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It seems like Penn State always draws Iowa at Kinnick for a night game.  Iowa is the toughest place to play in the B1G.  That night time home field advantage is worth 14 points.

Penn State Defensive Line vs. Iowa O Line - (Where the game will be decided, IMO)

I took some time to watch the Iowa - Michigan game last night to see why Michigan was so effective at stopping the Iowa passing game.  I noticed something fairly striking.  From my point of view, it looked like Michigan was holding the Iowa receivers on nearly every play, and the holding got worse as the game progressed.  It was as if Michigan realized the officials were going to let them get away with it, and went all in.  In short, I don't think we saw an accurate representation of the Iowa passing attack.  What does this have to do with the Iowa OLine?  Read on.

Penn State's defense has a weakness.  While they have been excellent against the run all year, there have been times in which the PSU defensive line has not been able to bring pressure.  This has allowed other teams to sit back in pocket and pick apart the PSU secondary.  While the PSU pass defense is excellent, they cannot be expected to cover receivers indefinitely. 

Iowa gave up 8 sacks to Michigan last week.  However, Penn State won't be holding the Iowa WRs on nearly every play like Michigan was.  This prevented a lot of quick passes and certainly resulted in disruption of pass plays.  In addition, that was the first time Iowa's O-Line had really been tested.  I think the Iowa team will have learned some valuable lessons that will pay off against PSU.  Keep in mind that Pitt was able to hold PSU to 2 sacks and gave Kenny Pickett all kinds of time to throw the ball.

Finally, Iowa's offensive line has been decent when running the football.  Their tailbacks averaged close to 3 yards per rush against Michigan.  While this isn't great, it will certainly come in useful in short yardage situations.  Also, Buffalo was able to have success with runs between the tackles, something that Iowa does regularly. 

Will the Iowa offensive line be able to feed off the crowd*?  Will they learn from their experience against Michigan?  Will they be able to run the ball in short yardage situations?  Will they design plays to get rid of the ball quickly? 

I think they will.

-- More to come --

*Or will the Iowa crowd steal PSU helmets off the bench during the game as per tradition?  Haha

Wisconsin laid out the blueprint to shutting down Iowa several years ago:

- Show odd fronts
- Slant hard vs the run
- Be physical with receivers
- Blitz like crazy

Michigan did all that on Saturday.

Since they've developed zero plans to deal with that over 4-5 years, I've come to realize expecting such is a lesson in futility.

I'm on mobile now, but I'll come back with some offensive (partially intentional pun) numbers vs good defenses. I don't expect much production this week.

There's being physical with the receivers, but I think Michigan took it way too far.  Penn State isn't going to do that.

It would shock me if Penn State showed an odd front.  They do slant and blitz on occasion, but I wouldn't say "hard" or "like crazy."

Good news for Iowa?  haha

Penn State Offense vs. Iowa Defense:

Penn State's offensive line is probably the most criticized unit on their team.  However, I actually think they are fairly decent.  Most of the sacks allowed have been due to running backs failing to pick up a defender, and aren't really on the OLine at all.  It's also much harder to protect against the RPO.  I think this may go down as one of Franklin's best offensive lines.

Clifford has actually been EXCELLENT against the blitz the last two games.  I actually prefer when teams blitz against Penn State, because those often result in positive plays.  Purdue was able to slow down Clifford by abandoning the blitz package and pass rush and maximizing pass coverage. 

Sounds good, right?  Except...

Only one team has had the ability to get to Clifford consistently; Pitt.  Although Pitt did blitz fairly regularly, they were able to get consistent pressure by rushing just 4 guys.  Clifford was knocked to the turf early and often, and it rattled him.  It was, by far, the worst game Clifford has had in his career.  Iowa's defensive line is at least on par with Pitt's. PSU has not faced a player with AJ Epenesa's skill yet, and that will severely effect the PSU offense.

Penn State's offense has been racking up big numbers against inferior defenses, and only managed to score 17 against Pitt.  For reference, Pitt is ranked the #27 defense overall, while Iowa is ranked #5.  It is probable that Penn State will be held to 17 points or less. 

The crowd noise will also be a factor.   This game will be another defensive slugfest.  I do think Penn State has the ability to hit a big play now and again, but will struggle to move the ball consistently.

It will probably come down to a turnover or some other big play, but I like Iowa to win a defensive battle.  The home environment, the benefit of playing a similar team last week, and the huge defensive advantage will be just too much for Penn State to overcome.

Iowa 17, PSU 10

Can't wait for this game.  It will be my first trip to Kinnick stadium.

Can't wait for this game.  It will be my first trip to Kinnick stadium.

Enjoy Iowa City. It's a fun place to be for a weekend, and night games don't get much better than at Kinnick.

Section 102 is a visitor's section. In the 80s and 90s I had similar season tickets. They are okay, just not the greatest. The stadium is compact.

I do not have a great deal of expertise on what dining is east of Iowa City. If you are all the way over in Galesburg you won't be in Iowa City on Friday night.  We have a small chain restaurant called The Machine Shed with a location in Davenport which I was at probably 30-years ago. Its reputation is good. https://machineshed.com/davenport/ It is near the intersection of I-80 and State Hwy. 130. If you aim for it, take the I-80 route around the Quad Cities, not the I-280 route.

Depending on your tastes, you could go to the World's Largest Truck Stop, the "Iowa 80" a bit further west along I-80 in Walcott. They even have a trucking museum. I am sure there would be plenty of food choices.

The Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum is in West Branch, but it's probably for another day if you are traveling to and from Iowa City from Galesburg.

On campus if you were to go to one place, I would visit the Old Capitol on the Pentacrest, a series of 5-buildings which includes the Old Capitol. The four others are where liberal arts are taught to undergraduates. It was the state capitol for about 10-years in the 1840s and 50s. It serves as a museum.  You could wander into MacBride Hall on the Pentacrest where the Museum of Natural History is, but you would lose some tailgating time.

Parking - depends on many factors. If you are there to see attractions such as Old Capitol on the East Campus, I would consider taking the Dubuque St Exit off I-80, and parking in one of the downtown parking ramps on the east side of downtown located probably 1.5 miles away from the stadium on the east side of downtown. I think there is a ramp on Iowa St. that is far enough away it doesn't necessarily fill up right away on game day. You can walk up Iowa St and see the capitol, Iowa City's version of Pennsylvania Ave. Downtown Iowa City has many shops, taverns and restaurants, and is worth visiting. There will be plenty of football revelers downtown.

If your focus is gameday tailgating, and you have your grille, beverages, and food, I would consider taking the 1st Avenue Coralville Exit, and then left on 2nd St. a/k/a U.S. Hwy 6, and then traveling east to either Hawkins Dr. which is about 6-lanes wide and going right up the hill, and search for parking in one of the lots near the Arena, or just a little further east there is a tiny little road unbeknownst to visitors called Newton Rd. It goes past Carver Hawkeye Arena. where you will take a right and attempt to navigate into one of the University lots if you are there early enough. You will see the dental building on the left a white cement structure shaped like someone's choppers. We used to park in that lot in the 1980s and 90s. It might possibly be reserved now, I don't know, if it is you keep going straight and there is a grass lot between the Arena and the baseball stadium.

It is a large campus by acres divided by the Iowa River. The west campus is where Kinnick Stadium, and most of the graduate school programs are located. Here is a really helpful interactive campus map, so you can click on buildings and find points of interest you might be interested in seeing. https://maps.uiowa.edu/?explore=poi

Dress warmly. Temps will be in the 30s and 40s.

Why Galesburg? Last-minute plans?

Anyway, I've stayed in Galesburg on business. There is a place called Packinghouse that was really good, and it looks like it's still there. Quite a few restaurants in downtown, actually, from my memory.

I'll be in New Orleans tomorrow...ya got any recommendations there? haha