UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Penn State visits -/RV Iowa on Saturday for a Big Ten contest. The PSU matchup is set for a 7 p.m. kickoff on Peacock.
SERIES HISTORY: Penn State meets Iowa for the 33rd time in program history. PSU leads the all-time series, 18-14, including a 10-6 mark in road games and a 12-11 advantage as Big Ten foes. In 2023, the Nittany Lions earned a 31-0 win. Drew Allar threw four touchdown passes, including two to Tyler Warren. The Nittany Lions held the Hawkeyes to 76 total yards and four first downs on just 33 plays. PSU forced four takeaways, all fumble recoveries.
SMITH LEADS NITTANY LIONS: Terry M. Smith will coach his first game as Penn State's interim head coach. Smith, a three-year starter at wide receiver and 1991 graduate, is in his 12th year on the Penn State coaching staff. He has served 12 seasons as Penn State's defensive recruiting coordinator and cornerbacks coach and the last five seasons as associate head coach. Smith has helped Penn State to 12-consecutive Top 25 recruiting classes and has guided seven cornerbacks get drafted into the NFL since 2015, tied-most nationally.
BLOCKED PUNTS: Defensive end Dani Dennis-Sutton blocked a punt on Northwestern's opening drive. It was his second blocked punt and Penn State's third this season. Dennis-Sutton became Penn State's first player with a blocked punt in back-to-back games (at UCLA, vs. Northwestern) since Andre Collins in 1989 (at Texas, at Rutgers). He is one of just seven FBS players with multiple blocked kicks this season. The Nittany Lions have three blocked punts in a season for the first time since 2019 (2 vs. Idaho; 1 vs. Buffalo; 1 at Michigan State) and have blocked punts against multiple Big Ten opponents in a season for the first time since 2016 (2 at Ohio State, 1 at Rutgers).
THE OPPOSITION: Iowa is 4-2 this season with a 2-1 mark in Big Ten play after a 37-0 win at Wisconsin last Saturday. The Hawkeyes gained 319 yards, including 210 on the ground. Iowa scored on four rushing touchdowns, including two by Xavier Williams and one each by Kamari Moulton and Mark Gronowski. On defense, the Hawkeyes forced three takeaways.
BY THE NUMBERS
12 - Terry M. Smith is in his 12th year on the Penn State coaching staff.
5 - Smith has served five seasons as Penn State's associate head coach.
3 - Penn State has three blocked punts this season, following Dani Dennis-Sutton's block against Northwestern. PSU has three blocked punts in a season for the first time since 2019.
1989 - Dennis-Sutton became Penn State's first player with a blocked punt in back-to-back games since Andre Collins in 1989.
NORTHWESTERN NOTES
- Penn State is now 16-6 all-time against Northwestern.
- The Nittany Lions are 75-25-5 in homecoming games.
- WR Devonte Ross finished the game with seven receptions for 115 yards. It was his fifth career 100-yard receiving game and first as a Nittany Lion.
- CB Audavion Collins recovered a muffed punt in the second quarter.
- DT Zane Durant finished the game with a career-high eight stops. Durant recorded a solo sack in the first quarter.
- DE Dani Dennis-Sutton blocked a punt in the first quarter. It was his second blocked punt and Penn State’s third blocked punt this season. Penn State has three blocked punts in a season for the first time since 2019 (2 vs. Idaho; 1 vs. Buffalo; 1 at Michigan State).
- Dennis-Sutton became Penn State’s first Nittany Lion with a blocked punt in back-to-back games (at UCLA, vs. Northwestern) since Andre Collins in 1989 (at Texas, at Rutgers).
- P Gabriel Nwosu landed two punts inside the 10.
SERIES HISTORY VS. IOWA
- Penn State and Iowa are set to meet for the 33rd time with PSU leading 18-14 in the all-time series.
- The Nittany Lions are 10-6 in road matchups and hold a 12-11 advantage as Big Ten foes.
- Penn State earned a 31-0 win in Happy Valley in 2023.
- Drew Allar threw for 166 yards and four touchdowns.
- Tyler Warren hauled in touchdown receptions of 2 and 7 yards, while Khalil Dinkins added a 9-yard score.
- The Nittany Lions held Iowa to 76 total yards and four first downs on just 33 plays.
- Penn State forced four takeaways, all on fumbles, including two recoveries by Curtis Jacobs.