Game Preview: Iowa

Story posted September 21, 2017 in CommRadio by Sports Staff

PODCAST:

Jon Gross, Jason Marcus, Zach Seyko and Cristian Flores break down Penn State's matchup against Iowa.

For the first time this season, the No. 4 Penn State Nittany Lion’s will be on the road, facing the Iowa Hawkeyes at Kinnick Stadium.

Penn State will go into the game on Saturday with an unbeaten record, a dominant defense and two potential Heisman candidates leading their offense. After dismantling Georgia State 56-0 last week, the Nittany Lions have now shut out two out of their three opponents, and in that span, have only allowed one total touchdown. This will pose a real challenge for the 3-0 Hawkeyes, especially after losing to Penn State 41-14 last season.

However, if there is one thing you should never do, it is count on the Hawkeyes. Despite being embarrassed last season during the game at Beaver Stadium, Iowa would find a way to defeat a No. 3 Michigan team just one week later. That crazy victory has everything to do with the unpredictability that comes with an Iowa home game. In fact, Penn State has only been able to pick up a win once in the last five meetings at Iowa.

Despite losing some key starters from the previous season, Iowa has still managed to have a lot of talent on their roster. Combine that with the atmosphere that will come with a night home game, and there is still the potential for a huge upset come Saturday.  Iowa brings back their entire starting linebacking corps, a veteran offensive line, and running back Akrum Wadley, who ran for over 1,000 yards last year.

The biggest question mark for their offense is their quarterback, Nathan Stanley. Stanley, in his first year as the starter, has impressed so far by leading the Big Ten with 10 touchdowns to only one interception. But, his matchup against the Nittany Lions proves to be the biggest task of his young career.

This game has the potential to be a trap game for Penn State, and if they want to avoid that, they will need to rely on their playmakers. Running back Saquon Barkley and quarterback Trace McSorely need to have an impressive showing and continue the dominance that they have had for the first few games in order for them to avoid an upset.

To see if Penn State continues their winning ways, tune in to ABC at 7:30 p.m on September 23rd.

 

Jason Marcus is a junior studying telecommunications. To contact him, email jasmarcus320@gmail.com.

About the Contributors

Jonathan Gross's photo

Jonathan Gross

Senior / Broadcast Journalism, International Politics

Jon Gross is a senior from Upper Saddle River, New Jersey double-majoring in broadcast journalism and International Politics. Gross currently serves as a Sports Director for Penn State’s CommRadio, where he has also broadcasted for ten Penn State sports teams. During the summer of 2018, Gross was the Director of Broadcasting for the Saugerties Stallions of the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League. He was also the radio play-by-play voice of the Penn State Women’s Volleyball team for the 2017 season. Gross has interned in the sports departments of WCBS-TV (New York) and WTAJ-TV (Altoona-Johnstown-State College).

You can contact him at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) and follow his twitter @j_gross31.

Zach Seyko's photo

Zach Seyko

Senior / Broadcast Journalism

Zach Seyko is a senior majoring in broadcast journalism and minoring in communication arts & sciences. Currently, he is a Penn State content contributor for the website Armchair All-Americans. He has interned with WPSU Penn State in sports production, WTAJ-TV Altoona sports and the Centre County Gazette newspaper in sports. He aspires to be a sports reporter, or announcer for a national broadcasting network. To contact him, email .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). Follow him on Twitter @zach_seyko.