Iowa rebounds, hands Nittany Lions fourth straight loss

Penn State matched its worst skid under Joe Paterno.
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) -- Iowa came up with the big plays on special teams and defense a week too late.
The No. 16 Hawkeyes returned a blocked punt for a touchdown in the third quarter and used a long fumble return to set up another score in handing Penn State its fourth straight loss, 26-14 Saturday.
The Hawkeyes' normally stellar special teams units were much to blame for last week's 19-10 loss at Ohio State, which scored touchdowns on a blocked punt and a punt return.
"Last week turnovers would have helped us, special teams would have helped us," said linebacker Abdul Hodge, who returned a fumble 47 yards to set up Iowa's first touchdown.
"We came in to this game and wanted to correct it. We didn't know how our offense was going to do today, so we always feel like it's the defense and special teams that have to make some plays," Hodge said.
Slumping
The loss by the Nittany Lions (2-6, 0-4 Big Ten) prevented coach Joe Paterno from breaking a tie for the most wins in Division I-A history with Florida State's Bobby Bowden. The Seminoles played later Saturday, giving Bowden a chance to claim the record for himself with his 339th career win.
But after the game, Paterno had more than the record books on his mind.
Penn State was held to just 167 total yards and nine first downs, the kind of offensive production that helped prolong the team's longest losing skid since opening the 2001 season with four straight losses.
Penn State's only scores came late in the third quarter with the game already out of reach and early in the first quarter when Yaacov Yisrael stepped in front of Nathan Chandler's screen pass and ran 83 yards for a touchdown.
"We're competitive, but we're not making plays," said Paterno, who has now lost four in a row to Iowa. "It's got to come back to me. I've got to figure out the things we need to get better. But Iowa's a good football team."
Strong showing
The Hawkeyes (6-2, 2-2) were led on offense by Chandler and running back Fred Russell.
After throwing two first-quarter interceptions to Yisrael, Chandler settled down. He fired two TD passes in the second quarter and scored in the third quarter on a 1-yard dive, giving Iowa a 26-7 lead.
Chandler was 13-of-26 for 174 yards against a Nittany Lions defense that came into the game allowing an average of 121 passing yards per game, the stingiest in the Big Ten.
Russell, the Big Ten's second leading rusher, ran for 148 yards on 36 carries.
"It's always a good win to beat a coach like Joe Paterno," said Russell. "The offensive line gave me some good holes today."
The Nittany Lions played without leading receiver Tony Johnson, who was suspended by Paterno after being charged with drunken driving last week.
The Nittany Lions scored first on Yisrael's interception return, but it was the team's only points in the first half.