Penn State went into Iowa City with the hopes of a statement victory. Instead, it leaves with a loss — and perhaps more importantly — battered as quarterback Sean Clifford went down with an injury that puts the rest of the season into question.
The first 25 minutes of the game were largely controlled by Penn State. Despite two interceptions from Clifford, the Nittany Lions’ offense looked good against one of the more vaunted defenses in the country, to the tune of 17 points. Meanwhile, the defense held strong, holding the Iowa offense to just three points.
But then, with Penn State up 17-3, Clifford went down with what looked like a back or rib injury.