IOWA CITY, Iowa — Even after a change at the top, it was the same result for Penn State, which suffered its fourth straight loss Saturday.
After firing James Franklin earlier in the week, the Nittany Lions, playing their first game under interim coach Terry Smith, blew a fourth-quarter lead against Iowa to lose 25-24 and fall to 3-4 this season — and 0-4 in the Big Ten.
And a visit to No. 1 Ohio State is next on the schedule, after a bye week.
Iowa quarterback Mark Gronowski rushed for a career-high 130 yards and two touchdowns, and Kaden Wetjen scored the go-ahead touchdown on an 8-yard run with 3:54 remaining in the game for the Hawkeyes (5-2, 3-1 Big Ten).
The Nittany Lions' four-game losing streak is tied for the longest in AP poll history by a team that was ranked top 2 in the first poll of the season. The previous team to do it was 1961 Iowa, which was AP No. 1 in the preseason and started 4-0 before losing four in a row.
«I think we gave everything we had,» Smith said. «There was no one that didn't give great effort. We just have to execute.»
Iowa trailed 24-19 with 4:56 to play Saturday after Penn State's Ryan Barker kicked a 32-yard field goal, but Gronowski ran 67 yards on the first play after the ensuing kickoff, setting up Wetjen's run one play later. Gronowski missed on the 2-point conversion pass, giving the Nittany Lions a chance to take the lead.
Iowa's defense then stopped Penn State near midfield, blitzing quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer on fourth down at the Penn State 49 and forcing an incomplete pass.
Penn State and Clemson are the first teams since 2017 Florida State — and just the fourth and fifth teams in the last 40 years — to be ranked in the preseason top-5 and lose four of their first seven
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