Penn State @ Iowa preview

Last Meeting ( Oct 8, 2011 ) Iowa 3, Penn State 13

Iowa and Penn State bring identical 4-2 records and 2-0 Big Ten marks to this intra-divisional contest at Kinnick Stadium on Saturday. The host Hawkeyes are tied for first place with Michigan in the Legends Division while Penn State is second to Ohio State (7-0, 3-0) at the top of the Leaders Division. The big difference is that the Hawkeyes are eligible to play in the Dec. 1 Big Ten Championship Game in Indianapolis while the Nittany Lions are ineligible for postseason play.

TV: 8 p.m. ET, Big Ten Network LINE: Iowa -3

ABOUT PENN STATE (4-2, 2-0 Big Ten): The Nittany Lions were idle last week after recording a 39-28 come-from-behind victory over Northwestern on Oct. 6, the team's fourth straight win. Penn State trailed by 11 points entering the fourth quarter before quarterback Matt McGloin engineered a pair of 80-plus yard drives and scored the go-ahead touchdown on a five-yard run with 2:37 remaining. The Nittany Lions' defense, led by senior linebackers Michael Mauti and Gerald Hodges, is allowing only 16 points per game which ranks 15th nationally. Penn State has outscored the opposition 52-0 in the first quarter this season.

ABOUT IOWA (4-2, 2-0): The Hawkeyes have bounced back from a shocking home loss to Central Michigan to win back-to-back Big Ten games, including a 19-16 double overtime thriller at Michigan State last Saturday. That also was Kirk Ferentz's 100th victory at Iowa, making him the 12th Big Ten coach to reach that milestone. The Hawkeyes have done it with a strong defense led by junior linebacker Anthony Hitchens that is yielding only 317 yards and 17.2 points per game and has forced 10 turnovers in its last five games. Sophomore Mark Weisman, a walk-on who began his career at Air Force, has rushed for more than 100 yards in four straight games and scored eight touchdowns this season to lead an Iowa offense averaging 27 points in its last four games.

EXTRA POINTS

1. Hitchens leads the NCAA with 78 tackles in six games, an average of 13 per game.

2. McGloin has had four straight 200-yard passing games and leads the Big Ten in passing with an average of 249.8 yards. He has thrown 12 touchdown passes and only two interceptions.

3. Weisman is questionable after spraining his right ankle while scoring a touchdown at Michigan State last week.

PREDICTION: Penn State 20, Iowa 16