Hlas column: Hawkeyes have opened many doors via Penn State

Kirk Ferentz's Iowa football program has pretty much been built on the back of Penn State.

The Hawkeyes have three wins against Michigan since 2000, and just one against Ohio State. But they beat Penn State seven times in that period, and most of those victories meant something significant.

Those seven wins went a long way toward the Hawkeyes earning the status they enjoy today. Without their past success against Joe Paterno's program, tonight's Penn State-Iowa game is this afternoon's game or this morning's. There's no prime-time for the Hawkeyes.

Imagine the state of the Iowa program today had they been 1-7 in the 2000s against the Nittany Lions instead of 7-1. For example:

2001:

Were it not for Iowa's 24-18 home win over the Lions, it would have gone 5-6 in the regular-season and had its first bowl trip under Ferentz delayed a year.

2002: Had the Hawkeyes' 42-35 overtime win in State College gone the other way, there would have been no unbeaten Big Ten season and no Orange Bowl trip.

2004: Without beating Penn State, 6-4, in Happy Valley, there would have been no Big Ten title-share.

2008: Had Iowa come up short rather than forging its unforgettable, 24-23, home win over the Lions, the genuine revival of the Hawkeyes would have been on hold until the following season.

2009: Take away Iowa's 21-10 victory at Penn State, and again, no Orange Bowl.

Big wins, one and all. It goes back before those, really. Iowa's 26-23 double-overtime win at Penn State on Nov. 4, 2000, was the first clear signal that Ferentz had his second-year program pointed out of the darkness.

“We were struggling there, 2-18 (over two years), just any oxygen at all would have helped,” Ferentz said.

“That was a good week. We finally got my contract finalized that Thursday, we went out there and won the game on Saturday. That gave us a little traction, got us started.”

A win in Iowa City over 18th-ranked Northwestern came the following week. There have been 80 victories after that.

How many, though, were bigger than Iowa's win over Penn State in Kinnick Stadium two years ago? Beating the 9-0, third-ranked team in the nation after trailing 23-14 at the end of three quarters spearheaded a big finish to the ‘08 season. It instilled the confidence to win tight games in the ‘09 team, and win them it did.

“The one two years ago,” Ferentz said, “that was something we needed at that time, just really to get back into a zone we want to be in. I think we were all feeling pretty good about where we were the following January 2nd. That (Penn State win) was a big part of that equation.”

This all remains a bit mystifying to many followers of the Penn State empire, and perhaps it should. Their team went 11-2 in both 2008 and 2009, after all, so it wasn't as if it was a house of cards waiting to fall when it faced Iowa.

They must wonder how this team from the small state out on the western edge of the Big Ten (until next year) has been able to get the better of Penn State for a decade, and pose such a challenge to their men tonight in Iowa City.

Here's what Ferentz said about the Lions on Tuesday:

“One thing they don't do, they're never going to beat themselves. I say ‘never'. It's one thing they don't do as a rule.

“They take care of the basics. They have good players, are very well-coached. It's hard to slip something in on them.”

Now here's what Paterno said about Iowa on the same day, four states away:

“They just do a good job. They recruit well. The kids play hard. They're disciplined. You gotta beat them. They don't beat themselves.”

They sound a lot alike, no? Maybe Iowa has simply out-Penn Stated Penn State over the last decade.

Now they meet again. If recent history means anything, the result will be meaningful long past tonight.