The Good, The Bad & The Ugly: Reviewing Penn State football’s 31-0 blowout win over Iowa

Dani Dennis-Sutton may not have been on the 2021 Penn State team, but that didn’t stop him from being motivated on its behalf.

That team strolled into Iowa’s Kinnick Stadium undefeated and walked out with a loss after a game that featured numerous injuries — and plenty of reactions to those injuries.

There was the Iowa fan who sarcastically grabbed his shoulder when Penn State safety Jaquan Brisker went down with shoulder injuries multiple times. There was Iowa special teams coordinator LeVar Woods who sarcastically flopped to the ground, mimicking Penn State defensive end Arnold Ebiketie, who went down after a play.

And of course there was the comment by Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz, who was asked about the injuries.

“Our fans thought they smelled a rat, I guess. I don’t know,” Ferentz said, according to the Des Moines Register. “They responded the way they responded.”

Saturday night was a night of revenge for Dennis-Sutton and his teammates in their 31-0 domination of Iowa.

“It’s something boiling for the past two years, since we went to their house,” he said. “... (Franklin was) just showing some of the same things that they did from (2021) with the special teams coordinator on the side flopping and stuff like that. And their head coach was saying things like they smelled a rat or something when our guys were down. ... Any time any team can give us extra fire, they add extra fuel to the fire.”

They put it out there for the world to see that they remembered, too. Penn State defensive end Chop Robinson flopped to the ground twice following a third quarter strip-sack, mimicking Woods.

“We don’t take that type of disrespect,” Robinson said. “... Once I seen it, I was like, ‘OK, disrespectful coaches, disrespectful team.’ So I was like, I’m gonna definitely do that once I make a big play.”

Dennis-Sutton said he and defensive tackle Dvon Ellies FaceTimed former Nittany Lion DT PJ Mustipher, who was one of the players hurt in the 2021 game. Mustipher, who went to McDonogh School for high school like Dennis-Sutton and Ellies, reveled in their success.

“PJ was excited for us to get his back,” Dennis-Sutton said.

Good

Penn State football: Broad, yes, but I wanted to take the time to acknowledge just how good this team can be. Saturday night could be a meaningful moment people point back to as the night everyone realized this is a legitimate playoff contender with aspirations for more than just qualifying. The Nittany Lions dominated Iowa at its own game, dismantling them in the trenches and then battering a defense that prides itself on shifting the game with its ability to turn teams over and swarm the ballcarrier.

The run defense that was feared to be a problem stifled the Iowa rushing attack that was supposed to be instrumental to its success. Things can change, but this is a College Football Playoff threat with a legitimate chance to fight for a national title. Now it just has to prove it again in four weeks against Ohio State.

Nittany Lion offensive line: OK, back to your regularly scheduled analysis. Penn State head coach James Franklin said people aren’t talking about the offensive line, so it’s time to talk about them. Olu Fashanu gets plenty of well-deserved credit for being as dominant a left tackle as there is in college football, but there are other key contributors here who consistently win. There has been little, if any, drop off between last year’s center, Juice Scruggs, and this year’s, Hunter Nourzad. Saleem Wormley, Vega Ioane and JB Nelson have proven to be powerful run blockers at guard who can hold their own in pass protection. Caedan Wallace and Drew Shelton are both starter level right tackles, with Wallace showing more consistency this year than he ever has before.

It’s not a perfect group, but it is nearly as good as you can ask for with only four games played this season.

Pass rush package: Penn State has elite defensive ends in Robinson, Dennis-Sutton and Adisa Isaac, so why not play them together? That’s what the Nittany Lions did Saturday, with Robinson kicking to the interior and winning his one-on-one matchup. His first step makes him difficult to block on the edge because he’s almost beyond offensive tackles before they can kick out of their stance. But on the interior, it’s his ability to convert speed to power than can be a nightmare for opponents.

He can bull rush with the ferocity of a defensive tackle because of it and collapse the pocket from the inside. Plenty of NFL teams now run these types of packages with defensive ends on the inside, and this could soon became a staple for what is already an elite defense.

Drew Allar: He’s good. Really good. Sure, he was not slinging deep balls all over the place against the Hawkeyes, but he was as comfortable and as precise as ever. There was the touchdown pass to an open Tyler Warren across his body and across his field that he threw on the money. And the dart to Khalil Dinkins for one of his three other passing touchdowns on a fourth down play that did not have nearly the window to throw into that most quarterbacks would require.

Most importantly, he never gave Iowa a chance to flip the game. There were no turnovers and no major opportunities for the Hawkeyes to take the ball away. That alone is an impressive feat against an elite defense.

Bad

Explosive running plays: This really isn’t that big of a deal, but it’s worth mentioning. Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen haven’t found the third level of the defense as often as they did last year just yet, and they haven’t broken off massive, game-breaking type runs yet this season. Some of that is circumstance, with the team trying to win in short yardage situations where success is measured by reaching the first down marker rather than by scoring. And some of it is the opposition. Teams know who Singleton and Allen are this year. They know more of what it takes to stop them and have dedicated more resources to making sure they don’t beat them with big plays.

Eventually one of them will break off a big one and it could open the flood gates, but for now it’s worth keeping an eye on how few massive runs have happened so far this year.

Explosive passing plays: Look — not much was bad. I thought I had an answer for this section coming into the game, but it was so bad that it gets the seat at the ugly table down below. Still, Penn State didn’t have many explosive passing offensive plays for the second game in a row. The Nittany Lions will need to find them when they take on Ohio State and Michigan, but for the time being it’s fine. Especially because there’s nothing more that Iowa wants than for their opponents to take shots down the field where their elite defensive backs can make plays on the ball. Oddly enough, it’s to the Hawkeyes’ benefit for you to think you’ve got a big play opening up.

KeAndre Lambert-Smith hasn’t had many chances to catch and run either, but that’s a credit to Iowa’s ability to swarm and make tackles. Don’t worry, though, Allar can still sling it and I imagine it won’t be long before he’s blowing the top off defenses down the field.

Ugly

Iowa’s offense: There may not be a bigger punchline in the country than Iowa’s offensive situation and it’s well-deserved. I could write thousands of words about this subject, but I won’t so I’ll keep it relatively brief. Iowa offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz is the son of head coach Kirk Ferentz, who has led the program since 1999. Brian has held his role since 2016 and I can assure you the only reason he still has it is because he’s the coach’s son. That’s right. Good ol’ fashioned nepotism.

Iowa has one of the worst offenses in the country. One that’s so bad, with job retention that’s so clearly not merit-based, that stipulations have been put in place for him to keep his job. The Hawkeyes have to win seven games and have to average 25 points per game or else he won’t retain his position beyond June 2024. That’s not 25 points by the offense. It’s 25 points overall. So all of those defensive touchdowns Iowa is known for will potentially help Brian keep his job. It’s an embarrassing situation for a program that has been consistently competitive for a long time. With any luck, they won’t hit the goal, can fire the guy who has done nothing to keep his job for the last two-plus years and actually hire someone who can do it well. But don’t worry, I’m sure Brian will remain employed by Iowa in some other role where the university pays him because his dad is highly successful.