IOWA CITY, Iowa-- Kirk Ferentz and Iowa are preparing to welcome in Penn State, who is fresh off three straight losses and fired head coach James Franklin on Sunday. The Nittany Lions have a ton of NFL talent on the roster and will be looking to stop the bleeding. It's never an easy contest against one of the bigger brands in college football, but Iowa is hoping to continue its strong bounce back. Let's take a look at some notes heading into the game and how you can tune into the action.
Series History:
Saturday will be the 33rd meeting in the all-time series that began with a 19-0 Iowa victory in 1930. Penn State leads the all-time series, 18-14. Since join- ing the Big Ten in 1993, the Nittany Lions lead, 12-11. Iowa is 6-10 all-time against Penn State in Iowa City. Four of the last six games in the series have been decided by six points or less, including the last three meetings in Kinnick Stadium.
Iowa won the last meeting in Iowa City, winning 23-20 over the fourth-ranked Nittany Lions in 2021. Nico Ragaini had a 44-yard fourth-quarter touchdown reception from Spencer Petras with 6:26 to play.
Game Notes:
Iowa posted its first shutout of the season in a 37-0 road victory at Wisconsin in a battle for the Heartland Trophy last weekend. The 37 points are the team's most ever scored in Madison.
The Hawkeyes will play their fifth and final night game of the season this week against Penn State. Iowa is 4-0 in night games in 2025.
Iowa has scored 35+ points in two Big Ten road games – at Rutgers (38) and at Wisconsin (37). PK Drew Stevens is two field goals shy of passing Nate Kaeding for the Iowa school record (67). He is also third in school history in career scoring (301).
Since returning from injury, sophomore RB Kamari Moulton has rushed for 196 yards on 47 carries with two touchdowns in three games. He now leads the team with 261 rushing yards in four contests.
Over his last four games, Gronowski has completed 64-of-91 attempts (70.3 percent) for 616 yards and two touchdowns. He has eight rushing TDs this season – tied for the fifth-most in the NCAA.
Kaytron Allen is the lead back for Penn State, he's averaging 6.7 yards per carry, and has seven touchdowns, and is averaging just under 80 yards per game. Nick Singleton is only averaging 43.2 rushing yards per game, but the two of them make for one of the more dangerous 1/2 running back duos in college football.
According to Pro Football Focus, Penn State's pass blocking as a team is third in the Big Ten. Penn State has only allowed four sacks this season. They are only 10th in run blocking.\
Gronowski is fifth nationally in rushing touchdowns (8) and 10th in total touchdowns (8) this season, while ranking 47th in total points scored (48).
He is the first QB to rush for a touchdown in his first six games at a Big Ten school since Justin Fields at Ohio State in 2019.
Iowa's offense averaged 15.4 points during the 2023 season and that mark went up to 27.7 points in 2024 under first- year offensive coordinator Tim Lester. The Hawkeyes went from 132nd in the nation in scoring offense to No. 72. The team is currently 53rd in scoring offense (30.7) through six games in 2025.
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Here is how to watch, stream or listen to the game between the Hawkeyes and Nittany Lions
Announcers: Play-by-Play: Paul Burmeister Analyst: Michael Robinson Sideline: Caroline Pineda
TV: Peacock (Subscription Required) at 6:08 CT
Radio: Play-by-Play: Gary Dolphin Analyst: Pat Angerer Sideline: Rob Brooks Sirius XM 160 or 196
Stream: Peacock
Online radio: TuneIn
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