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Join us as we follow Cody Hills and the #IowaSim20 this season to preview each game as the Hawkeyes work their way through the 2020 schedule.
Since Cody started the #IowaSim in 2013, it is 72-16 in correctly picking the winner of each week's game and 3-1 so far in the 2020 season.
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After winning the coin toss, the Hawkeyes chose to receive to start the game. Following a touchback, the Iowa offense came out and saw Spencer Petras hit Tyler Goodson for a nice gain on first down, which was even further helped by a face mask penalty on Penn State. On the next play, Petras hit tight end Sam LaPorta for a short gain followed by a Goodson run and then a completion to Goodson for 10 yards and another first down. Struggling to get the running game going, the Hawkeyes took to the air, but a Petras incompletion and a short completion left Iowa with fourth a long. Out came Keith Duncan to attempt a 56-yard field goal, but it was wide right.
On Penn State's first offensive play, quarterback Sean Clifford hit wide receiver Parker Washington for a 44-yard gain. That was followed by a 13-yard run by Clifford as the Nittany Lions went with a hurry up offense to push the tempo. Eventually, it was running back Devyn Ford that found the end zone and the PAT was good to give Penn State an early 7-0 lead.
Iowa's offense came back out with some word to do, but Petras was tackled behind the line of scrimmage on first down. A draw play to Goodson gave the Hawkeyes a little room and on third and long Petras hit Smith-Marsette for a 30-yard gain. Next was another completion to Smith-Marsette for seven yards followed by a five-yard run by Goodson. After the next two runs went nowhere, Petras looked to the end zone but it was intercepted by the Penn State defense.
Penn State's offense took over at the 20-yard line, but the Hawkeye defense forced a quick three and out. After a seven-yard punt return by Charlie Jones, the Iowa offense had the ball at the 43-yard line. Following an incompletion, a screen pass to Goodson went for 12 yards and moved the Hawkeyes across midfield. That is where the Hawkeyes stalled out however, so on came Keith Duncan to try another long field goal attempt. This time it was from 58 yards with the wind at his back, but again it was no good.
Leading 7-0, Penn State's offense took over with a little over a minute remaining in the first quarter. Some nifty running by Devyn Ford quickly moved the ball downfield for the Nittany Lions. Then Clifford found Washington for another first down and Penn State was in the red zone as the first quarter came to a close.
That meant it was time for a virtual wave to the University of Iowa Children's Hospital as the first quarter ended with the score Penn State 7, Iowa 0.
Bending, but not breaking, the Iowa defense forced a Penn State field goal attempt, which was good by Ankeny native Jake Pinegar to give the Nittany Lions a 10-0 lead.
After a touchback, Iowa took over at the 25-yard line. With Petras now 11/14 passing for 83 yards, the Hawkeyes moved the ball using a combination of Tyler Goodson runs and a couple of short completions through the air. Eventually the series stalled out at the 47-yard line however and in came Tory Taylor to punt. Taylor's punt went into the end zone for a touchback and Penn State took over at the 20-yard line.
On first down, Penn State fumbled on an option play gone wrong and running back Devyn Ford recovered in the end zone for a safety to suddenly make the score Penn State 10, Iowa 2.
After the safety, the Hawkeyes got the ball and were quickly midfield. Using play action, Petras found Brandon Smith for a 31-yard gain to move inside the red zone. The Hawkeyes were not able to get into the end zone however, so Keith Duncan came out for a 25-yard field goal attempt and it was good to cut Penn State's lead to 10-5.
On Penn State's next possession, the Hawkeye defense was able to force a quick three and out, giving the ball right back to the Iowa offense at the 37-yard line following a 17-yard punt return by Charlie Jones.
With not much doing on the early downs, Petras was sacked on third down, forcing another Tory Taylor punt as Penn State's offense took over at the 38-yard line.
With Clifford now 12/16 passing for 110 yards, the Nittany Lions worked their way past midfield and into the red zone, threatening to score again right before halftime. A sack by Joe Evans moved the Nittany Lions back, but then on the next play Clifford ran it into the end zone for a 10-yard touchdown. That made the score Penn State 17, Iowa 5.
The Hawkeye offense came on the field with 44 seconds remaining with all three timeouts. On first down, Petras' pass was complete to Sam LaPorta for seven yards and the Hawkeyes called timeout. On second down, Petras was intercepted by Ellis Brooks to give the ball right back to Penn State with 33 seconds left.
Penn State's offense took over at the 28-yard line, but Clifford was sacked by Daviyon Nixon to move them back. The Hawkeye defense forced a field goal attempt, which was good from 36 yards by Jake Pinegar as time expired in the first half to make the score Penn State 20, Iowa 5.
With Penn State set to receive to start the second half, the Hawkeye defense needed to make a stop and that is exactly what they did, forcing a quick three and out. After a Charlie Jones' punt return, the Iowa offense took over at the 30-yard line.
On first down, Iowa ran a draw play to Goodson for a loss of one. Second down was an eight-yard completion from Petras to LaPorta. On third and three, Goodson ran up the middle, but was stopped short of the sticks, forcing a punt.
The Penn State offense got the ball back at the 25-yard line and went to work, running a no-huddle hurry up offense. On first down, Clifford's pass was complete to Cam Sullivan-Brown for seven yards and a Clifford run on the next play gave the Nittany Lions a first down. After a 10-yard run by Clifford on the next play, Penn State moved past midfield. On third and 11 though, it was Dane Belton that came up big for the Iowa defense, blowing up a screen pass for a loss to force a punt from Penn State.
With the Hawkeyes taking over at the seven-yard line, the Iowa offense needed to make something happen. With Petras throwing from his own end zone on third down, he found Tyrone Tracy Jr. deep for a huge 70-yard gain and it looked like the Hawkeyes were in business. On the very next play though, it was Keaton Ellis picking Petras off for an interception, the third of the game for Iowa, to give the ball right back to Penn State.
After a long return by Ellis, Penn State's offense had the ball already past midfield. Using the run game, Clifford pitched to Devyn Ford, who did the rest, taking it in for a touchdown from 28 yards out. That made the score Penn State 27, Iowa 5.
Out came the Iowa offense again, needing a big play to get things going. A 13-yard completion to Sam LaPorta moved the sticks and gave them something to build on, and on the very next play, Petras found Ihmir Smith-Marsette deep for a 63-yard touchdown on an amazing one-handed catch. Iowa tried going for two to make it closer, but failed to get into the end zone, so the score was Penn State 27, Iowa 11.
Needing a quick stop, the Iowa defense got a nice play by Matt Hankins followed by an incompletion and then a tackle by Seth Benson on Pat Freiermuth short of the sticks to force a Nittany Lion punt.
The Iowa offense took over at the 33-yard line. On first down, Petras ran a draw play for five yards. Second down saw Goodson run right for no gain. Goodson was now at 16 carries for 39 yards on the day with not much doing in the ground game. On third and five, Petras found Goodson for a completion, but short of the first down, which forced a Tory Taylor Punt as the third quarter ended with the score Penn State 27, Iowa 11.
With Penn State taking over at the 22-yard line, the Hawkeyes were relying on their defense to make another quick stop. This time, however, some tough running by quarterback Sean Clifford gave the Nittany Lions a first down as the clock continued to run. Next was a completion to Sullivan-Brown over the middle as Penn State crossed midfield. Another pass to Sullivan-Brown moved the ball inside the red zone and then once again Sullivan-Brown had the Nittany Lions inside the 10. With under six minutes remaining, it was Clifford finding wide receiver Daniel George for the touchdown as Penn State took a 34-11 lead.
The Iowa offense came back out on the field with the ball at the 25-yard line. Petras' first pass was complete to Mekhi Sargent for six yards and his second pass went to Nico Ragaini for two yards, but the clock continued to run. With a short gain on third down, the Hawkeyes had to go for it on fourth and one, which Tyler Goodson converted. With Petras now 23/32 passing for 310 yards, he found Ihmir Smith-Marsette for a 16-yard gain, but the clock continued to wind down under three minutes now. Working on an 11-play drive, the Hawkeyes faced a fourth and six from the 20-yard line with 2:30 remaining and Petras found wide receiver Desmond Hutson, but it was short of the first down, giving the ball back to Penn State.
With Penn State looking to run some clock, Devyn Ford found all kinds of running room as he went over 100 yards on the day and ran out the last remaining seconds after a couple first downs.
Final score Penn State 34, Iowa 11.
Running back Devyn Ford earned player of the game honors for Penn State, finishing with 114 yards on the ground and a pair of touchdowns.
Season record in correctly picking the outcome: 3-1
Career record in correctly picking the outcome: 72-16
