STATE COLLEGE — A steady rain fell on Beaver Stadium for most of the game. For Iowa, it must have felt more like an avalanche.
In a stunning 31-0 loss at Penn State, the Hawkeye offense managed 76 yards of offense for the duration of the game.
That's not a typo. Seventy-six. And 66 of those yards came in the first quarter.
Accordingly, Iowa achieved just four first downs in the game — and two came in garbage time, with the chains only moving after backup quarterback Deacon Hill came in late against Penn State's backups, replacing an ineffective Cade McNamara. Even then, the effort was fruitless; as soon as Iowa crossed midfield, running back Kamari Moulton was dropped for a loss and Hill fumbled on an Amin Vanover sack on the next play.
Grim, but fitting.
"Nothing looked good tonight," head coach Kirk Ferentz said. "We'll go back to work tomorrow and push forward."
The game stats belong in a snuff film: 97 plays and 27 first downs for the Nittany Lions to 33 and four for Iowa. Negative-12 yards of offense between the second and third quarters. The Hawkeyes turned the ball over four times, including on their only two drives into Penn State territory. Iowa's only third-down conversion came on the first drive of the game. Iowa's time of possession for the game was a meager 14:33, including just 4:40 in the second and third quarters combined.
Here's every Iowa drive on the day, a complete and jaw-dropping display of futility:
6 plays, 24 yards — punt
3 plays, 30 yards — fumble
3 plays, 7 yards — punt
3 plays, 3 yards — punt
3 plays, 0 yards — punt
3 plays, -6 yards — punt
3 plays, -3 yards — punt
1 play, -6 yards — fumble
3 plays, 7 yards — punt
5 plays, 20 yards — fumble
Between the third and fourth drives, Iowa also muffed a punt that ricocheted off blocker Brenden Deasfernandes' back straight to Penn State linebacker Curtis Jacobs, who had also recovered Erick All's fumble in the first quarter. That led to a 10-play, 39-yard touchdown drive for the Nittany Lions to go up 10-0
"Sometimes things just snowball, and that's what happened tonight," Ferentz said.
Like just about everything else for Iowa, McNamara's production on the day was bleak: 5/14 passing for 42 yards, 0 yards rushing (an 18-yard gain and three sacks to negate them) and a third-quarter fumble that cued Penn State's third touchdown of the second half, cementing the game as a blowout.
When asked what to say to his quarterback in the middle of that kind of drubbing, Ferentz was typically pragmatic about his options in that situation.
"There's no special message, there's no secret sauce," Ferentz said. "Just got to play a little bit better, execute better."
After a demolition like this, the claws will certainly be out from a fan base that has grown tired of Iowa's futility on offense, but those expecting a change in the longtime coach's approach will have more waiting to do.
"I'm not a wholesale believer in changing just because you had a bad game," Ferentz said. "It was not a good game tonight."
On that, every Iowa fan agrees.
