Iowa Hawkeyes Look To 'Stump The Schwab' Vs Penn State

The hype has arrived.

ESPN.com is buzzing with new content covering Saturday night's Iowa/PSU game. Most of the articles, videos and analyses are put together with the skill expected from a source like ESPN.

Except for one.

Nissan Saturday Primetime Preview: Iowa vs PSU features Howard "Howie" Schwab donned in a Penn State jersey giving every reason why he knows Penn State is going to win.

Before Schwab is grilled, he admittedly deserves some introduction.

Schwab is best known as the sports trivia expert in ESPN's Stump the Schwab. He also makes appearances on other ESPN shows. On First Take, Schwab discusses the best in sports television for the weekend in the Couch Potato segment.

Schwab's official job is coordinating producer for ESPN shows like Sportscenter. Obviously, one would have to be a talented producer to land that job.

Unfortunately for Schwab, his talent behind the scenes does not extend to on-camera. In the clip, Schwab can be heard stuttering and stumbling over his words.

Schwab's flow is continually interrupted by quick breaths after verbal bursts no longer than two sentences. Maybe he should give up the Couch Potato job and use the spare time to hit the gym.

Stick to what you do best, Schwab. You look better off-camera, too.

To Schwab's credit, he does claim Iowa to be Penn State's toughest test yet, an astute observation.

Schwab's commendation for Iowa ends there.

"Pretty impressive for Kirk Ferentz's team, to be 3-0 at this point, considering the struggle in week one," Schwab said in his clip.

Don't tell me nobody saw that one coming.

This further solidifies my belief that the national media will hang the Northern Iowa game over the Hawkeyes' heads for the entire season.

Schwab praises Penn State's defense for giving up no more than seven points per game.

Trivia Question No. 1: Who has Penn State played?

Yes, I went there. Northern Iowa could run the table with all three teams Penn State has faced thus far. The Panthers would score over seven points with ease.

Don't believe me, Schwab? Do a little more research. It's what you're good at, right?

In three games, Northern Iowa has scored 112 points and given up a mere 24 points, impressive numbers in any NCAA division.

Trivia Question No. 2: Has an FCS team ever beaten a FBS team?

Remember Appalachian State? They beat Michigan, who finished 9-4 with a win over Florida in the Citrus Bowl.

FCS teams can beat FBS teams and not doom the upper-division school to a season of mediocrity.

At this point, I would like to make a prediction of my own: Northern Iowa wins the FCS Championship. That should help prove that Iowa can beat a quality opponent.

Moving on.

Schwab's featured players are Penn State's QB Daryll Clark and RB Evin Royster.

Clark completed only nine passes for 86 yards last year in Iowa City. Schwab believes he'll post those numbers in the first half alone. I can't argue.

However, the Iowa secondary is filled with ball hawks and I wouldn't be surprised to see more than one interception for Iowa's backfield in this game. How they play will be a deciding factor.

Trivia Question No. 3: How many rushing TDs has the Iowa defense allowed this season?

Ah, Schwab knows this answer. He predicts the statistic won't stand when the Hawkeyes line up against Evin Royster.

I'll give him the benefit of the doubt on this one.

It won't matter, though. Daryll Clark will be more important for the Nittany Lions.

Clark will light up the Hawks and Royster will score TDs while the Penn State defense holds the Hawkeyes at bay. That is Schwab's argument in summary.

That's it.

No Schwab doesn't bother to mention that Iowa's defense has held true to Norm Parker's "bend but don't break" philosophy. Nor does he mention that the Hawkeye secondary is one of the best in the Big Ten and leads the conference in interceptions.

Schwab also neglects the fact that Iowa, too, has a solid running game behind redshirt-freshmen Adam Robinson and true freshman Brandon Wegher.

Finally, Schwab never mentions Ricky Stanzi, who has stirred the faith of Hawkeye fans with his first-half slumping, but his second-half comebacks are simply remarkable.

It's far too overstated but I'll say it one last time for this game: If "Second-half Stanzi" shows up for the entire 60 minutes Saturday night, the Hawkeyes will have a great chance at winning.

Before taking Schwab seriously, one must remember that he is an expert in sports trivia, not predictions.

It will be close. It won't be good for those with weak hearts.

Iowa 23, Penn State 20