We Own Penn State: What We Learned From Iowa's 24-3 Win Over The Lions.

For the eighth time in the last nine meetings, Iowa beat Penn State. The score was 24-3. That score would not only indicate a substantial degree of dominance, but it was also the same score by which the Nits lost to the defending national champions earlier in the year.

Yet, the fact was the game always seemed much closer than the score would indicate, and I, for one, didn't really settle down until Shaun Prater's interception return for a touchdown with 1:55 left to play in the game.

Nevertheless, Kirk Ferentz's Hawks did what they set out to do. They played a dominant physical game that was relatively clean and free of mistakes.

It was also their first win this year over a nationally ranked opponent, and some would say, with all due respect to Iowa State, their first win over a quality opponent. At the very least, this is the first win the national punditry will give them credit for.

Therefore, we now know a lot more about our Hawkeyes than we did after last week's Ball State massacre. In effect, we have a much clearer idea about what the Hawks bring to the table, and what we can expect from them from here on out.

Davis Down. Johnson Down. Tarp Down. True Frosh at Middle Linebacker.

Backup middle linebacker, or MIKE, Bruce Davis went down in the Arizona game with a torn ACL. He will miss the remainder of the year.

Backup MIKE Troy Johnson went down early in the PSU game with what the rumor mill has said was a concussion. He missed the remainder of the game.

Starting MIKE Jeff Tarpinian's career has been racked by injuries. As for this year, he missed the end of fall camp due to a broken hand. He also missed Iowa's first game against Eastern Illinois.

He came back for the last three games, during which he accumulated a conference-leading 10.67 tackles per game. However, last week against Ball State, he left the game with what appeared to be a stinger.

When Johnson came out against Penn State, Tarp tried to go, but it was obvious he was uncomfortable. In effect, the Iowa coaches pulled him and went with true freshman James Morris.

A number of years ago, Iowa defensive coordinator Norm Parker was asked about a heralded true freshman starting at linebacker. Norm's typically witty reply was to note that it was highly unlikely that a kid that had been going to school on a yellow bus only one year earlier would be patrolling the heart of Iowa's defense.

Nonetheless, that is where we appear to be now.

Considering he is a true freshman, Morris handled himself very well. He recorded seven tackles, never seemed lost or out of position, and displayed some impressive speed. Yet, he is still a true freshman.

With that said, there is some good news.

According to Kirk Ferentz, "I think we’ll be absolutely fine.  Tarp tried to go.  He passed his pregame test and tried to go and just couldn’t finish.  He didn’t start the game; Troy Johnson started the game.  That was our plan.  Tarp missed a lot of time this week, and Troy was doing a great job.  He came out, and we expect him back in the matter of days.  Tarp will be the same way.  This week off really will come at a good time for him and Troy."

Actually, this is very good news, as despite the way Morris handled himself this week against Penn State, the thought of going against Denard Robinson in two weeks with a true freshman at MIKE is not at all pleasant.

Regardless of Stats, The Defensive Line Punished PSU

Officially, the defensive line only generated two sacks against true freshman Ralph Bolden.

However, during the first half and much of the fourth quarter, Bolden was getting absolutely mauled by Iowa's front four.

I couldn't even begin to count how many times he got the ball away milliseconds before getting knocked to the ground.

On top of that, there were at least two screens that the line just ate up.

Furthermore, Penn State only managed 54 yards rushing for a 2.3 yards-per-carry average. Even more impressive is that almost half of those yards came on a 26-yard Evan Royster scamper in the closing seconds of the game, at which point the Hawks were in full prevent defense. 

After the Penn State game, Iowa is the No. 2 rushing defense in the country, allowing 63.2 yards per game.

They are also the No. 2 scoring defense, and No. 4 in total defense.

This is primarily due to the play of their defensive line.

Inside of Line Really Needs To Win Favorable Matchups

That said, during a stretch of the third quarter, during which PSU had its best scoring opportunity, the Hawkeyes allowed quarterback Rob Bolden far too much time to stand in the pocket.

The Nits were consistently running max protect, usually using the extra blockers to double and triple team defensive end Adrian Clayborn.

This is something we saw in the Arizona game, and it is something we are going to see all year against Iowa. Teams will run max protect and run short routes to get the ball out of the quarterback's hands as quickly as possible.

In those situations, Iowa's other linemen, and particularly their inside lineman, really need to win those favorable matchups, get to the quarterback, and get in the quarterback's passing lanes. 

In the end, one or two drives does not lessen an extremely good game by Iowa's front four. Nevertheless, until every lineman not named Clayborn consistently brings pressure, every lineman named Clayborn is going to be mobbed on every single play.

Don't Sweat The Second Half Conservatism

I suspect a lot of fans really got upset with the offensive play-calling in the second half.

For most of that time, Iowa was up 17-3, at which point Kirk Ferentz and offensive coordinator Ken O'Keefe went into extreme conservative mode.

Penn State loaded up the box and run blitzed on almost every play in the second half. Due to this, the play action and favorable one-on-one matchups were there for Ricky Stanzi throughout the second part of this game.

If Iowa had chosen to, and if they had executed, they probably could have put up another two-three touchdowns.

Nevertheless, instead of exploiting Penn State's aggressiveness, Ferentz and O'Keefe continued to run into a wall of blue.

This led directly to two of Iowa's five second half possessions going for three-and-out. Two more of those drives only saw one first down, and none of those drives led to any points.

Despite the feeling many fans had that Iowa wasn't putting away the game, or that they couldn't get away with this against Ohio State or Michigan, it has to be understood that football is a complete game. In other words, every facet of the game is connected to each other. The offense is not independent of the defense, and the defense is not independent of the special teams.

Ferentz assessed his situation, and felt that there was no way Penn State's offense could score two touchdowns on his defense. In effect, he let the defense and field position salt away the game.

It is highly likely his overall game plan would have been different against a team with as dynamic an offense as Michigan.

In short, it is pointless to blame the Hawks for not putting more points on the board or putting away their opponent. To Kirk Ferentz—unlike Urban Meyer or Bob Stoops or so many other "sexier" coaches—a 24-3 win means the same thing as a 6-4 win, which means the same thing as a 55-0 win.

A-Rob

Have I mentioned how much A-Rob keeps impressing me more with every game?

There have been multiple times already this season when the team put the game on his shoulders, and he has consistently delivered.

Against PSU, Iowa simply needed a first down run to move the ball out of their own end zone and to ice the game away. And A-Rob delivered.

His statline for the game included 28 carries for 95 yards and a 3.4 yards-per-carry average. He also had one catch for six yards.

Needless to say, these are not glaring numbers. On the other hand, as previously mentioned, A-Rob was facing eight and nine man fronts, whose primary function was to shut him down.

It has been said before, but Robinson is not the prettiest back. He might very well be the slowest back in the Big Ten. Nonetheless, he is such a perfect fit for this or any Kirk Ferentz-coached Iowa Hawkeye team.

Ryan Donahue Comes Up Big

If there is anybody that doubts the importance of a punter, then that person didn't watch last night's football game.

Looking at fourth-and-seven from the Penn State 33, Iowa had three choices: Go for the first down, try for a really long field goal, or trust in the punter, Ryan Donahue, and play the field position game.

According to Kirk Ferentz, "Our staff, you know, they talked to me, I was half tempted to go for it on that fourth and whatever it was down there, and the guys reminded me that maybe field position might be a good idea, so I appreciate that voice of reason, and Ryan helped.  He made us look good.  He dropped it right in there."

Given Kirk Ferentz's natural conservatism, I don't believe for a second he was "tempted to go for it." However, a large part of the reason for that was the confidence he had in his senior punter.

In the end, Donahue dropped it right at the five. It hit the ground, bounced back two yards, where the coverage team downed it at the seven. At that point, with just over ten minutes to go in the game, Penn State's chances took a nosedive.

If Donahue had put it in the end zone, or worse, shanked it, PSU's chances of scoring would have increased exponentially.

The Secondary

Penn State's biggest play of the night came on a 49-yard bomb from Bolden to receiver Brett Brackett.

Forgetting the fact that it was set up by a horrible roughing-the-passer call, it came with 14-seconds remaining in the half, and it appeared that cornerback Shaun Prater was horribly out of position.

In truth, I'm not sure whether Prater was that badly out of position, or he was expecting safety help from Tyler Sash. Frankly, it is hard for me to believe that Ferentz would have had his safeties play up with 14 seconds remaining in the half, and Penn State needing that many yards to make something happen.

Regardless, somebody in the secondary had a breakdown there.

In fact, there were a few moments in the game where the secondary got bailed out by poorly thrown balls and dropped passes.

On an early play in the game, the other cornerback, Micah Hyde, got smoked on a go route. The PSU receiver would have had a big play, except that he misplayed the pass, which wasn't particularly well thrown to begin with.

Thus far this year, due to the dominance of the front four, as well as the quick-release game plan of most of Iowa's opponents, the secondary has not gotten tested very much.

Last week against Ball State, it seemed like the safeties essentially had the week off.

I don't know if the secondary's occasionally sloppy play is accountable to some sort of rust, or maybe some degree of impatience. After all, people don't play football in order to sit back in a deep zone coverage and do nothing. That's kind of like playing right field in little league.

However, they will have to shore this up, as from here on out, Iowa will be facing a host of very experienced and/or talented quarterbacks that will be sure to take some shots downfield.

Iowa's Receivers Are Playing Like Upperclassmen

It was great to see Iowa's receivers playing like the upperclassmen they are.

Specifically, Marvin McNutt caught five passes for 93 yards, and DJK grabbed four for 64 yards and a touchdown. On top of that, senior reserve Colin Sandeman had one grab for eight yards, and Paul Chaney had an end-around for 15 yards and a big first down.

After an inconsistent game against Arizona, as well as a game against Ball State that saw them drop four passes, it was good to see them really playing up to their talents.

If they can continue to do this, and Ricky Stanzi can continue his stellar play, the Hawkeye passing game can really open things up for a running game that is sure to be game-planned against every single game this season.

Another Solid Game For America's Quarterback

And speaking of solid play, the Americanzi continues to impress.

It is evident his big games against lesser teams were no flukes. He is going through his progressions, making big plays, and leading his team down the field.

He also threw his first bad interception of the year—his other pick was not on him. However, even though it was a poor throw, it was a pass that an aggressive quarterback has to try for.

He went long to DJK and seemed to think that the safety would follow Marvin McNutt in the other direction. He didn't and the end result was what amounted to an arm punt.

Again, even though it ended badly, when the opportunity presents itself, it was a throw a good quarterback has to try for every time.

On top of that, I was happy to see Stanzi slide and go out of bounds on his only two runs, instead of trying to absorb a hit. That is a huge step in the right direction.

Now, if only he would learn to throw the ball away.

ESPN: Awful Coverage That You Don't Have To Pay For

At this point, I will get on my soapbox and say that ESPN might deliver the worst game coverage I have ever seen in my life. And it is getting worse and worse with every season.

I am not even referring to the typically silly and inane announcers and their absurd comparison of A-Rob to former Iowa tailback Freddy Russell.

More specifically, I am referring to missing the majority of the first quarter when Iowa played Arizona. Not because of the unquestionably great game that Auburn played against Clemson, but so that we could be treated to one asinine sideline interview on top of another asinine sideline interview that followed the game.

I am also referring camera angles that do absolutely nothing to enhance my viewing experience. It is fine if they want to show Joe Pa or Kirk Ferentz when the teams are in the huddles, but when the teams are lined up, showing me Ricky Stanzi's face does me no good.

Moreover, cutting away to an Oregon-Stanford game right when Iowa is in the process of kicking a field goal displayed directorial skills worthy of a junior high school AV club.

This is the result of an ESPN monopoly where, in the end, they have absolutely no competition, and can broadcast whatever lousy, amateurish product they want. As they know people have no other recourse but to watch their second-rate production, they just keep on doing it.

It is for this reason that ESPN fears the Big Ten Network, let alone a potential SEC Network.

In the end, every time I go to the bar and watch one of these awful displays, I am thankful that I canceled my cable/satellite a number of years ago. If I thought for one second that I was handing hard-earned money over to these crooks, I don't think I could live with myself.