UNIVERSITY PARK — No one saw that coming, least of all the Iowa Hawkeyes.
Iowa needed a win Nov. 5 at Beaver Stadium to become bowl eligible, and the Hawkeyes were coming off a bye week, rested and ready to take on the newly ranked Penn State Nittany Lions.
What they weren’t ready for was Penn State to take the opening drive of the night into the end zone, almost easily, or for the Lions to run off the first 21 points in the game.
Nor were they ready for 201 yards of offense and two touchdowns from Saquon Barkley, or for Penn State to pile up 599 yards altogether in the game.
And, they weren’t prepared to run the ball for just 30 yards.
If that all sounds like the making of a 41-14 rout for the Nittany Lions, that is exactly what it was.
“Certainly none of us were expecting this kind of game,” Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz said, “and none of us are very happy about it, quite frankly; nobody in our locker room.
“Credit goes to Penn State, they played a tremendous football game, right from the start, and we weren’t capable of responding. It’s, again, very disappointing. It’s not what we expected when we came in. Thought it would be a tough competitive ball game, and it turned out to be anything but that.”
For his part, Barkley said that the Lions can write their own future, and they have their destiny in their own hands.
What No. 10 Penn State will not be able to do, however, is surprise anyone again. That will unquestionably be true about the team’s next opponent, the Indiana Hoosiers.
Indiana is 5-4 so far, and like Iowa will be looking to become bowl-eligible with a win over Penn State. Unlike Iowa, which depends on its running game and has a more conservative offense, the Hoosiers can throw off sparks and put points on the board in bunches.
In the Hoosiers’ last game, for example, a 33-27 win at Rutgers on Nov. 5, they compiled 567 yards of offense, more than 400 of which came through the air. Quarterback Richard Lagow completed 28 of 40 passes against the Knights for 394 yards and three touchdowns.
Lagow led Indiana back from a 24-13, third-quarter deficit with three consecutive touchdowns to take the win, which was the Hoosiers’s second consecutive Big Ten east division victory.
Running backs Devine Redding and Zander Diamonte ran the ball a combined 22 times for 139 yards, while Mitchell Paige (six catches, 100 yards) and Nick Westbrook (five for 80 yards) led the receivers.
Redding is a dangerous back. For the season he has run 167 times for 793 yards and three touchdowns. Lagow has thrown for 2,574 yards so far and 15 touchdowns on 191 completions. Westbrook (708 yards), Ricky Jones (681 yards) and Paige (493 yards) are his favorite targets.
Indiana has been up-and-down this year. The Hoosiers started with two wins over FIU and Ball State, but then they lost to Wake Forest, 33-28, in their final non-conference game.
In the Big Ten, they’ve beaten Michigan State (24-21), Maryland (42-36) and Rutgers. Three consecutive losses, however, to Ohio State (38-17), Nebraska (27-22) and Northwestern (24-14) have their record at 3-3 in the conference.
Indiana has been hurt at times by turnovers. Lagow has thrown 13 interceptions, and in the Rutgers game, the Hoosiers turned it over four times, something that didn’t escape notice by head coach Kevin Wilson.
“The turnovers were bad,” Wilson said after the game. “We had four. You are lucky to win on the road with that. With the kicking errors we had in the PAT and field goal team, we are very fortunate to win.
“The kids played hard. The defense was awesome with the three and outs and stops. Our defense played really well. I was proud of those guys.”
For Penn State, the situation going into Indiana looks surprisingly similar to when the Lions traveled to Purdue after the Ohio State win.
PSU is coming off an emotional win, in White Out conditions, against an Iowa team that has had consistent success against it. All the earmarks are there for a flatter performance, something always dangerous on the road in the Big Ten.
Yet, Franklin and his players are keenly aware of that, and even though they were unhappy with their first half at Purdue, the Lions turned it on in the second half.
With a team like Indiana, which is even more productive offensively than Purdue, Penn State will be on guard against another so-so first half.
“We will never be satisfied, we will never be satisfied, ever,” Franklin said. “That’s not just coach speak; I mean that. We’ll always be looking at things that we need to get better in, areas that we can improve, depth that we need to create. Nine penalties alone need to be eliminated from the game. There are missed assignments, things like that.
“The most important thing is that we’re playing hard right now. Our guys are playing really hard. One play at a time. The championship standard and we tell our guys that the average play lasts six seconds.
“So, don’t think about 60 minutes, think about six seconds. Can you give us your best for six seconds at a time from an effort and focus standpoint, and right now we’re doing that. The guys are playing really hard, so I’m proud of them.”
Kickoff is set for noon Saturday, Nov. 12, in Bloomington, Ind.
