If there was any celebration by the Iowa Hawkeyes after beating Arizona last weekend, it didn’t last long.

Following a 27-17 win over the Wildcats on Sept. 19, the focus of the Hawkeyes immediately shifted to this week.

They know what’s ahead. They know all the story lines that will be told nationwide between now and when Iowa, (3-0), enters Beaver Stadium to face No. 5 Penn State, (3-0).

In fact, when junior kicker Daniel Murray entered the players’ postgame interview room inside Kinnick Stadium, the first question asked had nothing to do with either of the two field goals he made against Arizona.

Rather, it had to do with what type of reception he and his Hawkeye teammates will get in State College, Pa.

When Iowa upset then-No. 3 Penn State in Kinnick Stadium last fall, Murray played the role of hero in his hometown; the Hawkeyes won, 24-23, on his last-second 31-yard field goal.

“They’re ready for us, and I think we’ll be ready for them,” he said. “We knocked them off last year, and we’re going to try to do the same thing. But they’re going to be ready to go, I can tell you that.

The Hawkeyes know what’s at stake in this first Big Ten game of the 2009 season. Members of the Iowa offense know what to expect when they run on the field for their opening possession — more than 100,000 people dressed in white creating as much raucous noise as possible.

But they’re not surprised. They know Penn State fans have had Sept. 26 circled in blue permanent marker on their calendars since the Nittany Lions left Kinnick last November with dreams of a national championship crushed.

“We’re going to get every team’s best,” junior offensive lineman Julian Vandervelde said. “We just got to make sure that on Saturday, we’re ready to go out there and give them our best shot.”

Members of the Iowa defense know what they’re going up against. Penn State arguably has the Big Ten’s best quarterback in senior Daryll Clark. The Nittany Lions also have a two-headed monster at running back in Evan Royster and Stephfon Green.

“It’s going to be a big-time game,” said junior linebacker Jeremiha Hunter, a native of York, Pa. “We got to practice how we practiced this past week. We got to go hard every single snap and expect the trickery, the plays we’re going to get from Clark, and we just got to come out ready.”

The entire swarm of Black and Gold knows about all the events occurring on Penn State’s campus leading up to the colossal conference clash.

They understand the magnitude of “College GameDay” being there for this prime-time showdown. They know the entire country will have its eyes glued on the Hawkeyes as they enter what could only be appropriately termed “a lion’s den.”

They get that when Joe Paterno enters Penn State’s Rec Hall on Friday for a student pep rally, he won’t be talking about beating a more historical powerhouse such as Ohio State, Michigan, or Notre Dame. The 44-year head coach’s message will be about beating the Hawkeyes.

The 3-0 record Iowa currently holds is one well-earned. But the Hawkeyes know 3-0 won’t mean anything if they don’t leave Beaver Stadium 4-0.

“Penn State doesn’t care what our record is,” junior defensive end Adrian Clayborn said. “We got to come out and play.”