No. 10 Penn State football (5-0, 2-0 Big Ten) will face No. 17 Iowa (4-1, 1-1 Big Ten) at the always-intimidating Kinnick Stadium at 7:30 p.m. Saturday.

This will be Penn State’s second road trip of the 2019 season, but its away game against Maryland pales in comparison to what the team will face in Iowa City Saturday night. The Nittany Lions are favored to win this one, but expect a gritty, defensive battle between two of the top five units in the country in terms of yards allowed per game.

Here’s everything you’ll need to know in preparation for the Nittany Lions’ toughest game of 2019 thus far.

Television

Saturday’s game will kick off at 7:30 p.m. and be broadcast on ABC. Sean McDonough, Todd Blackledge, and Holly Rowe will be on the call.

Radio

Penn State Sports Network — Steve Jones, Jack Ham, and Matt McGloin
Local: 93.7 FM/1450 AM, Sirius: Ch. 132, XM: Ch. 196

Weather

It’s going to be a perfect night for football in Iowa City. Temperatures will be in the mid-to-low 50s throughout much of the afternoon and will drop to the high 40s for the majority of the game, according to AccuWeather. It’ll be partly cloudy, but no rain is expected.

Last Meeting

These two teams last met at Beaver Stadium last season for a late-October match up. The Nittany Lions won 30-24, thanks in large part to a Nick Scott interception that gave the ball back to Penn State with just a few minutes remaining.

Penn State’s last trip to Kinnick Stadium was in 2017. Most fans remember that for the Nittany Lions’ heroic drive in the final two minutes of the game. It finished with a Trace McSorley touchdown pass to Juwan Johnson within the final seconds that gave Penn State a 21-19 win. Saquon Barkley also had an amazing 358 all-purpose yards and made one of the most impressive plays of his Penn State career in that game.

Penn State has won the last five meetings between these two squads and leads the all-time series 16-12.

Injuries/Suspensions

The Nittany Lions have two possible injuries to consider heading to Iowa. Justin Shorter didn’t play against Purdue last week due to a head injury sustained against Maryland, and his status is unknown for Saturday night. Juice Scruggs remains unable to play after injuring his back in a car accident over the summer.

Betting Lines

Penn State is favored to win Saturday’s game by 3.5 points, according to Oddshark. The over-under for the contest is set at 42.5 points. (Editor’s Note: Smash the under.)

The Nittany Lions are currently 3-2 against the spread this season. They covered fairly easily against Idaho, Buffalo, and Maryland, but couldn’t against Pitt or Purdue. The Nittany Lions were favored by 28.5 points and beat Purdue 35-7, missing the spread by just half of a point.

Media Coverage

Onward State will have you covered throughout today’s game. You can find big plays, photos, analysis, and more on our main @OnwardState Twitter account and Facebook page, and we’ll also provide play-by-play commentary from @OnwardStSports on Twitter.

Sports editors Mikey Mandarino (@Mikey_Mandarino) and Will Pegler (@gritdude) will have you covered throughout Saturday’s game.

Onward State

• Staff Predictions
• Previewing The Enemy
• Relive the most thrilling Penn State primetime road games in history
• An ode to Big Ten football
• Official Penn State vs. Iowa drinking game
• Noah Cain makes case for more carries
• Takeaways from Penn State’s episode of HBO’s ’24/7 College Football’
• Penn State football confident in preparation for Kinnick Stadium
• Young fan supports Jonathan Sutherland with heartwarming card