Hlas: Hawkeyes bottom out in Happy Valley

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. - Now Iowa gets Michigan?

Hide your silverware. Hide your wallet.

Penn State, a football dynamo for the first time since 2009, has aspirations of reaching the Rose Bowl. Saturday's game here felt like a Rose Bowl to Iowa … the one where they got walloped by Stanford 10 months ago.

Third-ranked Michigan has aspirations to sweep through the Big Ten unbeaten and do likewise in the College Football Playoff. That's the team headed to Kinnick Stadium Saturday night.

Hey, maybe the 5-4 Hawkeyes can look at some film and clean up some things before then, to use their own favored football-speak. You know, like they presumably did in the two weeks they had between their 17-9 loss to Wisconsin at home and this 41-14 abomination of a defeat at No. 12 Penn State.

The Nittany Lions have a mighty sweet spread offense with crafty run/pass quarterback Trace McSorley and running back extraordinaire Saquon Barkley.

But Iowa helped set itself up to be tormented by that duo thanks to its own offense, or lack of one. When it had the ball, Iowa was a dull, predictable, highly stoppable unit in its first four possessions.

Iowa Possession No. 1

: Iowa went for the first down on 4th-and-1 at the PSU 34 and got minus-1 yard on a C.J. Beathard keeper.

Possession No. 2:

The Hawkeyes had 3rd-and-2 at their 49. Akrum Wadley rushed for one yard. Iowa punted.

Possession No. 3:

Iowa had 3rd-and-1 at its 38. LeShun Daniels was stuffed for no gain. Another punt.

Penn State scored on its next drive when the Big Ten's most-brilliant running back, sophomore speedster Barkley, went around the left edge and darted 57 yards for a touchdown. Iowa then went 3-and-out after receiving the ensuing kickoff.

That's where this game at Beaver Stadium Saturday night was decided before 106,194 fans who have a new lease on football life with the way their team has played in racking up five straight Big Ten wins.

Aw, heck, it was a team effort. Iowa's defense was no better than its offense. PSU had 54 plays to Iowa's 32 with 2:48 left in the third quarter and the Lions up 27-7 on the way to 41-14.

If you had to guess which team had a week off to get rejuvenated, you'd have sworn it was the Lions. PSU Coach James Franklin was on the hot seat several weeks ago. Now with a 7-2 team that has the schedule to go 10-2, he's just hot.

Shortly before Iowa's first offensive play, Hawkeyes radio announcer Gary Dolphin said Iowa running game coordinator Brian Ferentz felt good about his guys' chances of being able to run the ball this night. That feeling left him about as quickly as Barkley left Iowa defenders clutching at air on his 57-yard TD run in the second quarter.

Barkley racked up 167 rushing yards through three quarters, and his last touch of the night was a 44-yard touchdown catch.

Iowa rushed for 34 yards in the first half. That was nine less than McSorley, who often toyed with Hawkeye defenders.

Iowa's linebackers were completely deceived by McSorley in the half's last five minutes when the sophomore fired a pass to wide-open tight end Mike Gesicki for 43 yards to the Iowa 1. A play later, McSorley danced in for PSU's third touchdown.

Outside containment by Iowa's defense? That was a cruel oxymoron.

They are Penn State. Now they are Michigan, a team averaging 497 yards per game on offense and owning perhaps the nation's stoutest defense.

Hide your silverware. Hide your wallet. Hide your eyes.