Penn State’s BCS hopes over

The Nittany Lions’ 24-23 loss to unranked Iowa was a costly one.

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — If Penn State had been told in August that its season would include a Big Ten title and a Rose Bowl bid, the Nittany Lions likely would have taken it.

After losing at unranked Iowa 24-23 on Saturday, that sounds like a consolation prize.

Penn State’s national title hopes are all but over now, its dreams of playing in the BCS title game in Miami crushed on a chilly November evening in Iowa City.

Alabama and Texas Tech are still unbeaten. The Nittany Lions are now stuck in the one-loss holding pen, which includes Florida, Oklahoma, Texas and Southern California — all of whom are ahead of them in the rankings.

The Trojans, like Penn State, dropped a road game to an unranked opponent and also suffer playing in a league deemed inferior to the Southeastern Conference and Big 12.

How fitting that, should Oregon State lose its grip on the Pac-10, the Trojans and Nittany Lions could meet in the Rose Bowl.

It might not be the scenario coach Joe Paterno and the Nittany Lions had hoped for, but they still have a lot on the line heading into their final two games.

“We can’t start moaning about this one. Monday we have to go out and be ready to work,” Paterno said.

Penn State had survived its toughest test, at Ohio State, in part because they didn’t commit a turnover or a penalty. The Nittany Lions weren’t nearly as sound against Iowa, and the Hawkeyes unwrapped every gift the Nittany Lions left for them.

Penn State got off a short punt from its own 1 on the game’s first possession after quarterback Daryll Clark fumbled. Shonn Greene needed just two runs to make it 7-0.

The Nittany Lions dominated Iowa through three quarters, holding the ball for almost 30 minutes. But they let the Hawkeyes hang around because they had to settle for field goals on three trips inside the Iowa 15.

Greene then brought Iowa within 23-21 with a tough 6-yard TD run with 9:20 left, and Tyler Sash’s interception deep in Iowa territory gave Hawkeyes quarterback Ricky Stanzi an opportunity to pull off his late-game heroics.

Of course, Stanzi probably wouldn’t have had his shot at glory if Penn State hadn’t kept the drive alive with a pass interference call.

“We didn’t play well, but you have to be careful. I don’t want to take anything from Iowa. Those kids played tough. The quarterback played a heck of a game,” Paterno said.

Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz seems to have Paterno’s number. The Hawkeyes have won six of their last seven against Penn State.

“Give Iowa credit. They played a really good defensive football game. They didn’t give us anything easy,” said Paterno, who spent another game working from the press box because of his sore leg. “We knew we were in for a dog fight. No one’s come in and blown these guys out.”