The Breakdown: Iowa vs. Penn State

Hawkeyes, Nittany Lions face off under Kinnick's lights

Jonathan Jones/USA Today Sports

Breaking down Saturday’s game between Iowa and Penn State.

Game facts

Time and place — 6:44 p.m. CDT, Kinnick Stadium, Iowa City

TV — ABC (Sean McDonough, play by play; Todd Blackledge, analyst; Holly Rowe, sideline)

Radio — Hawkeye Radio Network. Available on Sirius Ch. 133 and XM Ch. 195

Records — Iowa 4-1 (1-1 Big Ten), Penn State 5-0 (2-0)

Rankings — Iowa is No. 17 in the Associated Press poll and No. 18 in the coaches poll, Penn State is No. 10 in the AP poll and No. 9 in the coaches poll.

Series — Penn State leads, 16-12. The Nittany Lions have won the last five games in the series.

Streaks — Iowa has lost one. Penn State has won five consecutive games.

The lines

Point spread — Penn State minus-3 1/2

Moneyline — Iowa +160, Penn State -190

Over/under — 42

Fast facts

• Iowa has allowed just five touchdowns this season. Penn State has allowed four.

• It's the second consecutive time both teams have been nationally ranked heading into the game.

• It's the 20th night game at Kinnick Stadium. It's the fourth time the Hawkeyes have played host to the Nittany Lions under the lights.

• The last top-25 matchup between Iowa and Penn State in Iowa City was in 2010, when Iowa won, 24-3. It was the Hawkeyes' last win in the series.

When Iowa has the ball

The Hawkeyes' best chance of winning is if they a.) hold on to the ball and b.) don't commit penalties.

Seems simple enough, but Iowa couldn't do it last week in the 10-3 loss against Michigan — four turnovers and eight penalties — and Penn State's defense is much more difficult to face.

Oh, and somebody better protect Nate Stanley. The Iowa quarterback was sacked eight times in last week's game. Penn State comes into the game leading the nation in sacks, and is coming off a 10-sack game against Purdue.

"There's no one magic answer," Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said. "We didn't play consistently enough. There are some good plays in there, certainly and didn't play consistently enough. The negative yardage plays are always going to affect you and part of that was our lack of execution, maybe part of that's Michigan being a really athletic, aggressive defensive team, but that being said, we are looking at the same kind of opponent this week.

"Penn State has got great athletes and they play hard and can be very disruptive, too. We are going to have to hopefully have a little tighter plan maybe and be a little bit tighter with our technique and a little better, more cohesive in our play."

Someone will need to stop Penn State defensive ends Yetur Gross-Matos and Shaka Toney, who have combined for 10 1/2 sacks this season.

The Hawkeyes are going to have to control the ball, something they have been good at this season. They can't get away from the running game — running backs Toren Young, Tyler Goodson and Mekhi Sargent combined for 67 yards last week. That total will have to be higher against the Nittany Lions, who have allowed an average of 50.6 rushing yards this season, third best in FBS play.

When Penn State has the ball

It starts with quarterback Sean Clifford, who has thrown for 1,443 yards and 12 touchdowns this season. He's only been intercepted twice, so the Hawkeyes will have to find a way to rattle him.

Trace McSorley bedeviled the Hawkeyes last two seasons, but he's gone now. The key will be if Clifford can do the same thing.

"I think maybe as impressive as anything right now, they graduated a tremendous player (and) competitor at the quarterback position, and this guy has jumped in and done a really nice job," Ferentz said. "That doesn't seem to be a big issue for them right now."

"He is fiery and he's competitive, and he understands how to prepare. He understands that playing the quarterback position is a lifestyle," Penn State coach James Franklin said. "You know, you're not the quarterback when you step on the football field. You're the quarterback when you leave your house in the morning. You're the quarterback when you go to bed and put your head on the pillow. Everybody knows that you're the quarterback on campus, and you need to understand that."

K.J. Hamler leads the Nittany Lions with 19 catches for 394 yards and four touchdowns, but he also can cause problems in kick and punt returns.

"(Hammier) is a very, very versatile, very dynamic home-run-kind-of-threat player, whether it's offensively or on special teams, so he's certainly somebody that's got our attention," Ferentz said.

Penn State averages 499.6 yards per game, 12th best in the nation.

The Hawkeyes, though, are fifth nationally in total defense, third in scoring defense, and 12th in passing defense.

The final thought

The Hawkeyes have said all of the right things this week about moving on from the loss to Michigan, and they'll have to show that on Saturday.

Both defenses will make sure this is a low-scoring game. For Iowa, it's going to be about controlling the ball. A repeat of last week will lead to the same outcome.

It will be an emotional night at Kinnick — the 2009 Orange Bowl team will be honored. That's enough to give the Hawkeyes some sort of a spark early, but they'll have to get back to being as fundamentally sound as they were in the first four games of the season.