Believe it or not, folks, Penn State does play a football game on Saturday. Following one of the loudest weeks in recent Penn State football history, the Nittany Lions will travel to Iowa City to take on the Hawkeyes in a Saturday night bout.

Kinnick Stadium is one of the hardest places to play in the Big Ten, and with the smell of blood in the water, Iowa fans are sure to show out once again in the program’s 2025 Black & Gold Spirit Game.

Penn State will be led by interim head coach Terry Smith, the first head coach to lead the Nittany Lions out of the tunnel other than James Franklin in 12 years.

Smith will be tasked with a similar Iowa team to years past, meaning good defense, questionable offense. The Hawkeyes rank No. 7 nationally in total defense and are not in the top 50 for total offense.

The Team

In 2025, Iowa holds a 4-2 record with losses to No. 3 Indiana and then-No. 16 Iowa State. The Hawkeyes came into the season with high expectations and, despite some offensive struggles, have competed in every game they’ve played.

Iowa’s best win this season came in its 38-28 road victory against Rutgers. Piscataway, New Jersey, is a sneaky hard place to play, especially during their annual blackout game, which took place against Iowa. The attendance was 55,942, the most in Rutgers history.

While Penn State is reeling from a coaching change, the Hawkeyes are led by 27-year man Kirk Ferentz, the longest-tenured head coach in college football. Ferentz joined the Hawkeyes and is the winningest coach in program history. Iowa has two Big Ten titles since his arrival.

Tim Lester will serve as the offensive coordinator for Iowa on Saturday. He joined in 2024 and helped running back Kaleb Johnson break the school single-season record in scoring (138), overall touchdowns (23), and rushing touchdowns (21).

Lester formally served as an offensive analyst for the Green Bay Packers as well as the head coach of Western Michigan from 2017-2022. The Broncos won 37 games and appeared in three bowl games during his tenure.

Iowa’s defensive coordinator is Phil Parker, who joined the team in 1999 with Ferentz as the defensive backs coach. Parker was promoted to defensive coordinator in 2012, but still serves his duty as the defensive back coach. Since arriving in Iowa City, the Hawkeyes have continuously produced on the defensive side of the ball.

In 2023, Parker won both the Broyles Award and AFCA Assistant Coach of the Year for the best assistant coach in the country. He was also named to rivals.com’s first-team All-College Football Assistant Coach Dream Team in 2011.

The Offense

After a clip of quarterback Mark Gronowski in fall camp went viral, the offensive outlook for the Hawkeyes took a huge leap heading into 2025. Many thought Gronowski, who transferred from South Dakota, had the chance to be the best quarterback Iowa had seen in years.

While that statement proved to be misguided, the Naperville, Illinois, native has still been impressive. Gronowski has 743 yards, three touchdowns, and three interceptions on 85 attempts.

His primary target this season has been Sam Phillips, who has 193 yards. In general, though, Iowa spread the ball out. The Hawkeyes have 17 different players with at least one receiving yard in 2025. Seth Anderson leads the way with touchdowns, although he has just two scores and 44 yards.

Iowa has also run a committee out of the backfield in an attempt to make up for the lost production with Kaleb Johnson going to the NFL. Kamari Moulton and Xavier Williams lead the way with over 200 yards each, but neither has been available for all six games. In fact, the only rusher with over 100 yards on the ground who has appeared in all six games so far is Gronowski.

Iowa’s offensive line is the star of the show on that side of the ball. Credited as one of the highest-performing units in the Big Ten, they have helped the Hawkeyes average 5.8 yards per carry.

The Defense

The Hawkeyes are projected to be a strong defensive unit again this season because of their defensive line, and they have lived up to it. Aaron Graves, Ethan Hurkett, and Max Llewellyn are arguably the second-most-talented unit Penn State has had to face.

Llewellyn led the team with five sacks and six tackles for loss, with Hurkett and Graves each recording two sacks and 3.5 tackles-for-loss.

Karson Sharar has also been impressive this season from the linebacker room. He leads Iowa with 36 total tackles. He has also recorded 3.5 tackles-for-loss and one sack. Helping Sharar is Jaden Harrell with 32 total tackles and one sack.

Iowa can normally hang its hat on the defensive back unit with guys like Bob Sanders, Desmond King, and Cooper DeJean coming from the school. This season, though, the Hawkeyes are less experienced than they normally are.

Junior defensive back and team captain Koen Entringer is the most notable of the group. He leads the position group in tackles with 30 and tackles for loss with 2.

Special Teams

Drew Stevens takes care of the field goals and the kickoffs. He is 12-of-15 on field goals this season. He has taken 37 kickoffs in 2025 with an average of 62.3 yards per kick and 23 touchbacks. Rhys Dakin takes the punts, averaging 43.6 yards.