LIVE BLOG: Follow Saturday's Indiana-Iowa Game in Real Time; News & Analysis

No. 17-ranked Indiana opens its 2021 season at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City on Saturday, taking on No. 18 Iowa in a critical Big Ten opener for both teams. Here's all the latest in real time in our live blog.

IOWA CITY, Iowa – Welcome back to college football. Indiana starts its season in hostile territory on Saturday, taking on the Iowa Hawkeyes at Kinnick Stadium.

Both teams were 6-2 a year ago, and each are expecting big things once again in 2021. The game starts at 3:30 p.m. ET. Here's all the information on how to watch the game, with the latest on TV information and the point spreads on the game. CLICK HERE

Here's how our LIVE BLOG words. We'll keep you updated on everything that goes on in the game in real time, keeping you updating on injuries, scoring plays and trend, plus I'll throw in my usual two cents with opinion throughout the game as well. 

The most recent items are at the top, so just keep refreshing the story and you'll see all the latest stuff. 

Here we go. Let's have some fun:

6:45 p.m. – It's a final and Iowa has taken down Indiana 34-6. Here is the full game story, with quotes from Indiana coach Tom Allen, and Iowa players Spencer Petras and Riley Moss. To read the story, CLICK HERE

6:30 p.m. – Indiana's defense stiffens near the goal line they force an Iowa field goal. It's 34-6 Iowa now with 9:52 to go in the game. 

6:20 p.m. – We head into the fourth quarter now with Iowa leading 31-6 and the Hawkeyes are threatening to score again. 

6:04 p.m. – Indiana holds and forces a punt. Michael Penix Jr. hits Ty Fryfogle in the hands but the ball goes up in the air and is picked off. It's negated by a roughing the passer penalty, though, and Indiana maintains possession. Nothing happens, though, and Indiana is forced to punt again. It's still Iowa 31, Indiana 6 with 5:49 to go in the third.

5:51 p.m. – Nice drive by Indiana, kept alive by a fourth-down pass from Michael Penix Jr, to Ty Fryfogle over the middle for 33 yards. Indiana got down to the 14-yard line on the play, but Penix was sacked on third down and Indiana had to settle for another field goal. Indiana was forced to take a delay of game penalty because they only had 10 men on the field. Charles Campbell's kick from 42 yards was good. Iowa 31, Indiana 6 with 8:21 to go in the third. The scoring drive was 12 plays for 62 yards, 

5:43 p.m. – Since it needs to be reported, Michael Penix Jr. is still at quarterback to start the third quarter. No changes made. (Nor should there have been.)

5:38 p.m. – A friendly reminder that Indiana trailed by 28 points once last year too – at Ohio State. They were down 35-7 early in the third quarter but got back within 7 points and had the ball in their hands  with a chance to tie. Eternal optimism, right?

MY TWO CENTS: Certainly not the half I was expecting from Indiana. For a team that stresses ball protection, this wasn't good. Now they're buried in a deep hole at 31-3, and the chances of coming back are very remote against an Iowa defense that has allowed 26 points or less in an NCAA-best 22 games in a row.

5:23 p.m. – Michael Penix Jr. threw three interceptions in the first half. For comparative purposes, he threw only four interceptions all year in 2020 on 220 attempts. For his career, he's never had a three-interception game and has just eight picks in 418 attempts coming into this game. The first one was D.J. Matthews' fault for dropping the pass, but the last two were on Penix for sure.

Pretty pics of the Pick-6s: pic.twitter.com/ckx6TCFywM

— Iowa On BTN (@IowaOnBTN) September 4, 2021

5:17 p.m. – A big sack by Indiana's Ryder Anderson with three seconds to go forces Iowa to attempt a field goal. Iowa's Caleb Shudak makes the kick from 41 yards to end the half. Indiana's Tom Allen called three straight timeouts trying to ice him. Bush-league move. At the half, it's 31-3 Iowa.

5:08 p.m. – And now Penix throws a third interception, making a bad decision while scrambling to his left. Probably another pass that shouldn't have been thrown. 

5:02 p.m. – Indiana forces its first turnover of the season, stripping the ball from running back Tyler Goodson on an inside run. The play, like all turnovers, was reviewed and the ruling stands. Cam Jones forced the fumble and recovered the ball, and Indiana took over on its own 48 yard line with 1:50 to go.  But on Indiana's first play, Penix threw a quick out route to Camron Buckley and Riley Moss returns it 55 yards for a touchdown. A horrible decision to throw that ball, and now Iowa leads 28-3 with 1:41 to go. A huge hole to dig out of now. Very reminiscent of the Shaun Wade interception for a touchdown last year at Ohio State. I hate blind out routes.

4:49 p.m. – Another terrible penalty crushes Indiana. They should have gotten off the field on third down, but Husky Marcelino Ball was called for a roughing-the-passer penalty, keeping Iowa's drive alive. Would have been a good chance for good field position for Indiana. 

4:41 p.m. – Indiana moves into Iowa territory quickly with a couple of big plays, a 14-yard run by Stephen Carr, his longest of the game, and a 12-yard pass play from Michael Penix Jr. to Peyton Hendershot. But a couple of stupid penalties force Indiana to punt again. It's another poor punt for New Zealand freshman James Evans, going just 29 yards. The moment seems a little too big for him right now. He's averaging onl 32.7 yards on his three punts so far.

4:34 p.m. – Iowa scores again on a Spencer Petras run and now the lead grows to 21-3 Hawkeyes with 11:54 left in the second quarter. 

4:28 p.m. — It’s always emotional watching everyone wave to all the cancer patients at the end of the first quarter at Iowa. Having lost a cousin to leukemia as a kid, it still hurts even all these years later. Tears flowing for my two friends fighting cancer right now too.

Video of “The Wave” to the pediatric cancer patients next door at the Children’s Hispital. 

4:20 p.m. — The sun has come out for the first time all day. Indiana gets buried at the 15-yard line on a punt, and go three-and-out. Just 18 seconds left in the first quarter, so we're not far away from one of the coolest traditions in college football. 

The sun is out at Kinnick Stadium. 

4:17 p.m. – Iowa converts a third down pass at safety Devon Matthews is injured on the play. A minute later, he jogs off the field. Indiana has great depth in the secondary, so it will get tested now. Josh Sanguinetti replaces him. Indiana forces a punt with a great pass breakup by Jaylin Williams. 

4:11 p.m. – Penix completed a beautiful pass over the middle to Ty Fryfogle, who ran across the field for a 32-yard gain to the Iowa 19. But the drive stalled there and Indiana had to settle for a 36-yard field goal from Charles Campbell. The scoring drive was nine plays for 44 yards, and it's 14-3 with 4:28 to go. Great start for Campbell, who made 10-of-11 field goal attempts a year ago. 

4:05 p.m. – Former Iowa basketball players Luka Garza and Joe Wieskamp plus several of their former Hawkeyes teammates were honored during a timeout and got a big cheer from the Iowa faithful. Garza was asked a few questions. I had one. How the hell did they lose to Indiana twice last year? To be honest, it was a nice moment, though. Garza and Wieskamp and that team played all of last year with no fans in the stands. It was nice for the 65,000 Iowa fans to give them one last cheer.

4:03 p.m. – A three-and-out for Indiana's defense. Much needed. Good punt for Iowa, with no return for Reece Taylor. Indiana takes over at its; own 32-yard line with 8:12 to go in the first quarter. 

MY TWO CENTS: You couldn't draw up a more horrific start for Indiana. Two huge blunders have put them in a big hole. They'll need to a stop here. The good news is that quarterback Michael Penix has been hit a few times and he's bounced right back up. No ill effects of the ACL injury.

3:55 p.m. – Indiana gets its first first down on a terrific throw from Penix to Miles Marshall for a 21-yard game. Hoosiers move into Iowa territory for the first time. Nothing happens though, and IU is forced to punt. James Evans' first punt in a football game of any kind goes out of bounds inside the 20.

3:50 p.m. – Weird first possession for Indiana. After Stephen Carr gained 4 yards on a first-down run, Hoosiers quarterback Michael Penix dropped the ball on second down, and then threw it away. Iowa wanted a fumble call, but after review, it stayed as an incomplete pass. On third down, Penix hit wide receiver D.J. Matthews right between the numbers, and he bobbled it. Riley Moss grabbed it out of the air and returned it 30 yards for a score. We're only 2:15 into the game and it's already 14-0.

3:40 p.m. – Iowa has won the toss and wants the ball. Indiana's defense gets the first shot. They strike quickly and score on a 56-yard run around the right side. A horrible job of holding the edge by Indiana. First defensive miscue is a costly one. The kick is good and Iowa takes a 7-0 lead just like that. 

3:20 p.m. – Indiana sophomore wide receiver Javon Swinton will serve a one-game suspension this afternoon at Iowa for a violation of team rules, the school announced in a release prior to the game. The sophomore from Stafford, Va. appeared in all eight games in 2020 and made his first career start in the Outback Bowl vs. Ole Miss on Jan. 2, 2021 in Tampa, Fla. He caught four passes for 52 yards on the season, and made a pair of big catches for 23 yards in his collegiate debut in the season-opening win over No. 8 Penn State in Oct. 24. 

2:54 p.m. – Indiana is wearing white jerseys with red numbers today, and white pants with red helmets. Iowa is in their traditional home garb, wearing black jerseys with white numbers, and yellow pants with black stripes.

🔴⚪️⚪️🔴#teamadidas | #IUFB pic.twitter.com/Fomfb2Xngt

— Indiana Football (@IndianaFootball) September 4, 2021

2:45 p.m. ET –  The point spread on this game has remained steady all day, with the Hawkeyes still favored by 3.5 points. The over/under has ticked up a notch to 46.5 points, up from 45.5. Sports Illustrated Indiana publisher Tom Brew has made his pick, which is worth paying attention to considering he started the 2020 season correctly picking Indiana's first six games. For his "GameDay Prediction'' column, CLICK HERE 

2:30 p.m. ET – It's a really nice day for football here in Iowa City. It's cloudy, but no rain, and a very comfortable 73 degrees. It's supposed to stay that way throughout the game. There was just a little bit of rain in IC this morning, but the FieldTurf at Kinnick Stadium is completely dry and won't be a factor.

xxx