Who does the Hawkeyes Wire team have winning Saturday night's game?
Things can change quickly in the college football world.
Three weeks ago, Iowa was coming off a shaky road win over Rutgers, where the defense struggled mightily in the first half, and questions were abundant about the future of the 2025 season. Since then, the defense has patched things up, the Hawkeyes lost a game at the buzzer to Indiana, and then dominated Wisconsin, seemingly righting the ship.
The ship is currently sinking for Penn State, which was the number two team in the country three weeks ago. They lost to Oregon in double overtime before losing back-to-back games to UCLA and Northwestern. That last loss led to the Nittany Lionsfiring head coach James Franklin. Penn State will also be without starting quarterback Drew Allar, who's out for the rest of the season with an ankle injury.
Despite a rocky last few weeks, Penn State's roster is loaded with four and five-star talents who will look to give Iowa everything they can handle in front of a sold-out Kinnick Stadium on Saturday night. Who does the Hawkeyes Wire team have picking up the win on Saturday? Will the Nittany Lions right the ship? Or will Iowa get that signature win they've been looking for?
Hawkeyes Wire predicts: Iowa vs Penn State
Scout Springgate: Iowa 27, Penn State 20. Although Penn State has struggled mightily over the past three weeks, the Nittany Lions put forth a galvanized effort behind interim head coach Terry Smith that will turn this into another classic Big Ten battle.
Even as Penn State will showcase its talents, especially on the ground, Iowa’s pass rush will cause headaches for QB Ethan Grunkemeyer enough to make them “one-dimensional”.
On offense, the Hawkeyes will do just enough to come away with a victory. Given the style of coaching that Kirk Ferentz employs, the importance of executing the little things within each play will be pivotal to their success.
Riley Donald: Iowa 20, Penn State 13. This game will have a vintage Iowa feel to it. It’s going to be in Kinnick under the lights. The storylines are abundant here. Under the radar, if Iowa wins this, they get to 5-2, and some ears suddenly perk up. On the other side, does Penn State limp in? Or do they punch back? I think the latter. They’ll rally.
Iowa’s offense will be tested. Fortunately, Iowa’s strength, the ground game, has been a bit of an issue for Penn State’s defense. Flipping things around, Phil Parker has Iowa playing elite defense over the last two games and will pull the right levers against a backup QB making his first start in a hostile environment. Field position, avoiding turnovers, and creating a timely turnover get the job done for the Hawkeyes.
Josh Helmer: Iowa 27, Penn State 17. Iowa has the experienced quarterback and gets to play at home under the Kinnick Stadium lights. Iowa does enough to stop the run and force Ethan Grunkemeyer to make throws, resulting in a timely turnover or two. The Hawkeyes keep Penn State reeling.
Zach Hiney: Iowa 24, Penn State 17. It's crazy how quickly the perception of a game can change. Most Iowa fans would've predicted a Penn State win in this game a month ago. Now, everyone is backing the Hawkeyes to win this game at home.
Even without Allar, Penn State is an incredibly talented team that will look to rally behind its new interim head coach. Iowa will need to bring its A-game to Kinnick Stadium if it wants to win this one. The one stat that matters more than everything else is this one: 17-0. That's Phil Parker's record against first-time starting quarterbacks. Ethan Grunkemeyer is making his first collegiate start on Saturday for Penn State.
The atmosphere at Kinnick will be electric, and the Iowa defense will ride that crowd to a few turnovers against the freshman quarterback. Expect Parker to throw the kitchen sink at Grunkemeyer and the mistakes to come from there. Iowa's offense does just enough for Iowa to pick up a signature win.
Iowa vs Penn State will kick off at 6 p.m. CST and can be streamed on Peacock.
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This article originally appeared on Hawkeyes Wire: Iowa football vs. Penn State: Who wins? Final score predictions
Category: General Sports
