The Hawkeyes could not have played a worse first half offensively and on special teams against Penn State.
Quarterback Mark Gronowski appeared to be hampered by his knee injury, and he tossed another interception on Iowa's first offensive possession.
Gronowski did not look right in the first half as the offense struggled to move the ball or cap off drives with points.
Iowa was down 7-3 heading into the second quarter, when the defense finally gave them some momentum after Xavier Nwankpa intercepted a pass and took it back inside the five.
All the momentum was lost when Kirk Ferentz decided to attempt a 66-yard field goal before the end of the first half. The kick was blocked and taken back for a touchdown, giving Penn State a 14-10 lead at halftime.
Ferentz acknowledged his poor decision postgame, but his squad had to pick him up, and they did just that.
Iowa's defense came up with some big fourth down stops and forced a critical interception, whil Gronowski ran all over the Penn State defense to seal the game.
Ferentz was happy his team came away with the win, but knows they had to earn it.
During Ferentz's postgame interview, he was proud of the way his guys stuck together and how they fought and competed for all 60 minutes.
It was looking dire when Iowa went down 21-10 at one point in the second half, but Ferentz praised his team's resiliency, especially his starting quarterback.
Gronowski was a different quarterback in the second half. Although he did not pass the ball well during the game, he used his legs to make big plays time after time.
He ended with a massive 130 yards rushing and two touchdowns on the ground as Iowa eeked out a 25-24 victory.
Ferentz noted that Gronowski is his "biggest back," but above all else, he is a proven winner.
The Hawkeyes fought through the discouragement throughout the game, and their resiliency was rewarded by earning a hard-fought victory.