‘We can’t get stops’: Penn State defense allows historic performance from Iowa QB in 4th straight loss

Terry Smith told NBC’s broadcast in the lead-up to Saturday’s game at Iowa that his Nittany Lions would “shock the world” amid turmoil from James Franklin’s firing this week.

However, the interim coach led a Penn State group that fell to the Hawkeyes, 25-24. And the most shocking part was that the Nittany Lion defense somehow performed worse against a running quarterback than Nico Iamaleava’s 128 yards in the UCLA loss two weeks ago.

Iowa’s Mark Gronowski rumbled for 130 yards and two touchdowns Saturday night, the most rushing yards for a PSU opposing quarterback since Ohio State’s Braxton Miller recorded 134 in 2015. Hawkeyes running back Kamari Moulton added onto the damage with 99 yards on 17 carries.

This also comes after Gronowski battled a knee injury this season, something Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz revealed Gronowski is not yet 100% recovered from.

In all, Iowa recorded 245 rushing yards on a whopping 7.4 yards per carry.

Gronowski, fittingly, did the Lions in with a read-option keeper in the final minutes, breaking free to the left side for 14 yards and a game-icing first down. He may have scored had he not intentionally gone down to burn the clock.

“Very disappointing loss. Very disappointing the way we lost,” Smith told reporters afterward. “I didn’t feel like we made them earn it at the very end.”

Penn State dominated the flow of the game, out-possessing Iowa 36-plus minutes to roughly 24. That hasn’t been the case through most of Penn State’s four-game losing streak, with an offense frequently gasping for air. A 16-play field-goal drive that took more than eight minutes in the fourth quarter should have helped the Lions hold onto a lead.

But Gronowski broke free on the ensuing play for 67 yards, sprung by missed tackles from Elliot Washington II and Zakee Wheatley. Kaden Wetjen cleaned things up with an 8-yard score, and Iowa had the lead again in the blink of an eye.

Gronowski had one other particularly impactful run, a 38-yard scramble on third-and-3 that led to his second rushing touchdown of the game.

Penn State tried twisting defensive tackles Alonzo Ford Jr. and Zane Durant in pass rush, but Durant failed to get across to his intended gap and left a wide-open lane for Gronowski.

“We can’t get stops when we need stops,” Smith said. “It’s glaring, and I have to get it fixed.”

Penn State has struggled to replace the production of starting linebacker Tony Rojas since he suffered a season-ending injury four games into the year. There were also lingering concerns about depth on the defensive line for the country’s preseason No. 2 team.

But the Nittany Lions hired Jim Knowles as the highest-paid defensive coordinator in college history, and his unit has fallen short of expectations time and time again.

Even with Franklin gone, that problem persisted in an ugly way.