NCAAF Key stats from Penn State’s win over Iowa
Penn State put together an impressive performance on Saturday night, dominating Iowa 31-0 during the White Out Game to make a major statement.
The Hawkeyes came into the game undermanned on the offensive side of the ball and Penn State completely stifled anything they tried to do throughout the game.
Now, the Nittany Lions face Northwestern and UMass before heading into their bye week ahead of their matchup against Ohio State on Oct. 21.
Here are some key stats from Penn State’s win on Saturday.
Penn State pitched a shutout, stifling the entire offense that Iowa had for the game. The Nittany Lions were dominant on the defensive side of the ball and forced a quarterback change before the night was over.
Coming into the year, there was a lot of hype and expectations for this defensive unit. It’s safe to say, they’re living up to that hype so far through four weeks of the year against competition they should overpower.
76
Staying with the theme of defense, Iowa was only able to record 76 yards of total offense during the game.
They could not do anything, having 56 yards through the air and only recording 20 rushing yards on 17 attempts. Despite the Hawkeyes missing their two best running backs and their top pass catching target, it was an impressive performance to shutout another Big Ten football team and allow less than 100 yards of offense.
215
Penn State finished the game with 215 yards rushing.
Kayton Allen had 72 yards, Beau Pribula had 55 in mop up time and Nick Singleton recorded 49 rushing yards.
The rushing attack still hasn’t popped yet, with only 3.8 yards per attempt in this game, but it’s been a consistent yard gainer which has helped the offense move the ball down the field this season.
4
Drew Allar didn’t put up a big stat line in this game, finishing with 166 passing yards on 25 completions, but he did throw four touchdown passes.
He looks comfortable and confident with his reads in the red zone and was able to be precise when throwing these touchdown passes.
While a big stat line would look better in the box score, Allar continuing to grow as a quarterback and still putting points on the board is a good sign for the future.
14
Wide receiver KeAndre Lambert-Smith and tight end Theo Johnson combined to catch 14 balls on Saturday. Every other pass catcher combined to record 12 receptions.
With Harrison Wallace out injured, it’s clear who Allar trusts the most in the passing game. Lambert-Smith is the obvious number one option in the passing game, but Johnson emerging as a receiving threat after being quiet to start the year, opens up the offense.
5
Iowa’s starting quarterback Cade McNamara completed five passes all night.
Since they were trailing for the majority of the game, allowing only five completions is truly a mind blowing stat in the modern age of football.
His final stat line was 5/14 with 42 yards passing.
Complete domination by the Nittany Lions.
4
Penn State forced four turnovers on Saturday night, one week after forcing five against Illinois.
While the secondary got the attention last weekend after having four interceptions, this time it was the front seven who got the attention by forcing three fumbles.
The other fumble came on a fluky special teams play where the ball hit one of the Hawkeye’s players on the back while the punt was still in the air. 10 plays later, Penn State scored a touchdown to go up 10-0 and never look back.
45
Penn State had the ball for 45 minutes and 27 seconds for their official time of possession. They were in complete control of this game, getting the opposing offense off the field and continuing to move the chains when they got the ball back.
It’s a recipe for success long term if they’re able to continue operating on both sides of the ball like they have been so far this season.
111,830
That’s the attendance of all the fans in Beaver Stadium on Saturday.
It’s the second-largest crowd in stadium history, only trailing the 2018 White Out Game against Ohio State.
James Franklin constantly talks about the need for fans to show up and make the atmosphere crazy and a tough place for opposing teams to play. The fans accomplished that against Iowa, putting this game in the record books.
