Penn State Football: 5 players who earned game balls vs. Iowa

After Blake Gillikin pinned Iowa at its own one-yard line midway through the second quarter, it set up Penn State to snag would would prove the winning gap in points on Saturday. The Hawkeyes got a few yards on first down as Stanley kept and dove forward through the line. But on second down, Shareef Miller got a big tackle behind the goal line to give Penn State two points with a safety.

Given that they won by just two points in Iowa City, the defensive end could be said to seal the result with his point-scoring tackle for loss. It was one of two tackles behind the line of scrimmage by Miller. He finished with five solo tackles on the day and also tallied one quarterback hurry against Stanley.

The redshirt sophomore has taken on an increased role as a disruptive force in Penn State’s front seven. Miller’s big play meant that Penn State won on the final play instead of needing a two-point conversion to force overtime. For putting the Nittany Lions in position to win the game with its offense, the defensive star walked away with one of the game balls this week for James Franklin’s squad.