Iowa vs Penn State Predictions

When Penn State has the ball:
The offense that Penn State runs this season isn't all that different from Iowa's.  They run a lot of isolation and zone run plays and they seldom have four or five receivers.  Their quarterback is young, but talented.  He will sit in the pocket and take a lot of hits, but his ability to run and a quick release keep him from getting sacked.  The offensive line isn't great and took a big hit last week when their starting right tackle, Lou Eliades, was lost due to injury.  Their two tackles have a combined four collegiate starts and will be facing one of the best defensive lines in the nation, not a good combination for Penn State fans.  Penn State knows that running between the tackles is a tough task against Iowa, look for them to try and gain the edge with option and stretch plays.  When Stephfon Green (#21) comes into the game, his speed could give Iowa problems and the Nittany Lions like to get him on the edge to use that speed.  The Penn State receivers are all talented, however, there isn't a single one that is featured more, they spread the ball around.  When he is pressed, Bolden will look to #83 Brett Brackett, who is tied for the team lead with 15 catches.  Penn State is very dangerous on the punt return, Green is the returner and gets up to top speed very quickly, Donahue will have to do a good job of hanging his punts up to give his coverage team time to get down the field.

When Iowa has the ball:
Penn State runs a base 4-3 defense and will stay in this defense almost the entire game, just like Iowa would do.  Their defense is very fast flowing, meaning that they go with the flow of the offensive line hard, leaving them susceptible to play action and boots.  Penn State will bring the blitz from both their linebackers and corners, but they show this very early and Temple had great success checking to new plays.  The other thing that opens up with fast flow defenses is the cutback, Iowa's zone running could mean huge cutback lanes for Robinson.  The defense's weak point is against the run, they are giving up 117 yards per game on the ground and Alabama was able to rack up 180 yards on the ground.  Look for Iowa to balance the run and pass well, starting with the run and short passes and then moving more to the play action pass once the defensive backs have started coming up in run support.

What will happen:
The atmosphere will be amazing and look for Iowa to feed off of that and score on their first drive.  You will see Adam Robinson, but the pass will be Ken O'Keefe's choice, utilizing the short passing game down the field.  The Iowa defense will come out and dominate the line of scrimmage like all fans have come accustomed to them doing this season.  Royster will find the holes few and far between and Penn State will be forced to look for yardage elsewhere.  The first half will be very back and forth with Iowa holding a 14-10 lead at halftime.  Halftime is the place where the Iowa coaches have earned their salaries the last two seasons as Iowa has outscored those 17 opponents 242-95 in the second half, keeping 13 of the 17 opponents to 7 points or less in the second half.  Look for Iowa to impose its will in the second half both on offense and defense, cruising to a comfortable win.

Predictions:

Iowa - 31
Penn State - 17

Stanzi will pick apart the Nittany Lion defense to the tune of 300+ yards and 3 TD's
Robinson will find running tough, but still gain 70+ yards and a TD
DJK will set the career receiving yardage mark with 130+ yards and a TD
McNutt comes back after missing most of last week with 75+ yards and a TD
Reisner has 6 catches and a TD
The Nittany Lions will tally 3+ sacks
Iowa will control the line of scrimmage, limiting Penn State to less than 80 yards on the ground
Iowa will force four turnovers
Iowa gets a pick 6
Penn State returns a kick for a TD