Penn State Football: Grading the Nittany Lions' Game vs Iowa

Penn State knocked off Iowa by a score of 13-3 on Saturday, picking up their first win against the Hawkeyes since 2007. It feels as though it has been longer for many Penn State fans, but the Nittany Lions improved to 5-1 overall and are now 2-0 in the Big Ten.

As has been the case all season, Penn State's defense put together a great performance, creating turnovers and bringing heavy pressure on the quarterback. Penn State also held Iowa's top receiver and rusher under 100 yards. To top things off, Iowa failed to score a touchdown for the first time in four seasons.

As for the offense, Penn State proved that the strength of the offense is the running game, and the passing game needs to continue to improve. 

Here is a look at the weekly report card for the Nittany Lions.

Quarterbacks

Penn State's quarterbacks combined for 15-of-26 pass completions and 164 passing yards and one touchdown. Both Rob Bolden and Matt McGloin struggled inside the red zone, though, leaving the competition likely to drag on for another week.

But McGloin has started to assert himself as the guy who needs to see more playing time. The offense just moves better with him behind center, and that cannot be denied. McGloin completed 12 of his 19 pass attempts, thanks to some sure hands from his receivers, for 133 yards and threw the only touchdown pass of the game. His style is still erratic, but at this point in the season, the offense probably needs to be handed over to him, for better or for worse.

Bolden completed 3-of-7 pass attempts for 31 yards and saw little playing time after his first possession on the field. Bolden had a few passes tipped on the opening offensive drive for Penn State, but the football was fortunate to land in the hands of players in blue jerseys. But the offense had to settle for a field goal inside the red zone despite using a fake field goal run to give them a second chance from inside the red zone.

Penn State's passing game has become a sideshow, and that rarely leads to success. If it does not get going soon, it could be the biggest reason Penn State struggles in games against Nebraska, Ohio State and Wisconsin in November.

Running Backs

Penn State showed a dedication to the running game, with Silas Redd setting a career high for single game rushing yards. Redd finished his day with 142 yards, averaging 5.1 yards per rush attempt.

But it wasn't all Redd on this day. Curtis Dukes got in to the mix a bit and added 60 yards on nine carries. Stephfon Green suited up for the first time all season but was a non factor in the running game. If all goes to plan, though, he could work his way in to the mix down the line and help form a a three-headed monster in the future.

The running game benefited from a good outing by the offensive line, which we will dive in to in just a moment.

Wide Receivers

The wide receivers had a decent afternoon, catching some tough footballs and keeping an eye on the ball on a good number of tipped passes. Despite an average day all-around, no receiver shined particularly better than another.

For Penn State, Justin Brown led the receiving game with 42 yards on three catches. Derek Moye equaled that yardage on two catches. Fullback Joe Suhey matched Brown's reception total for 33 yards.

Devon Smith had one nice catch and run for 21 yards, but that was all. Tight end Andrew Szczerba caught a few tipped passes, but had minimal impact for most of the game.

It was tight end Kevin Haplea who caught the only touchdown pass of the day, doing so in the back of the end zone as McGloin looked to someone to roll right. It was his first catch of the season and his only catch of the game.

Offensive Line

For the most part, the offensive line played well in the trenches against a team that has dominated them in recent years. The running game had a great day on the ground, and the passing game didn't appear to totally embarrass under a lack of ass protection. That said, the pass protection still has room to improve moving forward.

Penn State's offensive line did not allow a sack, and against Iowa, that is quite a stat based on past games in this series.

"I was pleased," Joe Paterno said of his offensive line's performance. "We kind of challenged them. There's a couple kids there that should be really, really good that I had been disappointed in. They came through today and I won't say any names. I thought they were consistent and they hustled right up to the end. They stayed with their blocks. I thought the pass protection overall was pretty good. Iowa's a good defensive football team; always has been sound. I think they got better, but we got a ways to go yet. I'm not going to get carried away yet."

Defensive Line

As always, the defensive line was dominant on Saturday afternoon. The Nittany Lions allowed just 84 rushing yards and came through with five sacks, two and a half coming from the defensive line.

Devon Still was second on the team with six tackles and added to his Big Ten leading tackle for loss total with 1.5 for a loss of 14 yards. That includes one sack.

The defensive line shut down a tough running back, holding Iowa's Marcus Coker under 100 yards. Iowa's quarterback, James Vandenberg, had his worst outing of the season, passing for under 200 yards for the first time this season and failing to throw a touchdown pass for the first time this season. The defensive line should be given credit for bringing pressure on Vandenberg on a consistent basis.

Linebackers

Glenn Carson backed up his statements from earlier in the week by calling Penn State a football school and Iowa a wrestling school (never mind the facts that could easily be thrown back at him on that point). Carson tied Devon Still and Jordan Hill for second on the team with tackles.

Gerald Hodges had what may be the play of the day, forcing Vandenberg to fumble, which killed any late effort Iowa had to get back in to the game. Hodges had five tackles, including a sack as well.

Khairi Fortt saw some increased playing time in the absence of Mike Mauti, and he finished his day with five tackles including 1.5 sacks.

Secondary

Iowa came in to the game with the 28th ranked passing offense, but against Penn State, the Hawkeyes were able to put together 253 passing yards. But despite getting some plays to move the offense early on, Iowa was unable to have much success in the passing game.

Iowa completed 17 of their 34 pass attempts and were intercepted twice, by Malcolm Willis and Nick Sukay. Drew Astorino led the Nittany Lions with 11 tackles, six solo tackles.

Coaching

Joe Paterno pulled out a classic Paterno call, going for a fake field goal and having the kicker run for a first down. The call came on Penn State's first drive, showing that he was not about to settle for a field goal. While that call was certainly a good move, the offense still stalled inside the red zone on the drive.

The offense only managed to score 13 points against an Iowa team that allowed 44 points to Iowa State and 27 points to Pittsburgh this season. This is not the same Iowa defense Penn State has seen in recent seasons, but the offensive game plan is only half of the equation.

The defensive staff once again put together a scheme that they felt was more than good enough to come through with a win, and that certainly panned out as planned. Iowa failed to score a touchdown for the first time in four years.

Overall

A win against Iowa. these don't seem to come around all too often. Everyone following Penn State should cherish this one for a day or two before focusing on what lies ahead.

The defense was rock solid, as per usual. The offense struggled but got the job done. Special teams had some positives as well. Penn State even threw a trick play in to the mix. All in all, it was a solid win against a Big Ten nemesis.

There is still work to be done, and that passing game continues to be a sore subject.

Kevin McGuire is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. Unless otherwise noted, all quotes were obtained first-hand or via official interview materials from Penn State University. 

McGuire is the national college football writer for Examiner.com. Follow his college football discussion on Google+ and Twitter. Become a fan of him on Facebook.