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Fiery Matt McGloin continues his career season in Iowa City MISSION ACCOMPLISHED NATE BAUER | N B A U E R@B L U E WH I T E O N L I N E . C O M IOWA CITY, Iowa – Handing the ball off to running back Bill Belton on the second play of the fourth quarter, Penn State quarterback Matt McGloin simply turned and walked toward the Nittany Lions' sideline after his team- mate successfully pushed his way into the end zone. As the kicking team made its way onto the field, McGloin calmly distrib- uted a few low-fives to his teammates, grabbed a handshake from position coach Charlie Fisher, and took a slap on the helmet from head coach Bill O'Brien before trading his helmet for a baseball cap. Leading 38-0, the outspoken fifth- year senior quarterback had managed to silence what had initially been a rowdy Kinnick Stadium crowd by soundly beating their team into sub- mission. Said McGloin, "We got up pretty early, so they started to die out a little at the end and that was one of our main objectives going into the game was to try to score early and get the crowd out of it." Mission accomplished. McGloin started quickly, complet- ing 10 of his first 14 passes for 130 yards and two touchdowns in the first quarter. Then he simply kept up the pace and the hyped Hawkeye de- fense had no answer for the upbeat attack. On the Nittany Lions' second pos- session of the game, McGloin made the first of many key plays, narrowly escaping Iowa defensive end Riley McMinn before rolling right to find tight end Jesse James for a strike in the end zone. The very next posses- sion offered the same result, this time with wideout Allen Robinson grabbing the 8-yard touchdown from McGloin to take the early 14-0 lead. Finding success through the team's hurry-up – or the NASCAR – offense, McGloin saw the game plan that he'd to play with better and better every week and for three quarters, I think they did what we wanted them to do." Per McGloin, part of that success could be attributed to the team's week off. Though many players acknowledged the advantages of resting their bodies over a four-day span without prac- tices, McGloin revealed how much confidence the extra preparation gave him. "I just felt really prepared tonight," he said. "I felt really relaxed out there. Myself and the line and everybody else, we were constantly on the same page this week. "It's neat to see how each and every Steve Manuel TAKING AIM McGloin completed 10 of his first 14 passes for 130 yards and two touchdowns. prepared for all week come into fruition on a prime time stage. "I feel like I'm intelligent enough to run this type of offense, and Coach O'Brien and Coach Fisher know that and they let me do a lot of different things out there," he said. "I felt comfortable with it, so I think [O'Brien] felt comfortable with it and I think everybody else responded well to it throughout the week. [Iowa] couldn't keep up with it, so it was re- ally a good momentum thing." Said O'Brien, "I didn't think that we could come in here and just huddle and break the huddle and run a nor- mal pace. I felt like our guys were learning about the pace we wanted O C T O B E R 2 0 , 2 0 1 2 8 week we get more and more comfort- able and how we continue to gel and come together as an offense. It's to the point where everybody knows exactly what they're doing on each and every play. There are no mistakes, or limited mistakes, throughout the course of a game." His assessment wasn't far off. Robinson and tight end Kyle Carter were McGloin's favorite targets with six receptions each, but nine different offensive playmakers were able to grab at least one of the quarterback's 26 completions. Shedding his reputation as an in- consistent quarterback one game at a time this season, McGloin's perform- ance Saturday night offered yet an- other indication of how far he's come in a year. Said O'Brien, "Matt is just a very bright guy. He's a competitive guy. He's done a nice job of the operation this year, calling the play and under- standing the play clock and under- standing the situation. "Through seven games, you can't say enough about Matt McGloin. The guy has worked at it, he's prepared and he's a fun guy to coach." B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M

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