Penn State and Iowa take the field on Saturday for a top-five clash between two teams at the midway point of the season. The Nittany Lions have won three of the past four meetings against the Hawkeyes including two-straight on the road in Iowa City. Making it three-straight wins at one of the toughest venues in the Big Ten would go a long way towards Penn State’s resurgence in 2021 after a strange 2020.
But first things first, a late afternoon meeting with Iowa, and five things to watch unfold during Saturday’s clash.
Mistakes:
Iowa leads the nation in takeaways – or rather – Iowa is very good at making the most of the other team’s mistakes. The Hawkeyes are among the worst teams in the Big Ten when it comes to generating yards per game but they don’t need to thanks to turnovers, short fields and a stout defense. Big games almost always come down to who makes the fewest mistakes. Remember Penn State’s 2019 game at Ohio State? The Nittany Lions were dead in the water until the defense started creating fumbles.
If Penn State can win the turnover battle that will go a long way towards winning. Mistakes don’t stop at turnovers though – don’t drop passes, don’t miss blocks, don’t miss tackles. Turnovers are the big mistakes, but the little ones that lead to a covered third-down that could have turned into a fourth-down matter almost as much when it’s all added up.
Belong Here Too:
Penn State has won three of the last four games against Iowa under James Franklin and is also a Top 5 team, do the Nittany Lions bring some swagger with them? Penn State might be a slight underdog on the road against Iowa but the Nittany Lions have plenty of punching power on both sides of the ball. Iowa has plenty to prove in this game too, so if the Nittany Lions can land an early punch it could go a long way towards giving the Hawkeyes – and a rowdy crowd – something to think about.
Best Player On The Field:
Jahan Dotson will be the best player on the field Saturday and anytime you have the best player in the game you have to make the most of it. In Penn State’s case the challenge will be finding ways to get Dotson the ball in space against an Iowa defense that will be plenty interested in slowing him down.
Saturday is a big moment for Dotson – he has had five or more catches in seven-straight games dating back to 2020 and has yet to have fewer than 65 yards receiving in a game this year. If Dotson can get his usual touches and numbers, Penn State has a good chance to leave Iowa City with a win. So far this year Dotson is averaging just over 12 yards per catch, his season low was 7.8 yards per catch against Auburn but he still managed 10 catches and a touchdown. Can he have a Saquon Barkley effort against Iowa? Time will tell, but if he does, the Nittany Lions win the game.
Special Teams Special:
As Penn State fans know all too well, special teams can make or break big games. The Nittany Lions already have two blocked field goals this year [interestingly enough former Penn State offensive coordinator Ricky Rahne’s Old Dominion leads the nation with four blocked kicks/punts] and a game that doesn’t feel like it’s going to be high scoring could very well come down to a kick.
Penn State’s fairly quiet return game could provide the Nittany Lions with a boost in a big moment as well and as long as Jordan Stout continues to launch punts to the Moon his ability to flip the field should help Penn State give Iowa’s offense long fields to look at all day. That’s huge against a Hawkeye offense that doesn’t generate a ton of yardage per game.
Sometimes the best news is no news from a special teams unit, but making a splash in this game could go a long way.
Make Them Count:
Over the course of the game Penn State’s going to have good drives going, good bounces go its way or wide open receivers streaking down the field: can it make the most of those moments? Big games are as much about avoiding mistakes as they are making the most of the moments when the game starts to swing your way. It might mean jumping on a fumble or hitting Jahan Dotson in stride, whatever the case is, can the Nittany Lions look back and feel like they made the most of their opportunities? If the answer is yes, chances are they won the game.
