Distractions Are Afoot as Penn State Prepares for Iowa
Penn State coach James Franklin is a master of keeping his team focused on the task at hand.
At the beginning of each new week, he sends a Tweet repeating the name of the upcoming opponent, as if to say this is all we are focused on for this week. It has seemed to work up until this point as the Nittany Lions are 5-0, heading into a showdown with Iowa on Saturday night.
While playing in front of a “stripe out” crowd at Kinnick Stadium, one of the most difficult places to play in college football is daunting enough, Penn State has had to deal with distractions away from football this week.
Antonio Shelton’s Tweet of a photograph of a letter addressed to his teammate Jonathan Sutherland has gone viral. In the letter, an ignorant Penn State alum made idiotic and insensitive comments regarding Sutherland’s hairstyle. The self-proclaimed older alum tells Sutherland about his longing for “clean cut” men and women of his day.
A sophomore captain, key contributor, deans list student and one of the most well-respected players on Penn State, Sutherland took the high road and issued a well thought out and respectful statement. His response did not get the traction that Franklin did when he spoke before his Tuesday press conference.
The statement was exactly what one would expect from Franklin.
A true players coach, he defended his team and spoke to the character of Sutherland. Going a step further, Franklin speaks to the football he knows and loves, the football that brings people together.
Franklin became emotional but collected himself to turn the focus to Iowa. Aside from the letter, Penn State needs to be extremely cautious not to look ahead to next week.
It’s been announced the whiteout game will indeed be under the lights against Michigan next Saturday. Fans are already pumped for the white-out, taking to social media in droves. The fans can look ahead if they want, but the players cannot.
Lastly, the Nittany Lions were featured on the HBO Series College Football 24/7 this week. Luckily there was nothing scandalous in the show that could bleed into preparations for Iowa. Even if Franklin keeps his team focused, they will still need to execute against a tricky Iowa team.
How to Beat the Hawkeyes
Penn State will need to be better than they were against Purdue to beat Iowa. Sean Clifford needs to make better decisions and the special teams need to clean up their act.
If those two things happen, Penn State will have a great shot at winning on the road because their defense is incredible. Michigan held Iowa to three points last weekend, forcing quarterback Nate Stanley to beat them. He couldn’t.
Penn State has a superior defense to Michigan, who accumulated 8 sacks against a weak-for-Iowa offensive line. If this game is to be won in the trenches, Penn State will win. Coming off a 10 sack performance, Yetur Gross-Matos and Shaka Toney could be unstoppable once again. If Penn State can first stop the run and then pressure Stanley, they may only need a field goal to win the game. And a field goal may be all they can muster against a stingy Iowa defense.
The Iowa defensive line, led by A.J. Epenesa, has been strong, but not flashy. They haven’t been able to get in the backfield as much as they’d like. Giving Sean Clifford time or a lane to run could prove insurmountable for the Hawkeyes.
Penn State will most likely use at least three running backs and probably four against Iowa. Noah Cain could be the perfect back for this type of game, but don’t be surprised if Journey Brown makes a big play or if Ricky Slade has his best game to date.
Aside from Stanley, Iowa has a few playmakers on offense Penn State will need to keep an eye on. Receiver Ihmir Smith-Marsette can be dangerous in space and running back Mekhi Sargent leads the Hawkeyes in rushing. Iowa is far from a juggernaut, but Stanley has a ton of experience and has played in, and won, big games before.
Prediction
Kinnick Stadium is an extremely difficult place to play, but even the most exuberant fan bases tend to quiet down after big plays. Penn State has an incredibly fast and athletic team, capable of scoring in a hurry. If the lethargy shown from the Nittany Lion offense in the second half last week is corrected, Penn State will prove too much for Iowa.
Strange things happen under the lights at Kinnick, but Penn State simply has speed on both sides of the ball that Iowa can’t keep up with.
Penn State 23 Iowa 3
Featured Image:
Discover more from Philadelphia Sports Nation
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.