Penn State Football: 3 takeaways from important road win over Iowa

Penn State football finally got a road win against a ranked opponent under James Franklin. Here are three takeaways from the Nittany Lions’ win.

The Penn State Nittany Lions have never defeated a ranked opponent on the road in the James Franklin era until Saturday night as they defeated the Iowa Hawkeyes 17-12 in Iowa City.

Penn State is one of the teams that is knocking on the door of being an elite team. Head coach James Franklin said last season that they were good, but not an elite team. These are the types of games that put you in the conversation of being an elite team.

Penn State came into this game knowing this would be a slobber-knocker and it lived up to that. This game was physical and hard hitting without too many points.

Although the Hawkeyes out-gained the Lions, Penn State made key plays in critical situations late in the game. The hero of tonight’s game was Noah Cain who ran for 100 tough yards, including 64 in the fourth quarter.

Here’s what we learned from the Nittany Lions’ big road win.

3. Penn State has a legit defense

Jimmy Johnson made defensive speed a thing in the 1980s and we see it in its fullness in 2019. Penn State is fast all over their defense. The Hawkeyes couldn’t run past the Nittany Lions defensive personnel at all tonight.

Iowa averaged a paltry 2.3 yards per carry tonight. The defensive line was active and in the backfield all night.