Penn State Football: Winners and Losers from Victory over Iowa Hawkeyes

Happy Valley played host to a good old-fashioned Big Ten slugfest Saturday afternoon.

The Penn State Nittany Lions ran the ball effectively and played stifling defense during their 13-3 win over the Iowa Hawkeyes.

Penn State improved its record to 5-1 overall and 2-0 in Big Ten play.

Now let's take a look at some of the winners and losers of this game.

Winner: Penn State Offensive Line

The star of Saturday afternoon's matchup was, without question, the Nittany Lion offensive line.

The Penn State linemen excelled in both pass protection and the running game.

Iowa did not register a single sack and very seldom even applied pressure on the Penn State quarterbacks.

In addition to a strong, reliable pocket, the Penn State offensive line opened holes for the ground game. Running backs Silas Redd and Curtis Dukes reaped the benefits to the tune of 5.1 and 6.7 yards per carry, respectively.

The lone negative on the afternoon came when a Silas Redd touchdown run was called back due to a holding call on the line. Otherwise, the line play was superb.

The big men up front rarely get the recognition they deserve, but Saturday afternoon, they carried Penn State to victory.

Winner: Silas Redd

Sophomore tailback Silas Redd impressed in the win over the Hawkeyes. 

Redd finished the day with 142 yards on 28 carries.

Perhaps the most impressive part of Redd's performance was the fact the Iowa defense knew he was coming and still couldn't stop him.

The insertion of Matt McGloin at quarterback helped to open up the Nittany Lion passing game, but everyone involved knew that, ultimately, this game would be won on the ground.

Penn State really leaned on Redd in the latter stages of the second half as they played with a lead.

The Iowa defensive front had no answers late in the game as Redd chewed through them and helped seal the victory.

Winner: Cornerback Adrian Amos

Adrian Amos is a true freshman cornerback who got his first career start on Saturday; stepping in for injured starter D'Anton Lynn.

He spent most of the game covering Marvin McNutt, Iowa's most dynamic offensive playmaker. McNutt entered the contest averaging just over 100 yards and a touchdown per game.

Amos did an excellent job locking down the Hawkeyes' top threat. McNutt was held to 72 yards on just four receptions, but 25 of those came against a soft zone on Iowa's final play of the game.

The young cornerback showed a lot of promise as he got the better of a critical matchup Iowa sought to exploit.

Loser: Quarterback Robert Bolden

Our first loser of the day is Penn State quarterback Robert Bolden.

Joe Paterno continues to use the Robert Bolden and Matt McGloin rotation under center.

Bolden started the game and led the team's lone drive in the first quarter. During the drive, he looked ineffective and all three of his completions came via some sort of delfection or tip.

Once McGloin entered the game the play-calling opened up some. The Nittany Lions offense is rather vanilla by nature, but they clearly trust McGloin more than Bolden.

While neither has shined thus far in the season, McGloin has proven to be the more effective choice and deserves to start Week 7 against the Purdue Boilermakers.

Loser: Penn State Red-Zone Offense

Despite the win, Penn State fans will still leave this game with a sour taste from poor offensive play inside the red zone.

The Nittany Lions settled for a pair of 20-yard field goals in the first half, as they were unable to punch the ball into the end zone.

In the third quarter, with Penn State leading 6-3, Matt McGloin threw the ball up for wideout Derek Moye, but was picked off. This interception loomed large, as points were coming at a premium.

Penn State finally came through in the red zone with a late, two-yard touchdown pass. 

Penn State has struggled in the red zone all season and will need to find a way to resolve this problem as it gets deeper into Big Ten play.

Loser: Iowa Quarterback James Vandenberg

Iowa quarterback James Vandenberg had a rough day at Beaver Stadium.

Vandenberg was okay, albeit unspectacular, in the first half of Satuday's game. The Hawkeyes posted only three first half points, but still found themselves trailing by only a field goal at the half.

Vandenberg returned to the field hoping to finally crack open the Penn State defense and head back to Iowa City with a win.

Unfortunately for Vandenberg, things didn't quite pan out that way.

The Penn State defense got to the Hawkeye quarterback throughout the entire second half. Vandenberg threw two interceptions, was sacked five times, and lost a costly fumble.

Stout defense has long been Penn State's mantra, but James Vandenberg really hurt his team with three second half turnovers.