Iowa at Penn State Line

Written by Steve Janus

The Penn State Nittany Lions will look to continue their winning ways when they host the Iowa Hawkeyes this Saturday. Penn State opened up conference play with a 16-10 win over Indiana last Saturday, pushing their overall record to 4-1 on the season. The Hawkeyes are coming into the game off a bye week. Iowa went 3-1 in non-conference play, with the only loss coming in triple-overtime against in-state rival Iowa State.

Taking a look at the week 6 college football spreads, oddsmakers currently have the Nittany Lions favored by 4-points over the Hawkeyes with the total set at 45 points.

Iowa Hawkeyes:

Iowa has to feel pretty good about how the early portion of the season has went. Iowa dominated both home games against Tennessee Tech and Louisiana-Monroe and pulled off a remarkable comeback in a 31-27 win over Pittsburgh. Now they have to show they can win on the road against a very good Penn State team.

A lot of people wondered how the Iowa offense would look without Ricky Stanzi at quarterback, but junior James Vandenberg has stepped in and played extremely well in his first season as the starter. Vandenberg has completed 62.8% of his passes for 1,095 yards with 10 touchdowns to one interception. He was especially good in the win over Pittsburgh, throwing for 399 yards and three scores.

Vandenberg has made a living throwing to senior wide out Marvin McNutt, who has 25 receptions for 413 yards and four touchdowns. McNutt hasn’t been the only threat in the passing game, junior Keenan Davis and freshman Kevonte Martin-Manley have each caught three touchdown passes.

Iowa has also had a lot of success running the ball behind Marcus Coker. The sophomore has 380 yards and four touchdowns in four games.

The Hawkeyes offense will be put to the test this Saturday, as the Nittany Lions have one of the top defenses in the country. Penn State is 24th against the run (95.0 ypg) and 6th against the pass (155.4 ypg).

Penn State Nittany Lions:

The Nittany Lions haven’t exactly dominated in the first half of the season, but they continue to find ways to win games. They had to battle from behind to beat Temple 14-10 and didn’t exactly look all that good in a 16-10 win over Indiana. With the way their defense is playing they don’t have to score a lot to win games, but that could get them in trouble when the face some of the better offenses in the Big Ten.

The biggest problem the Nittany Lions have is they don’t have a true starter at the quarterback position. They continue to use both Matthew McGloin and Rob Bolden. McGloin threw for 204 yards and a touchdown in the win over the Hoosiers, but completed just 10 of 22 attempts. Bolden could be seeing his playing time reduced more and more, as he has thrown an interception in four straight games with just one touchdown pass.

When Penn State is moving the ball it is usually a result of their running game. Sophomore Silas Redd has rushed for a team-best 432 yards and four touchdowns. Fellow sophomore Curtis Duke has helped out of late, rushing for 83 yards on just 12 carries in his last two games.

The Nittany Lions will take on an Iowa defense that has had its lapses this season. The Hawkeyes are giving up 132.5 ypg on the ground and another 253.3 through the air.

Betting Trends:

Iowa is 7-2 ATS in their last 9 games as a road underdog of 3.5-10.0.

Penn State is 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games as a home favorite of 3.5-10.0.

Steve Janus went a perfect 5-0 last Saturday and is 13-2 over his last 15 college football plays. Be sure to stop back and see who the expert has picked to win in week 6!

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