IOWA CITY, Iowa -- Penn State's national championship hopes were dashed yesterday in Kinnick Stadium.

The Nittany Lions will tumble from No. 3 in the national rankings today, and they won't have to pay attention to the Bowl Championship Series standings anymore.

Instead, they'll have to turn their focus to capturing a third Big Ten Conference title and their first berth in the Rose Bowl since 1994.

Iowa's Daniel Murray booted Penn State's BCS title-game hopes out the window, kicking a 31-yard field goal with one second left as the Hawkeyes stunned the Lions, 24-23.

It was a devastating blow for Penn State (9-1, 5-1 Big Ten), which had a nine-point lead entering the fourth quarter.

"We got to keep our heads up," coach Joe Paterno said. "We can't start moaning about this one. Maybe we go home and cry on Sunday, but Monday, we got to come out ready to go to work."

Iowa (6-4, 3-3) scored 10 points in the final 9:20 of the fourth quarter to pull out an improbable win.

Murray's winning field goal was set up by strong safety Tyler Sash's interception with 3:46 remaining.

Penn State quarterback Daryll Clark overthrew wide receiver Derrick Williams, who was open on the play, on a third-and-24 call from the Iowa 37.

Sash picked off the pass at the 15 and returned it to the 29, eliminating a likely field-goal try by the Lions into a stiff wind. It was just Clark's third interception this season.

"It didn't leave my hands the way I wanted I to," said Clark, who was 9 of 23 passing for 86 yards. "The ball sailed on me. ... This is one of my worst performances ever. ... I take full responsibility for the loss.

"I'm hurt real bad because I let my team down. It all comes back to that one play."

Iowa covered 57 yards in 15 plays to set up Murray's winning kick. Early in the drive, Penn State safety Anthony Scirrotto was penalized 15 yards for a controversial pass-interference call against Iowa wide receiver Trey Stross on a third-and-15 play from the 24. It helped set the stage for Murray, a hometown boy.

"I got my own opinions," defensive coordinator Tom Bradley said of the call against Scirrotto. "... It's one of those things. He was going for the ball, and they just called the penalty."

Tailback Shonn Greene, who finished with 117 yards and became just the second runninc back to crack the 100-yard barrier against the Lions, had scored on a 6-yard run earlier in the fourth quarter to pull the Hawkeyes within two points, 23-21.

Penn State, which trailed, 7-0, a little over a minute into the game, rallied to take a 13-7 halftime lead on tailback Evan Royster's 2-yard touchdown run and field goals of 24 and 31 yards by Kevin Kelly.

His third field goal, a 25-yarder early in the third quarter, stretched Penn State's lead to 16-7. It was set up by outside linebacker Tyrell Sales' first career interception.

But Iowa pulled within 16-14 with 4:43 remaining when quarterback Ricky Stanzi tossed a 27-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Darrell Johnson-Koulianos.

He was wide open in the right corner of the end zone on the third-and-13 play after Penn State cornerback A.J. Wallace blew the coverage. He was on the field only because nickel back Drew Astorino has a broken thumb.

"We were two-deep, and [A.J.] kind of bit up on the stutter and they ran past him," Bradley said.

Two plays earlier, Penn State cornerback Lydell Sargeant dropped an interception.

Overall, the Hawkeyes converted 7 of 10 third-down opportunities.

"We just couldn't seem to make a play on third down, and, when you don't, that's not a good sign for you," Bradley said.

With 2:27 left in the third quarter, Stanzi fumbled a snap, and Penn State middle linebacker Josh Hull recovered. On second down, Williams lined up in the backfield in the shotgun formation with Clark flanked wide to the left. Williams took the direct snap from center A.Q. Shipley and scored on a 9-yard run with 29 seconds left, giving Penn State a 23-14 lead.

The Lions, however, managed just 86 yards in the final 30 minutes after piling up 203 in the first half.

"We didn't play well the second half," Paterno said.

"But you got to be careful. I don't want to take anything away from Iowa."

NOTES -- Starting offensive guards Rich Ohrnberger and Stefen Wisniewski flip-flopped sides, with Ohrnberger shifting to the right side and Wisniewski starting on the left. ... Defensive end Josh Gaines injured his left ankle in the third quarter and did not return. ... Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz improved to 6-2 vs. Paterno. ... Kelly is the Big Ten's all-time leader in field goals (75). ... Hull and outside linebacker Navorro Bowman led the Nittany Lions in tackles with eight each. ... Defensive tackle Jared Odrick had two sacks. Gaines and defensive tackle Abe Koroma shared another.