Giger: Penn State fans relish Iowa loss

ALTOONA, Pa. -- To no one's surprise, the entire Penn State fan base found great enjoyment in Iowa's 24-7 loss to Purdue on Saturday.

The Hawkeyes staked their claim as one of the worst No. 2 teams in recent memory with a horrendous performance at home. Purdue came in with a 3-2 record but earned enough bragging rights to be able to post this doozy of a tweet:

Iowa's dud came one week after it beat No. 4 Penn State, 23-20, in a game the Nittany Lions led 17-3 and appeared to be on their way to an easy victory before quarterback Sean Clifford got hurt.

In many circumstances, Penn State's fan base cheering heavily for an Iowa loss would just come across as sour grapes.

This one, from the Penn State perspective, comes down to something else.

Karma.

You boo injured players thinking they are faking it, as Iowa's fans did last week, then you're really just bringing scorn upon yourself.

Your head coach eggs on the situation days later with phrases like "our fans aren't stupid" and "smelled a rat," then it's certainly fair to revel in your misery a week later.

And of course, Penn State fans were reveling after the game. Oh, and so was former Nittany Lion linebacker Micah Parsons.

BYE WEEK SATURDAY OBSERVATIONS

I always feel so weird on bye week Saturdays, just because college football reporters get so used to having a routine on game days during the season. With no Penn State game to cover, it allowed for a chance to focus in on some other games around the country, which usually is hard to do while covering a game.

Pitt is better than I thought

I knew the Panthers and Kenny Pickett were good. But to go to Lane Stadium and pound Virginia Tech the way they did, 28-7, was impressive.

Pitt's defense was outstanding, holding Tech to 224 yards, 13 first downs and just the seven points. The Panthers don't get all the credit, though, because the Hokies' offense was atrocious.

I still cannot believe Pitt lost at home to Western Michigan earlier, because this is a good team.

I'm not even going out on a limb when I say I'm predicting Pitt to beat Clemson next week at Heinz Field. Clemson is really down this year -- shockingly so given how dominant it has been for a number of years -- and there's little doubt in my mind that Pitt is the better team.

Now, Clemson still does have a good defense, so Pickett and the Panthers could have a tough time scoring. But Clemson's offense is so bad, and Pitt's defense has been playing well of late.

Disgraceful showing by Tennessee fans

The Volunteer faithful overtook last week's Iowa nonsense with, by far, the most embarrassing and classless display of the college football season.

Trailing late against Ole Miss, Tennessee nearly converted a fourth-and-24 situation. The receiver was tackled just short of the first-down line, and the line judge made a tremendous call on the field, getting the call exactly right. Replays upheld his call.

But Tennessee's fans lost their minds and started throwing debris onto the field. It was pathetic, causing the game to be delayed 20 minutes. Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin was hit by a golf ball thrown by a fan, and the Tennessee band and cheerleaders had to be removed from the field.

Tennessee actually got the ball back in the final minute and still had a chance to win before falling, 31-26.

Oh, and by the way, Tennessee's fans were booing every time an Ole Miss player went down late with an injury, which of course stopped the clock.

Bonkers game in the SEC

Man, there was some horrendous defense in the LSU-Florida game, which ended up 49-42 LSU. Give the Tigers credit for making the stop they needed late in the game to hang on.

Still, I'm often stunned by how little defense is played in a lot of SEC games. We always joke about how there's no defense in the Big 12, and sometimes watching SEC games feels the same way.

Former Penn State wide receiver Justin Shorter caught a Hail Mary pass for a TD at the end of the first half for Florida.

Will Levis update

I've enjoyed following the former Penn State quarterback and the success he's having with Kentucky. The Wildcats went into their game at Georgia with a 6-0 record, but lost, 30-13. That's not a bad showing, really, because Georgia is far and away the best team in the country right now.

Levis completed 32-of-42 passes but only for 192 yards, so Kentucky was throwing everything short. He did have two TD passes.

Penn State is 5-1. Kentucky is 6-1. I cannot be the only one who would enjoy seeing a bowl matchup between Clifford and Levis. I know, we just saw Kentucky in the Citrus Bowl in 2018, but that QB matchup would be a fun one.

PODCAST: Who would win between Penn State and Pitt?

Check out our podcast below for a discussion about the karma situation with Iowa, if the Nittany Lions would beat the surging Panthers and Kenny Picket, plus the enormous impact getting Sean Clifford back could have on this year's team and the program.