After trailing by two touchdowns, Quarterback Spencer Petras threw a 44-yard touchdown pass to Nico Ragaini to complete No. 3 Iowa Hawkeyes 23-20 comeback victory against No. 4 Penn State on Saturday. The Nittany Lions’ offence did next to nothing after quarterback Sean Clifford was knocked out of the game.

The Hawkeyes (6-0, 3-0) took control of the Big Ten West with their 12th straight win and thrust themselves into the College Football Playoff conversation.

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Penn State (5-1, 2-1) dropped its first game in ten matches and returned to Happy Valley with a slew of ailments that may complicate the remainder of the season.

Students and other supporters came out of their end zone seats to cheer as Petras took a knee in victory formation to conclude the game. The whole length of the field, from the south end zone to the 10-yard line on the other end, was filled with people.

The Hawkeyes’ gritty attack isn’t designed to come back from a deficit, but it did it in the most important game at Kinnick Stadium since then-No. 1 Iowa defeated then-No. 2 Michigan in 1985.

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After Clifford left the game in the second quarter, Iowa dominated the field-position fight owing to the efforts of punter Tory Taylor, who frequently trapped Penn State deep in its own end.

Caleb Shudak’s field goals helped Iowa close the gap to 20-16. With 6:35 remaining, it began the game-winning drive at the Penn State 44. Ragaini was alone on the left side while Petras rolled to his right. Curtis Jacobs, a linebacker, knocked him out of bounds, but not before he crossed the goal line. Tyler Linderbaum, an All-America centre, was the first to welcome him in the end zone.

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On their last three drives, the Nittany Lions gave the ball over on downs, Matt Hankins came up with Iowa’s fourth interception of the game, and then turned it over on downs once more.

With inputs from the Associated Press