#FlashbackFriday: Penn State

Oh 2012, I thought I could make it all the way through this season of #Flashbacks without going back to the dark days. I don’t need to remind you of what 2012 was like, but I will anyway because we’re masochists Hawkeye fans. 2012 was the worst season of the Kirk Ferentz era, outside of the first two rebuilding seasons. 2012 was a rebuilding season in its own right. This was the beginning of the Greg Davis and Phil Parker eras following the departures of Ken O’Keefe and the late Norm Parker.

To put it simply, Iowa was garbage that year. Like Iowa State garbage (yeah they lost to Iowa State that year too). Iowa put out one of the worst offensive outputs in recent memory and lost six straight games to finish the year 4-8. Yuck.

Photo by Matthew Holst/Getty Images

As for the Penn State game, it was ass kicking that was available for everyone to see. Somehow, it was one of the primetime games. Apparently, people were expecting a lot more from the Hawkeyes that season. Sigh. Anyway, Penn State opened up a 38-0 lead into the fourth quarter before the Hawks scored two garbage TD’s late. Iowa was out-gained by 300 yards. QB James Vandenberg was 18-37 for 189 yards, 1 TD and 2 picks. The Hawkeyes’ leading rusher? Freshman Greg Garmon (remember him?) who had a whopping 27 yards.

How did Penn State’s season go? It wasn’t like PSU was some juggernaught. They finished 8-4 but lost to the best teams on their schedule, plus...Ohio (University, not State). They weren’t allowed to go to a bowl game that year for some, unknown reason (according to their fans).

Who played well for the Nittany Lions? Well, the entire defense for starters. The Nittany Lions forced four sacks, two picks, and allowed only 198 yards of offense. The D was led by Jordan Hill, who had two of those sacks. The offense was pretty good too. Matt McGloin went 26-38 for 289 yards and two TD’s with no picks. RB Bill Belton went over 100 yards on only 16 carries.

Photo by Matthew Holst/Getty Images

Who played well for the Hawkeyes? Very few. I guess Keenan Davis had four receptions for 83 yards and a TD. Christian Kirksey and James Morris each had 12 tackles. For reference, the Hawks had 20 yards of rushing. Yeah...

Who is returning that gave the Hawks trouble last time? No one. Given this year’s team, I’d say that’s probably a good thing.

Highlights (for those who enjoy misery):

I don’t want to post these, but we take the good with the bad here at the Pants. Unfortunately, we can’t just pretend this POS game didn’t happen. Ugh.

BONUS Highlights: Happier times!