Penn State played its first game without James Franklin on the sidelines since 2014. It came in the worst possible environment, especially with a new quarterback at the helm. Here are your takeaways.
1) Defensive Effort
Defense played like a Penn State defense for the first time since Oregon. Maybe it’s because it was Iowa, but it was a welcome sight nonetheless. The second half left a lot to be desired, especially as they once again struggled to contain the quarterback run, but at least they didn’t look disinterested
this time.
2) Not at all unexpected
This is the type of game Iowa plays. It doesn’t matter who it is against, they, like every other former Big Ten West team, are quite content to doing just a little less than the absolute minimum required to win a game. And that’s why the Big Ten doesn’t have divisions anymore.
Remember when this was half the Big Ten games in a given season? Yuck!
3) Three more
There’s Michigan State, there’s Rutgers, and there’s Nebraska. Assuming they’re not beating Ohio State or Indiana, the Nittany Lions have to win the other three games if they want to make a bowl. Who knows, maybe they don’t.
