Today on the Pride of Penn State Football. The dominant win over the Hoosiers gets the Nittany Lions to a 5-0 record. Coach Franklin, like most weeks, has claimed that we need to improve the running game in order to beat stronger teams. Their last game was a start but things are going to get complicated going forward. With a brutal schedule coming up for PSU, the pundits believe that this will say a lot about how good they are. With 3 of their next 4 on the road including games at Iowa and Ohio State they will need to pull out all of the stops in order to win.
Their next opponent just happened to be the aforementioned Iowa Hawkeyes. At 5-0 and #3 in the nation, they have put together a team with heart and determination. They have forced more turnovers than anyone in the nation in their 1st 5 games. In their most recent game against Maryland, they forced 8 turnovers including 7 INTs. That game was a statement but the Nittany Lions will be an even greater challenge for Iowa. The PSU defense went out on their 1st series and stopped their opponents cold yet were pinned in their own end thanks to a solid punt. Sean Clifford gave the Hawkeyes a treat with an interception. But their momentum was quickly stalled thanks to the Lions Front 7. Down by 3, Penn State has tricks up their sleeves. They soon shredded the nations #1 defense down the field as Noah Cain pounded it into the endzone for a 7-3 lead. Even if Clifford was picked off on PSU’s next drive, Jaquan Brisker was right there to give them the ball back with an INT of his own. The Lions receivers took advantage of the opportunity and set up their 2nd TD of the game with key conversions. The defense as expected were crushing Spencer Petras and his Offensive Line. Even more insane is that the Nittany Lions are about to run the Hawks out of their own building!
CRACK! (The hopes and dreams of University Park interrupted) OH NO! OH NO! Why did it have to be Sean Clifford. The guy was having the best game of the season and then he gets his elbow banged up by the Kinnick Stadium turf and doesn’t return. Even if he is out they still have a comfortable lead. Now their QB is Ta’Quan Roberson, one of their top recruits from a year ago. The only concern about the Clifford injury is that James Franklin wasn’t prepared to use a 2nd QB just in case of injury. Especially since no starting QB that has faced Iowa all year has finished a game against them. Roberson may be the problem but the real issue is the Offensive Line. After the injury they went from no penalties to tying a school record with 9 false starts. And most of it was due to the ruckus crowd in Iowa City. (Is it Kinnick Stadium or Heinz Field, I can’t tell. Are they playing Renegade too?) Before you know it, Iowa was back in the game as they scored a touchdown right before the half. Only up 17-10 PSU was holding on for dear life. Then they put together an impressive drive which was a result of Roberson’s scrambling abilities. They would have scored a TD if it weren’t for another false start that forced them into a Jordan Stout field goal.
With Clifford and now Parker Washington and KeAndre Lambert Smith all injured. (Washington did return) PSU needed to rely on the defense to win the game. So far it worked, Iowa only got 2 field goals and now trailed the Nittany Lions by 4. With the offense still struggling thanks to the crowd and Iowa’s secondary the only hope for Penn State to win is on defense. Let’s see what happens. “Petras, playfake, he throws it downfield and it’s caught. There goes Nico Ragaini and he is down at the 1. No signal. They gave it to him, Touchdown Iowa! I can’t believe it!” Optimism DEAD! Even with 6 minutes to go there still is a chance. PSU is driving down the field for the winning touchdown. This is TaQuan’s moment of truth. “Roberson to the sideline and it’s PICKED OFF BY IOWA!” And there goes all hope that PSU had, but all things aren’t lost yet. HERE I COME TO SAVE THE DAY! The defense may have squandered the lead but they gave Roberson another chance by forcing a 3 and Out. Now it’s time for a miracle comeback. “Roberson to throw, he’s going for the home run and it’s INTERCEPTED! Iowa is going to knock off Penn State here this evening! What character do Hawkeye fans have. They rushed the field after beating a backup QB, that team is fools gold waiting to happen. If Sean Clifford never gets hurt the Nittany Lions would have run them out of the building. Instead they needed a wake up call right before their Bye Week. Even if Cliff is out for the Illinois game they should be able to win with Roberson or 3rd string QB Christina Veilleux playing instead. Thank god they don’t play Ohio State until Halloween Weekend because they need Clifford plus some of their defenders to be 100% for that game. Hopefully the OSU fans don’t boo for injuries like Iowa does. Will the Nittany Lions overcome this loss? Find out next time on the PRIDE OF PSU FOOTBALL!
Bragging Rights Sports 