Iowa's Shaun Prater cashes in on interception return

IOWA CITY - Shaun Prater was determined to make his interception return count for more than just laughs in film sessions.

Late in the fourth quarter Iowa's junior cornerback picked off a Robert Bolden pass at the Penn State 33-yard line and returned it for a touchdown in the Hawkeyes' 24-3 win Saturday night.

"As soon I caught it I saw an open field right to the sideline," Prater said. "So my first thing to do was run down the sideline. I saw the linemen move over to the left, so I had to cut it back. One I cut it back , there was nothing but open field."

Prater first ran straight up the field before cutting across the field and get inside the 5-yard line. He then dove for the final 3 yards for the touchdown.

Saturday's return was more memorable than his two interception returns last year, which totaled 4 yards. Last year against Penn State, Prater intercepted a pass and ran nearly 40 yards sideways before he was tackled. He caught some grief from his teammates after that play and was determined not to make the same mistake this time.

"Now he's got a return on film that we can actually show without laughing at him," Iowa Coach Kirk Ferentz said. "Last year in this game, if you remember, he ran about three minutes off the clock after he picked it off and I think he lost 2 yards.  But it was like the worst-ever return of an interception.  We showed that a few times last year, so this will be a little bit more fun for him to watch."

Prater saved a touchdown in a blown coverage late in the first half. Iowa was ina cover-2 defense and Penn State wide receiver Brett Brackett raced past Prater and Iowa safety Tyler Sash on a 49-yard reception. Prater raced down Brackett at the 2-yard line, holding the Nittany Lions to a field goal rather than a touchdown.

"Give the credit to Shaun," Sash said. "He came back after the guy got by him and he made a touchdown-saving tackle, and that's huge.

"I remember last year at Penn State he ran back and forth at Penn State and got negative-2 yards for a 10-second play. So it was nice to see him get into the end zone. I've seen him do it at practice. He does it all the time. He made a good play."