PLAYERS TO WATCH
–QB Nate Stanley passed for only 86 yards in last Saturday’s win over Maryland on an extremely windy day. One of his completions was a 10-yard touchdown pass to WR Brandon Smith just before halftime that boosted Iowa’s lead to 13-0. The junior had passed for more than 300 yards in the previous two games and threw for six touchdowns against Indiana, but the wind dictated that the Hawkeyes pound the Terrapins on the ground. Through seven games, Stanley has thrown for 16 touchdowns and 1,559 yards with six interceptions while completing 61 percent of his passes. Last year against Penn State, Stanley had 191 passing yards in Iowa’s 21-19 loss.
–RB Ivory Kelly-Martin has returned after being sidelined with an ankle injury and last week led Iowa’s ground attack against Maryland with 99 yards on 24 carries. The sophomore has the ability to run inside and outside, and he’s also a capable receiver. His versatility out of the backfield might come into play Saturday at Penn State. Kelly-Martin was responsible for a bulk of Iowa’s 224 rushing yards against Maryland in a dominant performance on the ground during a windy day. Because he sat out three games with the injury, he is Iowa’s third leading rusher with 279 yards and one touchdown.
–DL Parker Hesse is the leader of Iowa’s defense this season. In last week’s 23-0 win over Maryland, Hesse finished with five tackles, including two tackles for loss and one sack. The senior is part of a group of aggressive Iowa defensive linemen imposing their wills against opponents’ offenses. Hesse and DE A.J. Epenesa lead the team in tackles for loss with seven each and Hesse has three of Iowa’s 22 sacks.
–LB Kristian Welch has stepped in at middle linebacker this season and helped anchor a young unit that lost all three starters from a year ago. Welch and S Jake Gervase lead Iowa in tackles with 40 each, but Welch has played one fewer game. He also has a sack, one fumble recovery and one forced fumble. Last week against Maryland, Welch accumulated five tackles as the Hawkeyes stoned the Terrapins’ offense. Welch and his teammates will be looking for a similar effort this week against a balanced Penn State offense led by QB Trace McSorley, who led the Nittany Lions to wins over the Hawkeyes the past two years.
SERIES HISTORY: Penn State leads Iowa 15-12. Penn State has won the last four meetings, but Iowa has a 7-6 record in games at State College, Pa. The Hawkeyes’ last win in the series came in 2010.
QUOTE TO NOTE: “Any time you’re on the road, you like to go in and embrace that villain role, so to say. It’s us versus however many thousand people they’ve got here. And we’re going to come in and steal one from you.” — Iowa DE Parker Hesse on Saturday’s game at Penn State