Lions struggle against Iowa

By RYAN HOCKENSMITH
Collegian Staff Writer

No one rolled out a welcome mat for the No. 2 Penn State football team when it traveled to Iowa City last Saturday for a battle with Big Ten opponent Iowa.

Far from it.

The Hawkeyes took that welcome mat, rolled it up and almost stepped on the Nittany Lions' national title hopes.

But for the sixth straight weekend, Penn State controlled the most important aspect of the conference clash -- the Lions walked out of Kinnick Stadium with a 31-7 victory.

"I thought we played pretty well, both sides of the football," Penn State coach Joe Paterno said. "They did some things well, and they didn't have a turnover.

"If you don't get a turnover, it's tough."

The lethargic victory pushed Penn State to 6-0, 2-0 in the Big Ten and dropped lowly Iowa to 1-4, 0-2 in the conference. The Lions win wasn't easy, however.

Lions punter Pat Pidgeon had his first blocked punt of the season, setting up Iowa's only score of the day. Placekicker Travis Forney missed his first field goal of the season.

And Penn State quarterback Kevin Thompson, who has started every game the past two seasons, took a shot to the ribs in the first quarter that brought Lions trainers onto the field. After a few minutes, Thompson finally trotted off the field without assistance. He would return later.

Iowa trailed just 7-0 with 48 seconds left in the first half, benefiting from two interceptions inside its own red zone.

But that's when Penn State, led by junior quarterback Rashard Casey, pieced together a smooth 63-yard touchdown drive in the half's final minute.

Casey finished the drive himself, lugging in a six-yard keeper for a two-touchdown advantage heading to the locker room.

The Hawkeyes struck back, though, on their second drive of the second half.

Iowa quarterback Randy Reiners orchestrated a six-play, 76-yard scoring drive capped by a 40-yard touchdown strike to wide receiver Rob Thein, as Iowa closed to within 14-7.

Two possessions later, Lions tailback Eric McCoo, in the midst of a tough sophomore campaign, broke loose on a 47-yard scoring run to lower Penn State's blood pressure.

As the third quarter ended, however, Iowa again had clawed back into the game.

Reiners engineered another long drive down the field, pushing the Hawkeyes to a critical fourth down at the Penn State 2-yard line as time expired.

First-year coach Kirk Ferentz sent his Hawkeyes offense back onto the field to go for a touchdown. But Penn State senior co-captain Brandon Short broke through the line and wrapped up Reiners on an attempted quarterback rollout play.

Short latched onto Reiners' ankles, and teammates Mac Morrison and Askari Adams helped plant the senior like an Iowa cornstalk.

"We weren't able to get outside," Ferentz said. "We just didn't execute it the way we wanted. We were really looking for a run-pass option."

Penn State added 10 more points and improved on its unblemished record, despite all the problems. The Lions now must prepare for this weekend's home date with No. 18 Ohio State.

"You're not going to play a perfect football game," Paterno said. "We were much better than we've been, and I think we'll continue to get better."