The Hawkeyes and the Nittany Lions have developed a new-found rivalry over the last handful of seasons. The teams are 2-2 in their last four meetings, each with a home win and a road win. Four of the last five meetings have been decided by six or fewer points each. Saturday in a whiteout, Iowa and Penn State will play for the first time since the dramatic 2021 meeting in which the two faced off in a top-four matchup. Penn State will be sporting one of the best defenses in the nation, led by a high-powered front seven. Their offense has a new quarterback, two potential all-conference running backs, and a future first-round selection at tackle.
Mike Yurcich’s Offense
You can’t talk about the Penn State offense without mentioning the running back duo of Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen. Singleton already has five rushing touchdowns this season on 154 yards. He’s also averaging 13.5 yards per reception out of the backfield on five catches. Allen leads the team in rushing with 208 yards and has two touchdowns on the year. The Nittany Lions will put the ball on the ground more often than they throw. The offense is averaging 45 rushes per game, the most in the conference. That’s compared to about 33 pass attempts per game.
Allar’s Air Attack
The passing game has been very solid through three games for Penn State. Former top quarterback recruit Drew Allar has thrown four touchdowns this year with zero interceptions. Three of which came against West Virginia in the team’s opening game. On 88 attempts this year, Allar has thrown only one turnover-worthy pass according to Pro Football Focus. Allar has done a very good job of taking care of the football this season. However, he has not seen a defense to the caliber of Iowa thus far. The Hawkeyes do an exceptional job of confusing quarterback reads and forcing errant throws. Iowa has two interceptions this year, one of which was taken back for six.
At receiver, Keandre Lambert-Smith leads the team by a significant margin. He’s the only pass-catcher with receiving numbers in the triple digits. He has 220 reception yards to be exact. Lambert-Smith has two touchdown receptions and has really emerged as the team’s biggest air weapon. Iowa has had its struggles in recent years against prolific receivers, and Penn State’s Lambert-Smith poses a similar threat. Getting pressure at the point of attack is going to be one of the keys to the game for Iowa.
Star Offensive Tackle
Olu Fashanu made headlines by announcing his return to Happy Valley for the 2023 season. He’s arguably the top offensive tackle in the nation, and for good reason. In eight starts last year, he allowed zero sacks on 281 pass-blocking snaps. This year, Fashanu has only allowed one quarterback pressure on 152 snaps with zero sacks. The matchup between Fashanu and Joe Evans or Deontae Craig will be something worth focusing on all evening.
Manny Diaz’s Defense
The defense that Manny Diaz has put together this season is one of the more physical units in the conference, and probably in the country. It starts up front with a couple of edge rushers who have the ability to wreak havoc. Adisa Isaac and Dani Dennis-Sutton each have seven quarterback pressures and a sack this season. Chop Robinson will be in the mix as well, with seven quarterback hurries on the year. The Hawkeye offensive line has been good in pass protection for the majority of the season. However, they’ve not seen a front seven as physical and athletic as the Nittany Lions.
There’s no drop-off in talent as you move back to linebacker. Curtis Jacobs leads the team with 12 tackles. Kobe King and Abdul Carter have nine and eight, respectively. Their athleticism is also effective in pass protection. In coverage, the three have had 14 targets with only five receptions allowed for an average of 6.5 yards per catch. Without Luke Lachey, Erick All will likely get the majority of the tight end targets. He’ll have to deal with this group in physical battles to get open.
In the secondary, cornerback Kalen King is the standout. He’s been targeted 13 times this year and has allowed just 50 yards on five catches. Even when he does allow a catch, he is right there to make the play. Through three games this year, King has allowed just eight total yards after the catch when in coverage. He’s been a lock-down cornerback for James Franklin and staff, and Iowa will have trouble when looking his way on Saturday.
Meet Iowa’s Opponent: Penn State
The Hawkeyes’ 41 points last week was refreshing from a box-score perspective, but it’s slightly misleading. Cade McNamara and the passing game struggled, and it took a bit for Iowa to find their gear. It was a good win, but the opponent this week is a significantly different animal. However, there are individual matchups and holes that the Hawkeyes can exploit on both ends of the ball to be successful on Saturday. We’ll have that, as well as a prediction as we “Get You Set” later in the week for the ranked-on-ranked primetime matchup.
Photo courtesy: Joseph Cress/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK
