Join us as we follow the great Cody Hills and his #IowaSim21 this season to preview each game as the Hawkeyes work their way through the 2021 schedule.
Since Cody started the #IowaSim in 2013, it is 79-18 in correctly picking the winner of each week's game including 4-1 so far this season and 6-2 last year.
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The Hawkeyes won the coin toss, but elected to defer giving Penn State the ball first to open the game. After a touchback, the Nittany Lions led by quarterback Sean Clifford took over at the 25-yard line. With running back Noah Cain tackled for a loss on first down, Penn State was quickly behind the chains and their opening possession went nowhere as the Hawkeyes forced a three and out.
Getting the ball near midfield after the punt, the Iowa offense looked to get things going early on, but a crucial drop on third down led to a Tory Taylor punt as the two teams played the field position game in the first quarter.
The Penn State offense took over at the 22-yard line. On third down, it was Iowa defensive coordinator Phil Parker making the first big call of the game as he blitzed linebackers Jack Campbell and Seth Benson up the middle and they were able to get to Clifford, sacking him for a loss and forcing another punt.
Now, the Iowa offense took over at its own 44-yard line.
Running back Tyler Goodson was able to find running room for the first time as he ripped off a 22-yard gain, which was followed by a play action pass from quarterback Spencer Petras to tight end Luke Lachey to put the Hawkeyes inside the five-yard line.
From there, Goodson punched into the end zone and the PAT from Caleb Shudak was good to give Iowa a 7-0 lead.
With Penn State driving, the score remained 7-0 at the end of the first quarter.
It would not stay that way for long, however, as Iowa's defense continued to bend but not break, which led to a field goal attempt for Jordan Stout. His kick was good from 39 yards out to make the score Iowa 7, Penn State 3.
After Iowa's offense was not able to get much going, Penn State got the ball back and wasted no time in going to work as Clifford found wide receiver Parker Washington deep down the left sideline for a touchdown. With Stout's PAT good, Penn State took the lead at 10-7 with 3:41 remaining in the second quarter.
Iowa's offense took the field needing to get something going to slow down Penn State's momentum. The Hawkeyes were able to work their way up to midfield where they ultimately faced a fourth and four from the Penn State 44-yard line.
That is where virtual Kirk Ferentz rolled the dice as Iowa not only went for it, but went shotgun with an empty backfield and Petras was able to find tight end Sam LaPorta deep over the middle for a touchdown.
With Shudak's PAT good, the score was now Iowa 14, Penn State 10 with 2:06 remaining until halftime.
With two minutes on the clock, Penn State was looking for more points before halftime and quickly worked their way into field goal range.
This time, it was Jordan Stout from 46 yards and his kick was good to the Iowa lead down to 14-13 going into locker room at the end of the second quarter.
A quick look at the halftime stats showed a balanced attack from the Hawkeyes with 100 yards rushing and 92 yards receiving. For Penn State, they were able to do most of their damage through the air with 173 yards passing in the first half and 12 yards rushing.
With Iowa getting the ball at the start of the third quarter, the Hawkeyes looked to answer Penn State's score just before the half and that is exactly what they were able to do.
Standing tall in the pocket under pressure, Petras found wide receiver Tyrone Tracy Jr. for a nice gain as Iowa moved it down to the 30-yard line, which eventually led to a Shudak field goal attempt from 44 yards and it was good to give Iowa a 17-13 lead.
Now, it was time for the Iowa defense to make a big play and it was senior cornerback Matt Hankins stepping with an interception off Clifford to put the Hawkeye offense right back on the field at the Penn State 41-yard line.
For Hankins, it was a bit of redemption after giving up the long touchdown to Parker Washington earlier in the game.
Now, the Hawkeyes were cooking, as Petras found wide receiver Charlie Jones on the sideline and he was able to tap one foot in bounds, which held up after review.
From there, it was running back Tyler Goodson finishing the job as he took it into the end zone on a five-yard touchdown run.
With Shudak's PAT, the score was now Iowa 24, Penn State 13 with 2:58 remaining in the third quarter.
After the touchdown, the Iowa defense continued to turn up the heat as Penn State had just about abandoned the run with just 22 yards on the ground on 13 carries.
The Nittany Lions went three and out and punted the ball right back to the Hawkeyes.
Once the Iowa offense was able to get into field goal range again, Shudak was able to show off his leg strength with a 48-yard field goal that would have been good from about 60 as tacked on three more points to give Iowa a 27-13 lead.
That is where the score remained as the game moved into the fourth quarter.
With Penn State driving and looking to cut into the lead, Clifford threw the ball deep to the end zone, but it was tipped by Riley Moss and fell right into the hands of Dane Belton, who made the interception.
Belton brought the return out of the end zone and made it to the 27-yard line where the Iowa offense took over with 6:19 to play in the fourth quarter, still hanging on to a 27-13 lead.
Now it was time for the Iowa offense to work the clock a little, which they were able to do with a successful running back as Tyler Goodson went over 150 yards on the day on his 22nd carry.
With Iowa facing a third and five at the Penn State 28-yard line, the Nittany Lions called timeout, which gave virtual Brian Ferentz a chance to setup a play. Surprising everyone, he went to the air as Spencer Petras found Tyrone Tracy Jr. for a first down that would just about seal it for the Hawkeyes with only 1:51 remaining.
After three straight run plays, on came kicker Caleb Shudak for a 23-yard field goal attempt, but somehow pulled it left and missed.
Still, with only 21 seconds left on the clock, this one was essentially over.
On came the Penn State offense hoping for some magic, but Clifford's final pass attempt of the game was picked off by safety Jack Koerner to give the Hawkeyes their third interception of the game.
Final score: Iowa 27, Penn State 13.
Running back Tyler Goodson was named player of the game, finishing with 23 carries for 158 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
