Iowa Football: Ranking The Hawkeyes Big Ten Foes: #3 Penn State
Our countdown to kickoff coverage continues with our nine teams in nine days preview series. Iowa has three conference opponents this season that start the year in the AP preseason top 10.
Any one of those three, Ohio State, Penn State or Wisconsin, could realistically make the CFP, but I would bet that Penn State is the least likely to finish the year on top of the conference. That’s why the Nittany Lions come in at number 3 on the list.
When do they play?
September 23rd @ Kinnick Stadium
What do you need to know:
It’s the conference opener for the Hawkeyes, who haven’t lost their opening ballgame in conference since 2011. Continuing that win streak would go a long way towards winning the Big Ten West, as wins against top 10 teams are hard to come by.
Iowa played Penn State last season for the first time in four years, and it did not go well. Penn State won the game 41-14 while out-gaining the Hawkeyes 599 to 234. It was a wake up call for an Iowa team that finished the season with an impressive three game win streak, but let’s hope that Iowa doesn’t need another 27 point beat down at the hands of the Nittany Lions in order to wake up for 2017.
What do they do well?
Penn State is going to put up points. They averaged 37.6 points a game last season and were second in the conference in yards per game, and they’ll be able to repeat that production in 2017. Senior quarterback Trace McSorley returns after putting up video game numbers last season, and running back Saquon Barkley has the highest odds of any non-quarterback to win the Heisman trophy.
Prediction
Iowa will have the home crowd, but that’s about the only advantage the Hawkeyes have in this one. It’s the first real defense Nathan Stan
ley will face as a starting quarterback, and Iowa will likely be working out some kinks in the secondary and at defensive tackle. Those aren’t two areas you want to be experimenting with defensively when McSorley and Barkley come to town. If this game was scheduled in November, Iowa would have a better shot, but this game will likely serve as a teaching moment for Stanley and the Hawkeye secondary.
Final Score- Penn State 31-Iowa 13