What Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said about his team's win over Penn State

Penn State Nittany Lions football suffered a heartbreaking 23-20 defeat to the Iowa Hawkeyes on the road on Saturday, their first loss of the season.

Here's what Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz had to say about his team's win.

The turning point of the game came in the second quarter, when Penn State quarterback Sean Clifford took a hit from Iowa's Jack Campbell and was forced to leave the game.

"Obviously when Jack hit the quarterback it was a big, big play," Ferentz said. "...It was a good clean hit, good aggressive play. That's what happens when you let a guy come running in there like that."

Penn State totaled just 95 yards of offense in the second half following Clifford's injury, after racking up 192 yards in the first 30 minutes.

Backup QB Ta'Quan Roberson was just 7-20 for 34 yards and an interception.

"Their [backup quarterback] was in for reasons," Ferentz said. "That's part of the game. It's a hard game."

The play that broke the game in Iowa's favor was a 44-yard touchdown pass from Spencer Petras to a wide open Nico Ragaini.

That touchdown put Iowa ahead 23-20, and Roberson and the Nittany Lions could not mount an answer.

Penn State spent much of the game sending pressure, but that play in particular required the Nittany Lions not to blitz, according to Petras.

"The touchdown play is something we felt good about during the week," Ferentz.

"I don't know if we've played somebody that's brought more pressure than them...So you worry about that a little bit because it can get a little sticky. But it's just executed so well. That's not an easy throw. Spencer did a great job."

Certainly the fact that Clifford was forced to leave the game early played a part, but it's noteworthy that the Hawkeyes did the best job on Jahan Dotson out of any of Penn State's opponents so far this season.

Dotson's streak of six consecutive games with a touchdown reception was snapped, and he was held to a season-low 48 yards on eight catches and 17 targets.

"We had great respect and still do for Dotson," Ferentz said. "He's a really good football player. Just watch him. He's really good. So, to keep him contained and controlled that's good for us.

"They did some tough things to us, those little screens out there on the boundary. They put us in some tough situations."

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