Oh Nellie, it's October 2021, and I don't think we have witnessed the State of the Program trending this strong in recruiting, national conversation and relevance ever at Iowa!
Hard to compare 100 years ago or the great teams for Forest Evashevski to today. Hayden Fry had a great eight year bowl streak in the 1980s highlighted by a great group of coaches.
The 1985 team didn't play back to back Top 25 teams in the preseason. They were supposed to, but we got Northern Illinois and Drake instead, if you recall?
The staff right now under Kirk Ferentz is pretty darn special. The offense, defense and special teams have already shown upward trends in 2021. They play complementary football right now.
But, while Iowa is the favorite on Saturday, and Kirk Ferentz has won five straight, second in the nation behind Alabama (8), in Top 25 opponent wins; many are picking Penn State as the better team heading into Kinnick Stadium.
No. 4 Penn State at No. 3 Iowa (-2.5), 4 p.m., Fox
As salty as the Hawkeyes defense is, the Nittany Lions are No. 3 in the Big Ten in fewest yards per play allowed (4.33). The Nittany Lions have a more explosive offense with the more seasoned quarterback. - Bruce Feldman at The AthleticPenn State 17, Iowa 14
Pick: Penn State +2.5 (trending down)
He likes Syracuse in his upset special, if you need to know. Wake is traveling to the Carrier Dome in Week 6. Back in 2006, Iowa pulled out that 20-13 OT win, with an even less experienced QB than today.
GameDay decided not to come to Iowa City this year. They did for #1 Ohio State, back in 2006. Penn State doesn't draw, as well, as the Big Ten’s #1 program.
Iowa isn't Ohio State which is a popular comment this week, but neither is Penn State. Iowa has been in every game against Penn State, except for the 2016 Big Ten championship year that James Franklin had in reaching his 4-1 mark against Iowa.
Iowa's QB Spencer Petras is 11-2 as a starter. PFF College gives him good marks, especially, as Iowa has begun to rely on the offense a little more this season.
Yes, Sean Clifford has one more season as a starter. He is more seasoned and he did lead Penn State to a 17-12 win at Kinnick in 2019. He also lost 3 straight against B1G West opponents, something rare for Franklin's QBs, since his arrival in Happy Valley.
Clifford lost at #17 Minnesota in 2019 while ranked #4, at Nebraska in 2020, he got benched, then wasn't able to mount comeback against Iowa in the next game.
So, two nice wins at Wisconsin and against Indiana are improvement, but unsure I would want to say Clifford is better than Petras. PFF College warns Clifford's IU performance can't be repeated on Saturday.
Last time Penn State was #4 on the road at a B1G West venue, it was a good story for the B1G West.
Oh Sean, the end of the game interception thrown. Last year, he came off the bench was good for two touchdowns, then two interceptions in Iowa's 41-21 win.
https://twitter.com/thebluepennant/status/1330288157762400263?t=NP6kTxD5ZUPOZ9x-0iVaVQ&s=19
Penn State does have a nice homerun receiver back and headed to Iowa City. And, yes, we all remember how 2017 ended at Kinnick.
https://twitter.com/SincePittWinPSU/status/1444733484954787846?t=f8X9dQMhw4f2KTeq3CT9Ig&s=19
Iowa CB Matt Hankins saw action in 21-19 loss to #4 Penn State, but had no statistics.
https://twitter.com/HawkeyesMic/status/1445895741239668738?t=RK2p_IygV77tgbOgXjH-Sg&s=19
