Definitive information on Iowa’s Big Ten opener at No. 5 Penn State on Saturday is hard to come by.
Other than the safe assumption that fans will be wearing considerably less green to this year’s installment, not much else is certain.
The theme for both teams this week hasn’t been one of revenge, or redemption, or pride as could be expected after last year’s thrilling finish. To express any of those concerns would first mean the coaches knew what players were actually going to play on Saturday.
And neither coach can say for sure.
It’s no secret around Iowa City that All-Big Ten left tackle Bryan Bulaga is out because of an undisclosed illness. Senior tight end Tony Moeaki and junior receiver Derrell Johnson-Koulianos are both likely out as well with leg injuries.
“I think [the injured players] are probably assuming they aren’t going to play,” Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz said on Tuesday. “I would like to be pleasantly surprised, but I am beyond that point.”
Penn State head coach Joe Paterno’s stable of linebackers could possibly be left undermanned for Saturday’s game as well, with a pair of stud performers nursing nagging injuries.
All-Big Ten linebackers Navarro Bowman and Sean Lee are both listed as questionable heading into the weekend. Bowman led the Nittany Lions in tackles in 2008, just as Lee did in 2007 before sitting out last year with a torn ACL.
Now, Lee and his 32 tackles through three games lead the Nittany Lion defense; Bowman has yet to contribute because of a lingering hamstring injury.
Earlier this week, Penn State announced Lee could also miss Saturday’s game because of a sprained right knee. Despite the injury, Lee was named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week after collecting 12 tackles and a sack against Temple on Sept. 19.
“I don’t really know if we’re going to have either one of them,” Paterno said during his weekly press conference on Tuesday. “But you keep your fingers crossed that maybe you’re going to have one or both of them.”
With so many key players in limbo, the magnitude of the game has been somewhat played down considering the implications of last year’s meeting.
Iowa has played inspired football for two-straight weeks, while Penn State has trounced three lesser foes in a row to climb to top-five ranking.
Penn State fans and players have had Sept. 26 circled on their calendars since Iowa’s Daniel Murray knocked through a game-winning 31-yard field goal to shock the Nittany Lions last November.
The kick — and the gutsy drive that preceded it — knocked Penn State from title contention, but Iowa quarterback Ricky Stanzi insists that moment couldn’t be farther from his mind.
“I probably won’t look back to it at all, to be honest,” he said. “That game isn’t this game … This is a whole new ball club on both sides, so we’re going to have to go out and play and be ready for anything.”