Iowa football: 5 things I’d like see from the Hawkeyes this weekend against Penn State

Iowa is 6-1 and on a roll with three impressive victories since the late-September loss to Wisconsin. But wins over Minnesota, Indiana and Maryland isn’t the same as going into Penn State and stealing a win. That’s a whole different ballgame, both literally and figuratively.

The matchup with Penn State (3:30 p.m. ET; TV: ESPN) has major ramifications for the Hawukeyes, who have worked their way back into the Big Ten West race and simply can’t afford another loss. Penn State is a 6.5-point favorite.

Here are five things I want to see from the Hawkeyes this weekend at Penn State:

1. Smothering defense continues to … well, smother

Iowa pitched a shutout last week at Maryland, which was cause for celebration, but the Hawkeyes defenders feel like they should have three shutouts already, they’ve been that good. It’s tough to go to Happy Valley and win, but it starts with this Iowa defense putting the clamps on Trace McSorley and the high-powered Penn State offense. McSorley, a preseason Heisman Trophy candidate, hasn’t done a whole lot, throwing for only 1,461 yards with 11 touchdowns and three interceptions. He can be stopped, and these guys can do it.

2. And creating turnovers would be nice, too

McSorley is completing only 53 percent of his passes this season, far below his 66.5 percent numbers from a year ago. A lot of that is on his underachieving wide receivers, who’ve had a lot of drops and suffer from poor route-running. He can be pressured into some bad throws, so it’s up to the Iowa defensive front to get him to take some chances and not break contain. McSorley can run too, so he needs to be kept in check.

3. Nate Stanley finds his targets for 60 minutes

Quarterback Nate Stanley had three 300-yard games in the month prior to the win over Maryland. Last week he was just 11-for-22 passing for 86 yards, a bit of an outlier. He needs to be back to his old self against Penn State, because Iowa will need to score 20-plus points for sure to have a chance to win. His two top targets, tights ends Noah Fant and T.J. Hockenson, should both have big games against the Penn State linebackers.

4. Take crowd out of game with quick start

Penn State has one of the best home-field advantages in all of America, and those 107,000 fans will be juiced up from the start. They’ll also be loud and confident, because the Nittany Lions have won four straight in this rivalry. The best way to neutralize that boost is to score early and get early stops. Penn State has lost its last two home games (Ohio State, Michigan State), so another bad start might get these fans to turn on their guys a bit. Put the pressure on early.

5. Keep the road winning streak going

The wins on the road at Minnesota and Indiana were impressive, and even though this is a much different environment, it’s still possible for the Hawkeyes to go in and steal a win. Penn State’s receivers don’t scare me and the Iowa offense should be able to move the ball. Just get it done.

Tom Brew

Tom Brew has been a recognized reporter in Big Ten sports for decades. Among other projects, he writes about Big Ten football for Saturday Tradition.