Though he didn't play until the third quarter and touched the ball only five times, Austin Scott was arguably the most distinct offensive threat for the Penn State football team on Saturday.

In the 26-14 loss to Iowa, the freshman tailback carried just three times for 14 yards to become the Nittany Lions' leading rusher, while his 23 yards on two catches was the second-highest effort. Scott was the only Penn State player to score an offensive touchdown in the game.

Yet Penn State football coach Joe Paterno decided not to play the freshman in the first half, opting for senior Ricky Upton and freshman Tony Hunt at running back instead. The coach said Scott's absence was due to his recovery from mononucleosis that had kept him from practicing for most of the previous three weeks.

"He wasn't healthy until Wednesday or Thursday," Paterno said. "We started out doing a couple of things that he hadn't practiced in."

With the leading ground-gainer on the sideline, the Penn State running game netted a total of 28 yards on 25 carries and no one averaged more than 2.5 yards per carry.

Day to remember

Offense: Austin Scott -- His 24-yard scoring reception in the third quarter was possibly the most exciting scoring play for the Lions this season.

Slipping outside of one tackler, then inside two and bowling over two more on his way into the end zone, the freshman showed there might be football in Happy Valley next season. Maybe the mono will be completely gone by this Saturday's game against Ohio State.

Defense: Yaacov Yisrael -- The defensive back was responsible for Penn State's only touchdown in the first half and his 83-yard interception return was the sixth-longest in Penn State history. Most impressive on that play, the first touchdown of Yisrael's career, was his ability to realize the play and react. His open-field tackling was also strong and helped mask plays on which the defensive line was manhandled.

Iowa running back Fred Russell's longest carry was 14 yards in the game.

Day to forget

Offense: Pick 'em -- So many candidates here, it accurately represents the California gubernatorial election. Both quarterbacks were on their backs longer than an overturned turtle; the running backs, save Scott, didn't do anything for a running game that averaged a pathetic 1.4 yards per carry. Tight end Matt Kranchick was the only receiver with more than 25 yards. Penn State converted only two of 15 first downs.

Defense: Rich Gardner -- He was beaten on arguably the two most important plays of the second quarter -- a 20-yard pass from Nathan Chandler to Ramon Ochoa on third down that took the Hawkeyes to the Penn State two-yard line and the two-yard touchdown pass from Chandler to Matt Melloy on the very next play. Instead of forcing Iowa to kick a 37-yard field goal, the Hawkeyes managed to pull within one point. By the end of the game, Iowa was throwing at Gardner much more frequently than fellow cornerback Alan Zemaitis.

Did you notice?

The way the Iowa students ran into the stadium before the game? The kids came tearing down the metal steps more than 90 minutes before the game once the gates finally opened ... How nice it was to watch the game in a full stadium? Beaver Stadium still gets the nod as the better game-day atmosphere, but Kinnick Stadium gets points for selling out its seats.

Final word

"We just have to make plays" is becoming an obvious cop-out for deeper problems. Lack of organization, talent or direction? No one seems to be sure which one, or combination, it really is.