How Penn State 'sent a message' in blowout win over Iowa: 'We were going to dominate'

STATE COLLEGE — An hour after walking off the rain-soaked Beaver Stadium turf, after a locker room celebration that featured dancing, singing and strobe lights, Kaytron Allen was asked how he would describe Penn State’s 31-0 win over Iowa.

Down and dirty.

“There was a lot of energy in the building leading up to the game,” Allen said. “We came with that energy, with a plan to be physical. We knew what we wanted, and we got it done.”

Penn State wanted this result. It wanted to break Iowa’s will and send the Hawkeyes home empty handed. The Nittany Lions accomplished that in more ways than one in front of a relentless Whiteout crowd.

The stats can tell the story. Penn State scored four touchdowns, forced four takeaways and outgained Iowa, 397-76. The Nittany Lions had 27 first downs to the Hawkeyes’ four and out-snapped their opponent 97-33. It wasn’t close.

But beyond the box score, the Nittany Lions felt Iowa’s belief vanish. They noticed that as the rain came down, as the crowd got louder and as their lead increased, Iowa — a program known for its resilience and tough-minded approach — had nothing left to offer.

Take Adisa Isaac’s word for it. Isaac, who had a sack and fumble recovery, was disruptive off the edge. So were Chop Robinson and Dani Dennis-Sutton. Penn State’s defensive ends made quarterback Cade McNamara’s night a nightmare.

“We knew we had what it takes to have this shutout, especially during the Whiteout. The energy itself gave us the push we needed to have this type of performance,” Isaac said. “… It’s one of the best feelings when you feel an offense trying everything, but they can’t get any movement. And we’re having fun on top of that.”

Penn State’s defense looked like it was having a ball. Manny Diaz’s unit teed off on an already stagnant offense that looked lost without its star tight end and top tailbacks. The Hawkeyes had seven three-and-outs in a helpless showing under the lights.

On the other side of the ball, Penn State’s offense was efficient and patient. Five-yard run here, 8-yard catch there. The Nittany Lions had four scoring drives of 10 plays or more. It was death by a thousand cuts.

Drew Allar finished with 166 yards on 25 completions, connecting with eight receivers and throwing four red-zone scores. Allen and Nick Singleton combined for 121 rushing yards on 38 carries for a modest 3.2 yards per attempt. Penn State’s 4.1 yards per play was its lowest clip since the 2021 loss to Michigan.

But it was almost by design. Against a stingy defense like Iowa and against the elements, the Nittany Lions weren’t driven by explosive plays. Instead, they methodically chipped away until the Hawkeyes snapped.

“We had a really good feeling going into this game that we were going to execute. And that’s what happened,” left tackle Olu Fashanu said. “We didn’t start as fast as we wanted to. But we knew on the sideline that we needed to stay consistent, stay the course, don’t get bothered by it. Keep taking those small body shots because we knew eventually that Iowa’s defense couldn’t hang with our offense. As long as we stayed the course, we were going to dominate.”

Fashanu said he has a lot of respect for Iowa and its football program.

“But for us to go out there and execute the way that we did,” Fashanu said, “we felt that we sent a message.”