IOWA CITY, Iowa (Ticker) -- Nathan Chandler kept Penn State stuck in neutral, giving Bobby Bowden a chance to move right past Joe Paterno.
Chandler tossed a pair of touchdown passes and ran for another and Fred Russell rushed for 148 yards as the 16th-ranked Hawkeyes coasted to a 26-14 victory over the Nittany Lions.
Penn State (2-6, 0-4 Big Ten) lost its fourth straight game, keeping Paterno at 338 victories and tied with Bowden for the most wins among Division I-A coaches. Bowden claimed the mark all to himself when Florida State defeated Wake Forest, 48-24, later on Saturday.
Bowden made a steady climb up the list thanks to the slide into mediocrity at Penn State. The Nittany Lions are just 22-26 since winning their first nine games of the 1999 season.
"We lost the game in a lot of places," Paterno said. "We had a lot of chances to win it, but Iowa's a good football team. We just couldn't do the things that would get us back in the game."
Iowa (6-2, 2-2) added to Penn State's troubles, defeating the Nittany Lions for the fourth straight time while bouncing back from a loss at Ohio State last week.
Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz felt he was fortunate to catch Paterno when he is down.
"With the history of coach Paterno and his program, I expect them to continue to improve," Ferentz said. "He is one of the greatest coaches of all time and I would not underestimate him."
Russell, held to 42 yards on 25 carries by Ohio State last week, carried 36 times on Saturday.
"I had a lot of holes to chose from," Russell said. "I did some east-west running today, that's just part of my game. The offensive line had control of the situation."
The game would have been even more lopsided except for a pair of turnovers that Penn State turned into 14 points.
"I think (we) all played hard," Paterno said. "Coming in here, I thought we had a real good chance to win it."
The day started slowly for Chandler, who threw a pass to the left side that was intercepted and returned 83 yards for a touchdown by Yaacov Yisreal. It was one of two interceptions for the cornerback.
Penn State soon gave back the ball on a fumble by tailback Ricky Upton at the Nittany Lions 30.
Linebacker Abdul Hodge returned a fumble 47 yards and Chandler followed with a two-yard TD pass to Matt Melloy 66 seconds into the second quarter.
Chandler completed 13-of-26 passes for 174 yards.
Chandler added a four-yard TD pass to Ramon Ochoa six minutes later, capping an eight-play, 53-yard drive that made it 12-7. After having its first extra point blocked, Iowa tried for two points and failed.
Ochoa caught five times for 67 yards.
The Hawkeyes built a comfortable 19-7 cushion 81 seconds into the third quarter when Chad Greenway blocked a punt by Jeremy Kapinos and Jermire Roberts returned the loose ball 32 yards for a score.
"The blocked punt was huge," Ferentz said.
Chandler scored on a one-yard run with 3:10 left in the third quarter, completing a nine-play, 67-yard drive that made it 26-7.
Austin Scott of Penn state caught a 24-yard TD pass from Zack Mills late in the third quarter, which followed a fumble by Iowa's Edgar Cervantes.
Mills completed 14-of-25 passes for 138 yards.
Penn State played without leading receiver Tony Johnson, who was suspended after a drunken driving arrest last week.
