Iowa Football: 10 Key Matchups When the Hawkeyes Play Penn State

This Saturday, the Iowa Hawkeyes will take on the Penn State Nittany Lions.

As is well known, the Hawks have been a thorn in the side of Joe Pa's Nits since Kirk Ferentz took over in Iowa City. In fact, outside of erstwhile Michigan coach Lloyd Carr, no recent coach has been as dominant over Paterno as Ferentz.

And that has been in up years for Penn State as well as down years.

Despite PSU's 4-1 record (1-0 in Big Ten play), this is beginning to look like a down year for the Nittany Lions.

To begin with, they are dealing with a barrage of injuries. Secondly, their offensive line has been pretty awful.

Thirdly, and most importantly—and contributing to the poor offensive line play—is the quarterback situation. Currently, the Nit quarterbacks' combined completion percentage is 50.9. Their touchdown-to-interception ratio is 5:4.

It is also important to keep in mind Penn State's opponents. While Alabama and Temple are quality teams, Eastern Michigan, Indiana State and Indiana are not.

As for the Hawks, the book is still out. The offense was—dare I say—exciting and unpredictable against Louisiana-Monroe, but remember, it was Louisiana-Monroe. Meanwhile, this defense will never be great but they are improving, and have the potential to be amongst the top third of a shaky conference.

If the Hawks win at Penn State, they may be setting themselves up for a four game run that will see them enter November at 7-1 with a legitimate shot at winning the Big Ten Western Division.

However, it all starts at Penn State.

Kirk Ferentz vs. Conservatism vs. Joe Paterno

You can argue with KF's methods, but he has taken Joe Pa to the woodshed. He holds a career record of 8-2 against FBS's/Division One's all-time winningest coach.

Part of the reason for that is because he and Joe Pa have a similar philosophy and way of approaching football. Though people say that Kirk Ferentz came from the Hayden Fry coaching tree, Ferentz's coaching style has more similarities to Paterno and Chuck Noll's Pittsburgh Steelers—the teams he grew up with—than it does to Fry's.

And that football philosophy includes an emphasis on fundamentals, a defense-first mentality, strong special teams and a lack of mental mistakes.

If you want a true Fry-esque coach, look in Norman, Oklahoma or Madison, Wisconsin.

In effect, Ferentz's success over Paterno can, at least in part, be attributed to Ferentz besting Paterno at his own game.

The thing is, this year, the game seems to have changed a bit. If the ULM performance is any indication, Ferentz has a turbo-charged passing game that he's not afraid to use. Those of us that have had the pleasure of watching Kirk Ferentz over the years know that these are strange waters for him to sail.

As Ferentz approaches Penn State, he has to ask himself if he is going to abandon a strategy that has worked with unprecedented success, or if he will try to ride the offense for the win.

In the end, PSU is the Hawks' first opponent this season that employs traditional schemes and plays what could be called traditional football.

How will Ferentz approach that?

Marvin McNutt vs. Penn State's Cornerbacks

D'Anton Lynn suffered a vicious concussion against Eastern Michigan that led to his being carted off the field and eventually missing the Indiana game.

As of now, his status for the Iowa game is unknown.

Lynn is not a lockdown corner and is not the best cornerback Iowa and McNutt will face this season. However, he is the best big corner (6'1", 208 pounds) and the best tackling corner the Hawks will face this season. Ultimately, he may be the most physically equipped corner to go one-on-one with the 6'4" McNutt.

If he misses the game, junior Stephon Morris, if healthy, will start in his place (Morris left the Indiana game with an ankle injury).

Morris might be a more physically gifted athlete than Lynn, but he also might be ripe for the picking against McNutt (or second receiver Keenan Davis, who is 6'3").

First of all, Morris is currently listed at 5'8", 184 pounds, and he cannot match up with McNutt in one-on-one situations.

Secondly, Morris came into 2010 as the favorite to win the starting cornerback job opposite Lynn. However, he had problems with tackling and run support. The tackling issue is huge in an assignment-heavy defensive scheme like Penn State (which is similar to Iowa's).

Also, it is complicated by the 30 pounds that separate McNutt and Morris. If McNutt makes a catch and sheds one of Morris's tackles, it's off to the races.

The third option—in the event that Lynn and Morris miss the game—is true freshman Adrian Amos.

Amos is a big corner at 6'0", 205 pounds, but a true freshman against McNutt or Davis? That won't end well for Penn State.

James Vandenberg vs. the Penn State Secondary

Speaking of which, this is one of the two best secondaries Iowa will face this season, even without Lynn. They currently have the second-best opponent passer efficiency rating in the conference and the second most picks. 

JVB did well against Pitt and ULM, particularly in the shotgun, no-huddle looks that Iowa worked with. This is a different story. He will not find the going as easy.

Something else to consider is how the PSU defense will come at Vandenberg.

When I think of the Penn State D, I think back to the 2004 game, which Iowa won 6-4.

Every team in 2004 blitzed Iowa mercilessly and Hawkeye sophomore quarterback Drew Tate made them pay for their aggressiveness.

PSU was the one exception. They ran cover-two all the way, and obviously, they held the Hawks to six points. It wasn't enough to win the game, but that could hardly be blamed on the defense.

JVB has faced similar heat for the last five quarters. However, don't look for PSU to blitz. Look for them to hang back and wait for Vandenberg to make a mistake.

Iowa's Defense vs. Quarterback Metamorphoses

This season, Iowa has consistently allowed mid-level-at-best quarterbacks to play well above themselves.

For specific evidence of this, look at the quarterbacks the Hawkeyes have played.

Pitt quarterback Tino Sunseri has a 126.86 efficiency rating in five games. He has completed 65.1 percent of his passes. Against Iowa, he had a season-high 158.36 efficiency rating and completed 70.6 percent of his passes.

Louisiana-Monroe quarterbacks have a 115.34 efficiency rating in four games to go with a 61.4 percent completion percentage. They had an efficiency rating of 121.85 against the Hawks to go along with 69 percent of their passes completed. 

Iowa State quarterback Steele Jantz had a career day against Iowa. His efficiency rating on the season is 111.55. He has completed 56.7 percent of his passes. Against Iowa, his efficiency rating was 166.59 with 67.6 percent of his passes completed.

His touchdown-to-interception ratio against all opponents not named the Hawkeyes is 3:7. Against Iowa, he threw four TDs to zero interceptions.

And speaking of mid-level quarterbacks, Penn State's quarterbacks are at a point where calling them "mid-level" might be generous.

The Nits are splitting snaps between sophomore Rob Bolden and junior Matt McGloin, with neither signal caller having much success.

Bolden has completed less than 50 percent of his passes and has one touchdown to four interceptions. Meanwhile, McGloin has been slightly more successful, completing just under 58 percent of his passes with four touchdowns to go with zero picks.

With that evidence, it would seem that McGloin should be the No. 1 guy, but I think Joe Pa knows that McGloin can only take this team so far. If Penn State is going to vie for conference championships and wins over teams not named Indiana State, Bolden will have to step up.

In short, will these two lackluster quarterbacks play like John Elway for the Iowa game, only to go back to being awful for the rest of the season? Or will the Hawkeye defense play at least as well as the Indiana defense and hold them to a completion percentage of less than 50 percent?

Rob Bolden and Matt McGloin vs. a Conundrum

As for the Penn State quarterbacks, Hawkeye fans know that Iowa has trouble with dual-threat QB's. Bolden falls into that category, although in his two years with Penn State, he hasn't made much use of his rushing abilities, compiling a total of negative-three yards in 42 carries.

However, Hawk fans also know that accurate quarterbacks are equally as challenging for the Iowa defense. Lately, Bolden can barely hit the side of a a barn. Meanwhile, McGloin's 57.8 percent is at least respectable.

On the other hand, McGloin has a tendency to crack in big games. His career efficiency rating against the three ranked teams he's played is a disturbing 69.98.

Not that Iowa is ranked, but McGloin's career completion percentage against AQ foes with respectable defenses—i.e. not Indiana, Minnesota or 2010 Michigan—is an ugly 48.4 percent.

Either way, the refusal of the Penn State coaches to pick an official starting quarterback has Penn State fans up in arms. Moreover, that lack of decisiveness has contributed directly to the poor play of the PSU signal callers, as well as their inability to improve in any way.

The Interior of Iowa's Offensive Line vs. Devon Still and Jordan Hill

PSU defensive tackle Devon Still has been playing great football, and fellow tackle Jordan Hill hasn't been too bad either.

Still currently has the most tackles-for-loss in the conference, and he is the lynchpin of the Big Ten's third-best rush defense.

Meanwhile, the interior of Iowa's offensive line has been inconsistent, although they've yet to face a quality defensive tackle. That ends this weekend.

The Hawkeyes will face two better defensive tackles this season in MSU's Jerel Worthy and Nebraska's Jared Crick. Also, Michigan's Mike Martin will be a difficult test for the Hawks.

Nevertheless, Still and Hill will easily be Iowa's biggest challenge to date, and their biggest challenge until November.

Derek Moye vs. Shaun Prater or Micah Hyde

As I mentioned previously, Kirk Ferentz's coaching style is similar to Joe Pa's.

Consequently, it is no surprise that Joe Pa, like Kirk Ferentz, prefers big, physical receivers that can make plays near the sidelines.

Penn State's top two receivers both fit that bill. Derek Moye is 6'5", 210 pounds, while Justin Brown is 6'3", 214 pounds.

Brown has a career average of just under 12 yards-per-catch to go along with one career touchdown grab. He has only had two catches longer than 30 yards in 53 career receptions. In short, he is mostly a possession receiver, and is unlikely to burn the Hawks for big yards.

On the other hand, Moye is a playmaker. He has 18 career touchdown grabs and over 16 YPC in 130 career receptions.

On the other side of the field, senior cornerback Shaun Prater has had a relatively lousy season thus far. He had better pick it up because Moye is one of the best receivers he will go up against all year.

In fact, given that Micah Hyde has been the better corner over the past two weeks, given that he is bigger than Prater and given that he is the surer tackler, maybe Iowa will line Hyde up against Moye.

Either way, it will be an interesting matchup to watch.

Marcus Coker vs. Fumbles and Penn State's Linebackers

Coker has had a few fumble issues this season.

He put two balls on the turf against Tennessee Tech and fumbled one against ISU.

He has officially been clean since then, but he did drop a ball while reaching for the goal line against Louisiana-Monroe. That was officially a touchdown, but unofficially, it was a sloppy reach.

Penn State will field the best front seven Coker has seen thus far this year, even with linebacker Mike Mauti finished for the year with a torn ACL.

They, like every team the Hawkeyes will face this year, will look for the strip.

Coker had best run low and protect the ball, as turnovers tend to be the difference in Penn State-Iowa games.

Penn State vs. Continued Offensive Line Issues

Penn State blog Blackshoediaries.com famously popularized the accompanying picture to represent PSU's 2009 offensive line when it faced quality defenses.

Those O-line problems popped back up in 2010 and are still causing havoc this season. Part of the problem has been injuries, but inconsistent play has also reared its' ugly head.

Due to these issues, the Nits have juggled their line—particularly the right side of the line—through the first five games of the season.

Against Indiana, starting right tackle Chima Okoli was pulled after a false start penalty in the second quarter. Junior Mike Farrell took his place and stayed there the rest of the game.

Furthermore, sophomore John Urschel and senior DeOn'tae Pannell have rotated at right guard all season.

The end results of this are the ninth-ranked rushing offense in the Big Ten.

They have done a tolerable job of keeping the quarterback clean—five sacks allowed on the season—but given the quarterbacks' inability to make plays, the running game has to do better than just over 3.9 yards-per-carry.

Of course, the Iowa defensive front has begun this season well below the standards that Kirk Ferentz has established for his front four, but they have improved every game since Iowa State.

Iowa vs. Beaver Stadium

Iowa has done well in Beaver Stadium, and JVB has had roadies in the Shoe and Ames. By itself, Beaver Stadium won't intimidate JVB or the Hawks.

The question is how will the no-huddle—if Ferentz chooses to use it—fit into that.

The no-huddle requires calling plays at the line and making a lot of adjustments and audibles. 110,000 screaming fans might make that very difficult.

Moreover, multiple members of Iowa's offense are pretty green. Specifically, receiver Kevonte Martin-Manley, fullback Matt Meyers and whoever backs up running back Marcus Coker.

This will be a new experience for them. Furthermore, how will KMM react to adjustments and audibles, considering the significant part he plays in Iowa's passing offense?

Bonus Slide: Five Keys to an Iowa Victory

1. Keep constant pressure on the Penn State quarterback.

Neither Bolden nor McGloin is good, but if either has time in the pocket, he could get into a rhythm. Iowa cannot afford to take that chance. If the front four can't do it, then the defense needs to make adjustments. Either way, if the Hawks can steadily pressure the PSU quarterbacks, the PSU offense will be unable to break double digits. At least not without the help of some turnovers.

2. Mix things up against the Penn State offensive line.

They are also not good or cohesive. Throw tons of stunts and odd blitzes in there. Juggle the linemen around so the offensive linemen never know who they're going against. Mix up three and four man fronts. Do not let the PSU offensive line get comfortable.

3. Contain Derek Moye. Along with running back Silas Redd, he is the only Nittany Lion offensive player that is individually capable of burning Iowa.

As for Redd, if the offensive line can't help him, there will only be so much he can do. But let Moye sneak by the safeties and he will put the ball in the end zone.

4. JVB has to be patient.

Penn State has the best defense he has seen so far this year, and one of the three best defenses he will see this season. They will not blitz him like the past four defenses have. Just take what the Lions give and be patient.

5. Take care of the football and win the special teams battle.

The only way the Penn State offense will burn Iowa is if it has a short field. Simply put, don't give it to them.