Throughout the offseason, Iowa fans pegged an Oct. 18 home matchup with Penn State as one of the Hawkeyes’ toughest and most important games of the 2025 season.

On paper, that claim would have been a valid one. The Nittany Lions entered the season as one of the favorites to not only win the Big Ten, but also claim a national championship. Plenty of key starters returned, including quarterback Drew Allar and running backs Kaytron Allen and Nick Singelton.

After beginning the season 3-0 and ranked high as No. 2 in the nation, Penn State’s season quickly turned from riches to rags. The Lions roared back to force overtime against then-No. 6 Oregon, but an Allar interception to open the second overtime ended Penn State’s hopes. Two games against lowly UCLA and Northwestern seemed to be prime bounce-back opportunities, but the Nittany Lions inexplicably lost both games as three-touchdown favorites.

Allar suffered a season-ending injury in the Northwestern game, and 12th-year head coach James Franklin was fired the following day, forcing Penn State to turn to defensive backs coach Terry Smith as the interim head coach.

Longevity has been a staple for Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz, now in his 27th season, who has been the nation’s longest-tenured coach since 2017. Ferentz didn’t want to share too much of his opinion on the firing, but his response was clear.

“We live in reactionary times, me personally,” Ferentz said at his weekly press conference on Thursday. “I understand that. I’m not being accusatory or judgmental at all, but we live in reactionary times.” 

True freshman Ethan Grunkemeyer will replace Allar as Penn State’s starting quarterback. Saturday will mark his first career collegiate start.

“We’ll learn as we go on, but I just know this, they don’t have many guys on their roster that aren’t really good,” Ferentz said. “So my guess is he’s going to play just fine.” 

Could change alter Iowa’s game plan? 

Personnel changes have the potential to impact a game plan, but the Hawkeyes (4-2, 2-1) aren’t worried about that. Penn State (3-3, 0-3) still has more than enough talent to leave Kinnick Stadium with a victory, and Iowa is focused on doing whatever it takes to prevent that from happening.

“We’re going to do the same thing that we’ve been doing,” third-year defensive Brian Allen said. “Whether they had their starting guy, same coach, or now their whole program’s upside down at this point, we do the same thing, come out and play our game. That’s all we can do.”

“I’m not expecting them to be any different than what they have been in the past couple weeks, but I know that those other coaches are going to get those guys ready to go,” fourth-year quarterback Mark Gronowski added.

One of Iowa’s keys to protecting its home turf could be winning in the trenches. The Hawkeyes continue to generate more pressure on opposing quarterbacks each week, and the heat has led to more turnovers. Defensive lineman Aaron Graves and Bryce Hawthorne both recorded interceptions against Wisconsin, and Allen feels they continue to develop more chemistry each week.

“I feel like as a unit, we’re pretty confident anyway, and just what our standard is, how we played up to this point, and we know how we can play,” Allen said. “So I feel like [the] confidence is always going to be there, no matter who the opponent is.”

Iowa’s offense has been a punching bag for the national media over the last several seasons, but the Hawkeyes have steadily shown improvement under second-year offensive coordinator Tim Lester. Iowa is averaging 30 points per game in Big Ten play this year, a figure that ranks sixth in the conference. The rushing attack has been dominant, but the passing game is also making strides with Gronowski under center.

“Just getting the ability to improve every single week, taking the time and putting in the effort outside of practices, outside of meetings,” Gronowski said. “We’ve really been able to see our team grow throughout that.”

The Hawkeyes have posted just 160 passing yards per contest, but Lester praised his wide receiver room for developing into a balanced unit during his bye week press conference. Chattanooga transfer Sam Phillips currently leads Iowa in receiving yards and catches, but he now gets an extra teammate to help stretch the passing game – second-year Reece Vander Zee.

Vander Zee showed flashes as a true freshman in 2024, but a foot injury suffered in the preseason kept him out until the Wisconsin game. The sophomore made the most of his first appearance, recording a team-high three catches for 29 yards against the Badgers despite being on a reduced snap count.

“It was good to make a play for the team after I’ve been watching it for a while,” Vander Zee said. “It’s good to get back into it help the team out whenever they need it. It was good feeling.”

Vander Zee’s journey back to health was far from easy, but he credits several key figures around him for helping him navigate through the injury.

“[I’m] just leaning on my faith, leaning on people around me, just to see the good and everything, and bounce back and have a have a comeback,” Vander Zee said.

Injury updates 

The status of running backs TJ Washington and Jaziun Patterson for Saturday’s game is”iffy,” per Ferentz. Both players were sidelined in the Wisconsin game.

Linebacker Jaden Harrell also missed the Wisconsin contest due to an injury he suffered against Indiana on Sept. 27 and isn’t expected to play against Penn State, per Ferentz.

Game information 

Saturday’s game will be Iowa’s annual ANF Black and Gold Spirit Game, where Hawkeye fans organize a stripe-out of Kinnick Stadium. The tradition began in 2010 and has featured Penn State five times, with Iowa compiling a 2-3 record in those matchups. Fans attending the game are encouraged to wear their respective color assigned to their sections.

Kinnick Stadium is now officially sold out for Iowa-Penn State.

Here’s the Black and Gold seating map for fans attending the game: pic.twitter.com/YAgRVsrX4p

— Brad Schultz (@BradMSchultz) October 13, 2025

Kickoff between the Hawkeyes and Nittany Lions is set for 6 p.m. on Peacock, a live-streaming subscription service owned by NBC. Subscriptions can be purchased here.

“It will be great to be in Kinnick [on] Saturday,” Ferentz said. “Great to have it a night game. I’m sure it will be lively in there, and we have just an outstanding challenge on our hands. We’ll look forward to that.”