TEAM
- Penn State now leads the series with Iowa, 16-12. The Nittany Lions have won the last five meetings.
- With the win over the Hawkeyes, Penn State becomes bowl eligible. The Nittany Lions have made 48 all-time bowl appearances, which is tied for ninth in FBS history.
- Penn State's last four games have been decided by six points or less. The last time the Nittany Lions played four consecutive games decided by six points or less was 1894 (at Navy, 6-6 on Nov. 10; vs. Bucknell, 12-6 on Nov. 17; at Washington & Jefferson, 6-0 on Nov. 23; at Oberlin, 9-6 on Nov. 24).
- Penn State last played four consecutive games decided by seven points or less in 1985 (at Maryland, 20-18 on Sept. 7; Temple, 27-25 on Sept. 14; East Carolina, 17-10 on Sept. 21; at Rutgers, 17-10 on Sept. 28; Alabama, 19-17 on Oct. 12; at Syracuse, 24-20 on Oct. 19).
- The Nittany Lions held the Hawkeyes to just 19-for-50 in the passing game, marking the sixth time since 2000 an FBS school has held an opponent to less than 20 completions on 50 attempts (Florida State vs. North Carolina [19-50] in 2002; Utah State vs. Connecticut [19-51] in 2001; Boise State vs. Nevada [19-51] in 2008; Colorado vs. Washington State [19-52] in 2004; UTEP vs. Hawaii [15-50] in 2000).
- The Nittany Lions snapped a streak of 10 games in which they scored first.
- S Jonathan Sutherland made his first career start today. He is one of 13 players to make their first career start this season.
- Penn State's 118 rushing yards are the second-most given up by Iowa this season. The Hawkeyes entered the game 79.6 yards per game, which was second in FBS.
- The victory over the No. 18 Hawkeyes is Penn State's first win over a ranked opponent since the 35-28 win over No. 11 Washington in the 2017 Fiesta Bowl.
OFFENSE
Trace McSorley
- QB Trace McSorley's 51-yard touchdown rush in the third quarter tied his career-long rush. He also had a 51-yard rush earlier this season against Ohio State.
- McSorley's 51-yard TD run is the longest allowed by Iowa this season. Iowa had allowed an FBS-best one rush of 20 or more yards this season.
- McSorley had his 20th career game with both a passing and rushing touchdown.
- McSorley now has 10,513 total yards, he is 81 yards behind Illinois' Juice Williams (10,594; 2006-09) for 10th in Big Ten history.
- He now has 617 rushing yards this year, 189 away from tying Michael Robinson (806; 2005) for the most in a season by a QB.
- McSorley now has 8,997 career passing yards, moving into 13th in Big Ten history. He passed Nebraska's Tommy Armstrong Jr. (8,871; 2013-16) and Michigan State's Jeff Smoker (8,932; 2000-03).
- With two touchdowns, McSorley now has 98 career touchdowns responsible for.
- With 63 rushing yards, McSorley now has 1,516 yards in his career, moving into 26th all-time at Penn State. He passed Fran Rogel (1,496; 1947-49), Roger Kochman (1,485; 1959-62) and Bob Campbell (1,480; 1966-68).
- With 27 career rushing touchdowns, McSorley passed Matt Suhey (1976-79) and Larry Johnson (1999-02) for ninth all-time.
- With 25 passing attempts, McSorley now has 1,085 for his career, moving past Zack Mills (1,082; 2001-04) for second all-time at Penn State.
- With his 71st career passing touchdown, McSorley moved into a tie with Purdue's Mark Hermann (1977-80), Michigan's Elvis Grbac (1989-92) and Michigan State's Connor Cook (2012-15) for eighth in Big Ten history.
- McSorley earned his 28th career win, breaking a tie with Chuck Fusina (1975-78) for third all-time at Penn State. McSorley is one win behind Todd Blackledge (1980-82) and Tony Sacca (1988-91) for the program record.
Tommy Stevens
- QB Tommy Stevens completed 2-of-4 passes for 27 yards.
- Stevens rushed for 18 yards, including a 3-yard touchdown run in the second quarter. It was Stevens' seventh career rushing touchdown.
Miles Sanders
- RB Miles Sanders rushed for 62 yards, bringing his career total to 1,209, placing him 37th all-time at Penn State.
Jahan Dotson
- WR Jahan Dotson had two catches for 21 yards, setting career highs for receptions and receiving yards. Dotson caught one pass for 10 yards against Indiana.
KJ Hamler
- WR KJ Hamler recorded 188 all-purpose yards with 96 receiving, 82 kick return and 10 punt return.
- Hamler tied a career best with five catches. He also had five against Michigan State.
- Hamler made a 39-yard grab in the third quarter, his seventh catch of 20 or more yards this season.
Pat Freiermuth
- TE Pat Freiermuth had his fourth touchdown catch in the last five games.
DEFENSE
Yetur Gross-Matos
- DE Yetur Gross-Matos had a career-high 4.0 tackles for loss. His previous high was 2.5 TFL against Michigan State earlier this season.
- Gross-Matos tied his career high with 2.0 sacks, marking the second-straight week he has posted 2.0 sacks.
John Reid
- CB John Reid grabbed his fourth career interception in the second quarter and returned it for 44 yards, tying his career-long interception return. He had a 44-yard return against Rutgers in 2015.
- Reid broke up a career high three passes, bettering two pass breakups in four different games with the last coming in the Rose Bowl against USC in 2017.
Cam Brown
- LB Cam Brown forced the second fumble of his career in the first quarter. He also forced one against Illinois earlier this season.
Koa Farmer
- LB Koa Farmer forced the second fumble of his career in the first quarter. He also had one against Maryland in 2016.
Nick Scott
- S Nick Scott had his second interception of the season and his career late in the fourth quarter.
- S Nick Scott picked off a pass for the second-straight game, with both coming in the fourth quarter.
- Scott is the third Nittany Lion to have interceptions in back-to-back games this season, joining Amani Oruwariye (Appalachian State, Pittsburgh) and Garrett Taylor (Ohio State, Michigan State).
Jonathan Sutherland
- S Jonathan Sutherland recorded his first career pass breakup in the first quarter.
Ellis Brooks
- LB Ellis Brooks recorded a full tackle for loss, setting a career high. He had a half tackle for loss against Illinois.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Jake Pinegar
- K Jake Pinegar booted a career-long 49-yard field goal in the third quarter.
- Pinegar's 49-yard field goal in the third quarter was the longest field goal by Penn State since Sam Ficken kicked a 50-yard kick vs. Temple in 2014.
- Pinegar had field goals of 45, 49 and 44 yards, becoming the first Nittany Lion kicker with three 40-yard field goals in a single game since Sam Ficken had boots of 47, 46 and 48 yards vs. Maryland in 2014.
- With three extra point attempts, Pinegar was responsible for 12 points, bettering his career high of eight in two games with the last coming against Ohio State.
KJ Hamler
- KR KJ Hamler had a career-long 67-yard kick return in the fourth quarter. His previous career best was a 58-yard return last week at Indiana.
- Hamler set a career high with 82 kick return yards. His previous best was 79 yards against Indiana.
Blake Gillikin
- P Blake Gillikin hit a 54-yard punt in the third quarter, his 35th career punt of 50 or more yards.
Rafael Checa
- K Rafael Checa made his first career tackle on a kickoff in the second quarter.