The Penn State-Iowa (fake) injury beef is very well-publicized news at this point, with Iowa fans booing a perceived stretch of fake injuries from the Nittany Lions’ players during Saturday’s 23-20 Iowa win, Lions head coach James Franklin denouncing the boos and Hawkeyes head coach Kirk Ferentz saying the Iowa fans smelled a rat.
Of course, Lions quarterback Sean Clifford was knocked out of the game, and it was announced Wednesday that Lions defensive tackle PJ Mustipher is out for the season, so the injuries are a legitimate gripe from the Lions’ side.
So things are a bit contentious around the two fan bases right now, and surprisingly, Pitt head coach Pat Narduzzi backed Franklin and Penn State in the war of words, in a video shared on Twitter by Pitt Rivals Panthers-Lair’s Jim Hammett.
“A lot of talk about cramps and tempo and injuries, you know, and I don’t agree with James Franklin on a whole bunch, but James, I’ve got your back on — you know, when you’re not playing a high, fast-tempo offense, a team that huddles, nobody goes down with a cramp. So… that’s a bunch of bologna,” Narduzzi said in an interview.
Pat Narduzzi 🤝 James Franklin pic.twitter.com/CUmzq6Piv7
— Jim Hammett (@JimHammett) October 14, 2021
The PSU loss, without Clifford and Mustipher — two of the Lions’ top players on offense and defense — and a handful of other Lions’ players exiting with injuries at points during the game, was particularly crushing for the Lions. A 17-3 lead at the time of Clifford’s exit, Iowa stormed back to a 23-20 win with 10 unanswered fourth quarter points.
Iowa jumped to No. 2 in the AP Poll, currently in the driver’s seat in the Big 10, while Penn State fell to No. 7 in the latest poll, likely needing wins over Ohio State, Michigan and Michigan State over the next few weeks to trigger a rematch against the Hawkeyes in the Big 10 title game.
Regardless of the Penn State-Iowa contention, the Lions have the support of the Panthers — a sentence many thought may never have been typed.
