Top Five Iowa Hawkeyes Unit Matchups for 2009

(Photo by David Purdy/Getty Images)

The improvement that we witnessed at the end of 2008 should carry over into next year. The problem is, he has never been truly tested in a road game. He was less than impressive against Michigan State, but that was early in the season and the outcome would have been much different later in the year.

The Penn State game will be Stanzi's first main road test and it comes fairly early in the season, on September 26. To make matters worse, it is a night game and white outs in Happy Valley make it tough for any quarterback to keep their poise.

If he can stay poised, like he did at Kinnick last year, and block out the fans, he should be able to keep Iowa in the game. If not, it will be a long day for the Hawkeyes. It will be a very fun, mental matchup to watch.

5. Iowa Tight Ends vs. Penn State Linebackers

Iowa primarily passes to their tight ends when they throw the ball, and they did a pretty decent job of it in 2008. Even though Tony Moeaki was hurt (again), tight ends Brandon Myers and Alan Reisner stepped up to help out Stanzi.

Myers is gone, but Reisner showed last year that he has plenty of capability and can be an outstanding tight end. If Moeaki is finally healthy, this will be one of the best tight end units in the Big Ten.

Linebacker U will be one of the main challenges the Iowa tight ends face in 2009. Navarro Bowman and Sean Lee are two of the best linebackers in the country, but may have some trouble with Iowa's talented tight ends.

If Reisner can give Penn State trouble, they may lose focus on the running game and the other wide receivers, opening up some holes for Stanzi and Hampton. The matchup will fly under the radar, but don't be surprised if Iowa can start making some moves on Penn State's defense because of their tight ends.

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