By Jordan Hansen

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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — I’ve never been to Pennsylvania.

Never really had much of a reason to go and it wasn’t a place my parents took us on any of my family trips growing up. So, after my flight got delayed three different times at O’Hare last night, it was completely dark by the time we got into the state.

After we got our rental car, the roads took me by surprise. They were all over the place and curves everywhere. Cut me some slack here, I’m from Iowa, so all the roads are straight.

Fairly sure Pennsylvania doesn't believe in roads that don't have 50 different curves.

— Jordan Hansen (@jordyhansen) November 5, 2016

Seriously. They do. So I texted a group chat with a couple of my friends about how curvy it was, and one of them — who is from Pittsburgh — sent back, “the Midwest is a fantasy land where all the roads are straight and it’s flat everywhere.”

I laughed. But it was still dark when we pulled in and I really had no idea what to expect when we woke up Saturday morning.

Well.

Literally the view from my hotel. This place is gorgeous.

A photo posted by Jordan Hansen (@jordyhansen) on Nov 5, 2016 at 11:03am PDT

And.

Also 😍 pic.twitter.com/eZjeZIHS4W

— Jordan Hansen (@jordyhansen) November 5, 2016

It’s not like I’ve never seen mountains before. I went to Colorado last summer with my girlfriend and have been to the Appalachians Mountains before, but never in the fall. It’s startlingly gorgeous. If you ever have a chance, take a trip out here.

Enough about the scenery though, there’s a FOOTBAWL game to be played.

…

Iowa takes on a Penn State team that’s coming off an upset of Ohio State and a thrashing of Purdue. It will be a massive challenge for Hawkeye head coach Kirk Ferentz and his team.

A good bit of this game is going to come down to how the Hawkeye offense can run the ball and if they’ll be able to stop Nittany Lion running back Saquon Barkley. There obviously are a whole host of different factors (including how well the Iowa receivers look) but if Iowa can establish the run and control the clock, they’ll have a good chance to win.

That said, the atmosphere has to be taken into account. This game will likely be near-sellout status, which means nearly 110,000 screaming fans. Oh, and it’s an unofficial whiteout. Will Iowa be able to avoid the dumb penalties that have haunted them at times this season? It will be interesting to find out.

Prediction:

I had a pretty good feeling about the Hawkeyes chances last week against Wisconsin. I was wrong.

I also have an unreasonably good feeling about their chances tonight. Ferentz has always played Penn State well and the games are very often close. I’m expecting something similar today. Iowa has played some pretty ugly games this year, but they’re ugly on both sides — not just the Hawkeyes.

This feels like it’ll be an ugly game to me and perhaps they’re due to win one. I think they are.

Iowa 20, Penn State 13

…

Player to watch: Jaleel Johnson, defensive tackle.

Johnson is starting to play himself into serious draft consideration. CBSsports has him going in the 4th-5th round range and I honestly agree. He’s been a dominate force inside this season. There’s going to be a lot of pressure on him to clog up the inside and help slow down the Penn State running game.

…

Enjoy the game guys. Primetime, on BTN. Doesn’t really get a whole lot better than this.

Follow @JordyHansen and @DIPregame for Iowa football news, updates and analysis.