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Iowa football 2023 early opponent preview: Penn State
Hawkeyes’ Big Ten opener will be under spotlight against possible College Football Playoff contender
Editor’s note: This is fourth in a 12-part series previewing Iowa’s 2023 football opponents.
IOWA CITY — Anyone looking to see how strong the Big Ten East is expected to be in 2023 just needs to look at Penn State.
ESPN’s spring power rankings slotted Penn State as the eighth-best team in the country. National college football writer Phil Steele has Penn State sixth in his preseason rankings. Fox Sports? Also sixth. The Athletic? Fifth.
Despite the high national rankings, ESPN, Steele, Fox Sports and The Athletic all have Penn State as the third-best team in the Big Ten East behind Michigan and Ohio State.
Assuming Penn State’s on-field results match preseason expectations, Iowa’s Sept. 23 trip to State College will likely be the Hawkeyes’ biggest challenge of the 2023 season.
Iowa could be going from one extreme to another in difficulty after playing Utah State, Iowa State and Western Michigan — three teams with losing records last season — to start the season.
The Nittany Lions are a familiar foe — Iowa and Penn State played annually from 2016-21 — but many of their key players in 2023 were not there when the Hawkeyes last faced them in 2021.
Drew Allar, a true freshman last year, is expected to be this year’s starting quarterback. 247Sports ranked him as the top quarterback in the 2022 recruiting class. Allar was 35-of-60 with four touchdowns and no interceptions as a backup.
Running back Nicholas Singleton shined as a true freshman in 2022, averaging 6.8 yards per carry en route to a 1,000-plus-yard season. Penn State’s No. 2 running back, Kaytron Allen, averaged 5.2 yards per carry and finished the year with 867 rushing yards. Allen also was a true freshman.
On the other side of the ball, Penn State lost defensive backs J’Ayir Brown and Joey Porter Jr. and defensive lineman P.J. Mustipher, but many other starters returned.
The Sept. 23 game will be in prime time (6:30 p.m. Central time) on CBS. As Penn State’s annual white-out game, there could be an especially raucous environment.
Iowa vs. Penn State: 3 things to watch
- Iowa’s receivers vs. Penn State’s secondary. Penn State was fifth in the FBS with only 5.9 yards allowed per passing attempt last season. With Kalen King, Keaton Ellis and Johnny Dixon back in 2023, the Nittany Lions are expected to have the best secondary out of any of Iowa’s 12 regular-season opponents by a wide margin.
- Can Iowa disrupt young quarterback Drew Allar? Stopping Singleton and Allen on the ground will be no small feat, but that feat would be more feasible if sophomore and first-year starter Drew Allar has an off night.
- How much has Iowa’s offensive line improved since last season? Deficiencies on the offensive line were among the Hawkeyes’ major hindrances as they had statistically one of the worst offenses in college football. An improved line will be essential in a road game with little margin for error.
2023 prognosis
The Hawkeyes have a daunting task in State College on Sept. 23 against what could be a top-five Penn State team. Of course, Iowa took down top-five Penn State teams in 2008, 2009 and 2021. The game will be a measuring stick for how high the ceiling is for Iowa football in 2023.
Comments: john.steppe@thegazette.com
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