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Penn State vs. Iowa: Jahan Dotson's quiet excellence could be the difference in Big Ten showdown
By Sean Merriman
FOX Sports Senior Editor
The Big Ten has historically been known for producing some of the top wide receivers in college football history. Names like Desmond Howard, Cris Carter and Braylon Edwards come to mind. It’s the same story this year, as the conference is once again loaded with talented pass catchers across the board.
But go ahead and type "Big Ten’s best wide receiver" into a simple Google search and atop the list you will see several stories highlighting Ohio State’s duo of Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson.
If I were Jahan Dotson, Penn State's do-it-all senior wide receiver, who leads the Big Ten in both receptions and touchdown catches, that would upset me.
Matt Leinart high on Penn State wide receiver Jahan Dotson: CFB on Fox
But that’s not how the Penn State senior operates. While there are plenty of wide receivers – including Wilson and Olave – who have received more headlines this season alone than Dotson probably has throughout his entire four-year career in Happy Valley, the soft-spoken Dotson lets his play on the field do the talking.
He gets that from Penn State head coach James Franklin.
"Coach always talks about controlling what you can control," Dotson said. "Hopefully my play out on the field speaks for itself and that leads to awards or being drafted, but I just know that I’m going to go out, work harder than everyone and put forth my best effort with everything I do."
That effort will be on full display Saturday afternoon when Dotson and the No. 4-ranked Nittany Lions take on No. 3-ranked Iowa in a much-anticipated Big Ten clash at Kinnick Stadium (4 p.m. ET on FOX).
Both the Nittany Lions and Hawkeyes are 5-0 heading into Saturday’s showdown, which will feature the first top-five matchup in Kinnick Stadium in 36 years. This is also the first regular-season meeting between two top-five Big Ten teams not involving Ohio State since 1997.
For Dotson and his Penn State teammates, it is their chance to prove they belong among college football’s elite following a disappointing 4-5 campaign in 2020, which according to Doston, was a big reason he chose to return for his senior season as opposed to leaving early for the NFL.
"Last season left a sour taste in my mouth. That wasn’t Penn State football," Doston said. "I talked to a few of my teammates and we agreed that we needed to come back and make things right.
"We’ve got all the pieces, we just need to put this puzzle together and make it work."
The Nittany Lions have done just that through the first five weeks of the season, averaging 30 points per game while holding opponents to just 12 points per contest, the third-best mark in the country. The team that ranks second in that category just so happens to be the squad that will be lining up across from Dotson and the Penn State offense on Saturday.
"It’s a damn good football team," Franklin said of the Iowa Hawkeyes. "It’s going to be a real challenge on the road. It should be a great game."
Consider this: The Hawkeyes’ defense has only given up five touchdown passes in five games. Meanwhile, Dotson already has a Big Ten-best six touchdown grabs this season.
In other words … something’s got to give on Saturday afternoon in Iowa City.
Dotson was relatively quiet in his first two games against Iowa during his freshman and sophomore seasons. But he was outstanding in last season’s matchup, hauling in eight catches for a game-high 139 yards and a touchdown, although the Nittany Lions ended up losing the game, 41-21. In that game, Dotson was able to get past the Hawkeyes’ defense late in the third quarter, hauling in a 68-yard touchdown catch.
This year’s Hawkeyes defense prides itself on not giving up big plays, which is evident by the fact they are holding opponents to just 6.6 yards per pass attempt. But the truth is they haven’t faced anyone as talented as Dotson up to this point.
"I’m as impressed with [Dotson] as anybody we’ve seen this year," Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz told reporters. "I say that with all due respect (because) we’ve played against some really good players so far. But he’s outstanding."
He leads the conference in catches. He leads the conference in touchdown receptions. And he clearly has the respect of the longest-tenured coach in the country, who by the way, has seen some pretty darn good receivers during his 23 years in Iowa City.
So why is Jahan Dotson not receiving more national attention?
"I’m a big believer that if you put in the hard work, that is going to take you pretty far," Dotson said.
Headlines aren’t everything. But if Dotson can break off a couple of big plays and put up the type of numbers against Iowa that he’s posted against other teams so far this season, he will certainly make a couple of headlines of his own this Saturday.
And yes, you can Google them.
