Penn State Football: 3 takeaways from win over Iowa

After trailing for much of the game, Penn State football defeated Iowa in a a thrilling nail-biter. Here are three things we learned in week 4.

Wow, what a game. In what some pundits predicted would be a huge, blowout victory for the Nittany Lions, Penn State and Iowa turned in an absolute thriller in Iowa City.

Down by four points with only four seconds to go at the Iowa Hawkeye’s 7 yard line, the Nittany Lion’s undefeated season came down to one final play. Lined up in a spread offensive set, all eyes were on star running back Saquon Barkley. The junior running back had already amassed a Penn State record 358 all-purpose yards over the course of the game.  He looked ready to put the entire game on his 5-foot-11, 230 pound shoulders.

Instead, the Lions looked to third year wide receiver Juwan Johnson across the middle of the field, and scored the go ahead touchdown. Johnson, who finished the game with 2 catches for 92 yards and the aforementioned touchdown, helped to put a positive spin on an otherwise worrisome game. Penn State trailed for much of the evening and looked incredibly inconsistent on the offensive side of the ball.

Going forward, Penn State will need to rise to the level of their competition as they prepare to face off against ranked opponents like Michigan and Ohio State. That will requite contributions from all of their playmakers to ensure that their high-powered offense is firing on all cylinders.

With that in mind here are three things that we learned in Penn State’s week 4 victory over the Iowa Hawkeyes.