Quarterback Mark Gronowski ran for 130 yards and two touchdowns Saturday night and Iowa rallied from a 21-10 third-quarter deficit to edge visiting Penn State 25-24 in Iowa City.
Gronowski’s 67-yard run set up the winning score, an 8-yard run on a jet sweep by receiver Kaden Wetjen with 3:54 remaining. The Nittany Lions’ final chance to win ended on a 4th-and-4 incompletion as a scrambling Ethan Grunkemeyer tried to hit Trebor Pena over the middle with 1:14 remaining.
Gronowski completed 10 of 16 passes for 68 yards, bringing the Hawkeyes (5-2, 3-1 Big Ten Conference) within 21-16 via a 4-yard touchdown run at the 4:19 mark of the third quarter. Drew Stevens added a 31-yard field goal to trim the deficit to two before Ryan Barker converted from 32 for Penn State with 4:56 left in the game.
Grunkemeyer, making his first start in place of the injured Drew Allar, connected on 15 of 28 passes for just 93 yards and tossed two interceptions. Kaytron Allen was most of the offense for the Nittany Lions (3-4, 0-4) with 145 yards rushing and two touchdowns on 28 carries, but it wasn’t enough to prevent their fourth straight loss.
Playing its first game under interim coach Terry Smith after James Franklin was fired on Sunday, Penn State initiated the scoring with its first possession of the night. Allen burrowed in from the 1 on 4th down at the 8:26 mark, one play after a penalty extended the march.
Iowa answered with Stevens’ 39-yard field goal later in the first quarter, then took its first lead when Gronowski snuck in from the 1 with 1:14 left. That came two plays after Xavier Nwankpa picked off Grunkemeyer and returned it 28 yards to the 1.
The Hawkeyes got aggressive at the end of the half in a bid to extend the lead and it bit them. They had Stevens attempt a 66-yard field goal on the final play, but it was blocked by Xavier Gilliam and returned 35 yards by Elliot Washington for the go-ahead touchdown as time expired, making it 14-10 Nittany Lions at the break.
