IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Noah Cain ran for a five-yard touchdown with 5:17 left and 10th-ranked Penn State held off No. 17 Iowa 17-12 on Saturday night, its first win over a ranked opponent this season.
Cain finished with 102 yards for the Nittany Lions (6-0, 3-0 Big Ten), who extended their winning streak over the Hawkeyes (4-2, 1-2) to six games.

A matchup between two of the nation’s top defenses turned when Iowa’s Nate Stanley threw an interception near midfield with 9:22 remaining. Penn State drove 35 yards on a gassed Iowa defense, and the last of three straight runs by Cain made it 17-6.

Iowa pulled within 17-12 when Stanley found Brandon Smith for a 33-yard TD pass with 2:31 to go. The Hawkeyes’ two-point try failed though, and Cain converted a crucial third down that ensured that Iowa never saw the ball again. Up 7-6 late in the third quarter, Penn State recovered a fumble at Iowa’s 16 and Sean Clifford connected on an apparent touchdown pass to Pat Freiermuth that was overturned on review. Iowa then held the Nittany Lions at the 1-foot line, and two straight holding calls forced them to settle for a 33-yard field goal.

KJ Hamler caught seven passes, including a 22-yarder for a TD, for Penn State. Stanley threw for 286 yards, but the Hawkeyes ran for just 70 yards on 30 attempts.
THE TAKEAWAY
Penn State: The Nittany Lions survived their toughest road challenge outside of a trip to Ohio State on Nov. 23. Penn State was on the road against a talented team with a jacked-up crowd, and yet the Nittany Lions were the ones making the plays that made the difference.
Iowa: The Hawkeyes nearly went back-to-back games without a touchdown. Granted, Michigan and Penn State are really good on defense. But Iowa can’t continue to lean on its own defense to keep it in games. At 1-2 in the league and with Wisconsin looking like one of the best teams in America, the Big Ten West doesn’t look so winnable anymore.
POLL IMPLICATIONS
Penn State might move up a few spots. Iowa might struggle to hang onto its spot in the Top 25 after back-to-back losses.
UP NEXT
Penn State hosts Michigan on Oct. 19.
Iowa hosts Purdue next Saturday.

(2-0) ACGC 21-21, Ar-We-Va 10-14
(2-0) ACGC 21-21, Paton-Churdan 10-7
(2-0) ACGC 25-25, Riverside 19-17
(2-0) CAM 21-21, Orient-Macksburg 11-14
(2-1) Clarinda 12-21-16, Coon Rapids-Bayard 21-19-14
(2-1) Clarinda 15-21-15, Ballard 21-17-10
(2-0) Creston 21-21, Clarinda 9-13
(2-0) Creston 25-25, Fort Dodge 14-8
(2-0) Essex 21-21, Mormon Trail 14-12
(2-0) Essex 21-21, Seymour 16-12
(2-0) Glenwood 21-21, Fort Dodge 17-18
(2-0) Glenwood 21-21, Perry 8-7
(2-0) Glenwood 21-21, Stanton 13-6
(2-1) Glenwood 21-21-15, Williamsburg 23-14-6
(2-0) Glenwood 25-25, Indianola 16-19
(2-0) Glenwood 25-25, Williamsburg 15-19
(2-0) Griswold 21-21, Orient-Macksburg 8-14
(2-0) Griswold 21-21, Riverside 19-14
(2-0) Indianola 21-21, Clarinda 13-15
(2-0) Indianola 21-21, Coon Rapids-Bayard 13-14
(2-0) Indianola 21-21, Creston 18-10
(2-1) Kuemper Catholic 13-21-15, Hampton-Dumont-CAL 21-8-8
(2-0) Kuemper Catholic 21-21, Grand View Christian 11-11
(2-0) Kuemper Catholic 21-21, St. Edmond 10-17
(2-0) Kuemper Catholic 21-22, Independence 14-20
(2-1) Kuemper Catholic 25-20-15, Janesville 20-25-8
(2-0) Kuemper Catholic 25-25, Iowa Falls-Alden 22-23
(2-0) Melcher-Dallas 21-24, Essex 14-22
(2-0) Pleasantville 21-21, Earlham 13-6
(2-1) Riverside 21-19-10, CAM 16-21-15
(2-0) Riverside 21-21, Orient-Macksburg 4-6
(2-1) Sioux City East 17-21-15, Harlan 21-14-7
(2-0) Stanton 21-21, Perry 12-11
(2-0) Underwood 21-21, ACGC 19-17
(2-0) Underwood 21-21, Ar-We-Va 8-16
(2-0) Underwood 21-21, Paton-Churdan 12-6
(2-0) Underwood 25-25, ACGC 15-14
(2-0) Underwood 25-25, CAM 14-19
(2-0) Van Meter 21-21, Earlham 6-11
(2-0) Wayne 21-21, Essex 12-17
(2-0) Western Christian 21-21, Harlan 11-9

FARGO, N.D. (AP) — Freshman Trey Lance threw three touchdown passes, two of them to Adam Cofield, and an FCS top-10 showdown never materialized as top-ranked North Dakota State breezed to a 46-14 victory over Northern Iowa, ranked 10th in the FCS Coaches poll, on Saturday.

Lance started the Bison (6-0, 2-0 Missouri Valley Football Conference) off and running with two of his TD tosses in the first quarter — a 36-yarder to Phoenix Sproles that saw James Hendricks run it in for a 2-point conversion and a 19-yarder to Christian Watson that put NDSU up 15-0.

Northern Iowa (3-3, 1-1) got on the scoreboard in the second quarter when Will McElvain hit Isaiah Weston for a 17-yard scoring strike to cut the Panthers’ deficit to 15-7. After Griffin Crosa kicked a 25-yard field goal for the Bison, UNI scored on Tyler Hoosman’s 6-yard run to get within 18-14 at halftime.

NDSU ended any drama by scoring 28 straight points in the second half. Lance’s third TD pass was a 30-yarder to Noah Gindorff in the third quarter for a 25-14 lead. Cofield scored on runs of 1 and 37 yards in the final period and Kobe Johnson capped the scoring with a 50-yard TD run.

Lance finished with 145 yards through the air, hitting 10 of 18 passes. Cofield had 15 carries and gained 104 of the Bison’s 347 rushing yards. McElvain completed 15 of 29 throws for 233 yards for the Panthers. Weston hauled in five passes for 129 yards.

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) — Freshman Breece Hall rushed for 132 yards and scored three touchdowns to lead Iowa State to a 38-14 victory over West Virginia on Saturday night. Brock Purdy threw for one TD and ran for another for the Cyclones (4-2, 2-1 Big 12), who held the Mountaineers (3-3, 1-2) scoreless in the second half.

West Virginia quarterback Austin Kendall was hit hard while attempting a pass during the Mountaineers’ first series. He did not return and was replaced by backup Jack Allison. Hall scored on a pair of 1-yard runs and also had a 12-yard TD. He might have given the Cyclones the dependable option at running back they’d been looking for ever since star David Montgomery departed.

Hall entered the game fifth on the team with 84 rushing yards on 18 carries. The 205-pound Hall is the third different running back to lead the Cyclones in rushing this season and the first to eclipse 100 yards. Purdy had 102 yards a week ago against TCU. Johnnie Lang started Saturday’s game and had four carries for 11 yards before giving way to Hall.
THE TAKEAWAY
Iowa State: Hall’s performance will help the Cyclones take the running load off of Purdy, who entered the game with the most carries on the team.
West Virginia: The Mountaineers were limited to 190 yards of offense. Allison had one good series but couldn’t generate enough offense to keep up with Purdy. Allison finished 18 of 24 for 140 yards with one touchdown pass and an interception.
UP NEXT
Iowa State travels to Texas Tech next Saturday.
West Virginia plays at No. 6 Oklahoma next Saturday.

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Ian Corwin threw three touchdown passes, Drew Lauer scored three touchdowns and Drake defeated Butler 42-7 on Saturday to remain undefeated in the Pioneer League. Corwin, the current Stats FCS National Freshman Player of the Week, completed 25 of 32 passes for 265 yards. Two of his TD throws went to Devin Cates, who totaled nine receptions for 103 yards.

Drake (3-3, 3-0 PFL), second in the Pioneer League in total defense, held Butler (1-5, 0-2) to 229 total yards. Butler got started on the wrong foot, losing a fumble on the opening kickoff. Lauer capped a short drive with a 1-yard touchdown run and a 7-0 Drake lead. Butler tied it with its only score, a 34-yard pass from Joey Lindstrom to Johnny O’Shea.

Lauer scored his other TDs on a 22-yard pass from Corwin and a 2-yard run, giving Drake a 21-7 halftime lead. In the third quarter, Cates caught two short TD passes from Corwin and Jacob Clay added a 1-yard run to cap the scoring. Lauer had 26 carries for 124 yards.