Redd said. “He’s a big guy and he just runs guys over out there. I try but it helps when you’re 240 pounds.”

It was not just football on the mind of the sophomore running back on Saturday, however.

“Many people don’t realize I lost my grandmother this past Sunday morning,” Redd said. “I really want to thank Penn State for allowing me to go home and be with my family on Friday. Thankfully I was able to come back, focus on Iowa and she’s in a better place now.”

Penn State will take on the Purdue Boilermakers at noon on Saturday, October 15 at Beaver Stadium. The game will be broadcast live on ComRadio.

 

Chris McKeown is a sophomore at Penn State majoring in broadcast journalism. He can be reached at csm5206@psu.edu.