Without its starting quarterback, No. 4 Penn State just could not hold on long enough on the road against No. 3 Iowa.
The Nittany Lions took a 14-3 lead into halftime, but lost senior QB Sean Clifford to an injury toward the end of the half. That left backup Ta’Quan Roberson, who hasn’t played other than garbage time, to see his first significant action in Kinnick Stadium, one of the most hostile road environments in the country.
Predictably, that did not go well. The Hawkeyes stormed back in the second half and pulled out a 23-20 victory to remain undefeated and hand Penn State its first loss of the year.