STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Fresh off its 30-13 victory at Illinois last week, Penn State returns home to host Big Ten rival Iowa Saturday night in the 15th White Out Game.
The seventh-ranked NIttany Lions will face the No. 22/24 Buckeyes at 7:30 p.m. on CBS.
Penn State is a 14.5-point favorite in the matchup.
Here's what you need to know about Saturday's prime-time clash.
THE SERIES: Penn State and Iowa will meet for the 32nd time on Saturday. The Lions hold a 17-14 lead in the all-time series, but the Hawkeyes have won the last two meetings, including a 23-20 decision in Iowa City in 2021. Penn State fans should remember that one; Iowa's fans famously booed several injured Lion players, believing at the time that they were embellishing their injuries to help slow the Hawkeyes' offensive momentum.
Penn State lost five starters to injury in that game -- including quarterback Sean Clifford and defensive tackle PJ Mustipher.
No one in the Penn State locker room will refer to Saturday night's matchup as a revenge game...but it's totally a revenge game.
GETTING THERE: Central PA fans traveling to Beaver Stadium out of the Harrisburg area might want to allow some extra time for the trip, as a bridge preservation project along Route 22 in Walker Township, Juniata County, has contributed to significant traffic delays during football weekends at Beaver Stadium.
For additional information, including parking tips, stadium security policies, information on when the lots open, and more, visit Penn State Game Day.
ABOUT PENN STATE: The Lions improved to 3-0 on the season with last week's harder-than-it-looked 30-13 victory over Illinois. The Penn State defense dominated the game by forcing five turnovers (including four interceptions) and limiting the Illini to just 62 yards on the ground, but the offense had its sluggish moments. The Lions led 16-7 at halftime after settling for field goals on a pair of encouraging early drives, and the game was close until late in the third quarter before Penn State could finally pull away.
Sophomore QB Drew Allar had a turnover-free day for the third straight game, but struggled with accuracy at times, completing 16 of 33 pass attempts for 208 yards. Running backs Kaytron Allen and Nicholas Singleton combined for 91 rushing yards on 24 carries and each scored a touchdown, while Central York grad Beau Pribula added 47 rushing yards while mopping up for Allar in the second half.
Penn State had takeaways on three consecutive Illinois drives in the first quarter, but could only convert those miscues into 13 points.
LB Abdul Carter, CB Johnny Dixon, CB Daequan Hardy and CB Cam Miller each recorded an interception against Illinois, while LB Dominic DeLuca forced a fumble that was recovered by LB Kobe King. The Nittany Lions have recorded three or more takeaways in seven games over the last two seasons, tied-most among FBS teams.
While the offense did struggle at times, Penn State hit 30 points in the victory and increased their streak of scoring at least 30 points to 10 straight games -- the longest active streak in the nation.
Penn State currently leads the Big Ten in scoring offense (43.7 points per game) and is fourth in scoring defense (11.7 per game). The Lions are third in both total offense (467.3 yards per game) and defense (267.3 per game).
THE WHITE OUT GAME: Penn State has an 8-6 record in full-stadium White Out games, a tradition that dates back to 2007 (a 31-10 win over Notre Dame). The Lions have won three straight and five of their last six White Out games.
Iowa defeated Penn State 21-10 in the 2009 White Out game; that's the last time the Hawkeyes have been the Lions' White Out opponent.
ABOUT IOWA: Coached by Kirk Ferentz, who has a 189-115 in 25 seasons, the Hawkeyes are off to a 3-0 start. Ferentz is the longest-tenured head football coach in the nation and the winningest coach in Iowa history.
Iowa dusted Western Michigan 41-10 in their final non-conference outing last week. Leshon Williams rushed for 145 yards, while quarterback Cade McNamara -- a transfer from Michigan -- threw two touchdown passes. Iowa held Western Michigan to 239 total yards.
The Hawkeye offense is guided by embattled coordinator Brian Ferentz, son of the head coach. He's under a revised one-year contract that included a salary cut and a set of performance incentives he must reach to return in 2024 -- including a mandate that Iowa must average 25 points per game this season and win at least seven games.
So far this season, Iowa has averaged 28.3 points per game (seventh in the Big Ten). The Hawkeye offense is ranked 13th out of 14 teams in the conference in total yards (302 per game), and is 11th in passing (150.7 yards per game) and ninth in rushing (151.3 per game).
Iowa will reportedly be down three offensive starters when they take the field Saturday night. Tight end Luke Lachey, running back Jaziun Patterson and running back Kaleb Johnson were all banged up last week and are likely out this week.
McNamara, who transferred to Iowa City from Michigan in the offseason, led the Wolverines to a win over Penn State in 2021. So far this season, he has completed 53.5% of his passes for 417 yards and ranks fifth in the Big Ten with four touchdown passes.
The Hawkeyes defense sits fifth in the Big Ten in scoring (12.3 ppg), sixth in total defense (286.0 ypg), fifth in passing defense (179.3) and seventh in rushing defense (106.7).