Nittany Lions set to refocus after Iowa City setback

IOWA CITY, Iowa -- 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, it's 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 after the Iowa loss.

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.