Iowa Beat Penn State 6-4 in One of College Football’s Weirdest Games

Beauty is often held in the eye of the beholder, and for the Iowa Hawkeyes football team, that definition can have a vastly different meaning than many others.

Iowa football beauty is a special thing. It takes patience, care, some pain at times, and an ability to compartmentalize like few can. Hawkeye fans have those ingredients, which make them one-of-a-kind.

They also have seen many games that continue to be one-of-a-kind in Kirk Ferentz's tenure as a head coach. One in particular deserves special attention, with today's date being June 4th (6/4). It is a significant day in Iowa football history.

In Honor of June 4th, Iowa Football Beats Penn State 6-4

It's a baseball score. It could be a hockey score. Honestly, this is more likely to occur in soccer than it is in football. It is a score only the Iowa Hawkeyes could find themselves involved in, and in a way only they can, on the right side of it.

It was October 23, 2004, in University Park, Pennsylvania, when the Hawkeyes took on Penn State from Beaver Stadium. Things got off to a quirky start from the jump. Iowa's first drive of the game lost 20 yards and resulted in a safety, giving Penn State a 2-0 lead.

The end of the first quarter saw Iowa put together a 15-play, 59-yard field goal drive, which was the most success any team had all day. In the second quarter, Iowa tacked on three more points after an interception led to a field goal, which sent things to halftime with a score of 6-2.

The second half is where this thing really gets beautiful. The third quarter saw five punts, a blocked punt, and one fumble. And it gets better from there.

The fourth quarter saw Penn State throw two interceptions, but what occured is something that could only happen with Kirk Ferentz at the helm. Seeing how the game was going, Ferentz faced a fourth down at Iowa's own one-yard line.

Rather than try to punt, he went full field position and took a safety, with 8:04 remaining in the game, to retain a 6-4 lead and pin Penn State deeper, as opposed to where a punt could have given them the ball.

It proved to be a wide decision. Iowa recorded its second interception of the quarter and recovered a fumble, which allowed it to run out the clock on this magical experience.

The magic of a 6-4 Iowa football game

The stat sheet does this game justice. The two teams combined for just 315 yards of offense and a 10-for-36 showing on third downs on the day, which included Penn State rushing for 51 yards on 29 attempts. Not to be outdone, Iowa ran the ball 40 times for 42 yards.

The teams combined for seven turnovers, which were led by Penn State's four interceptions. Kyle Schlicher, Iowa's kicker, was the hero of the day, supplying the only Hawkeye points, which proved to be enough.

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