STATE COLLEGE — Penn State faces its toughest test of the season when it hits the road to face Iowa at Kinnick Stadium in Week 6. Given how both the Nittany Lions and Hawkeyes have played through the first five games of the season, it figures to be a closely fought game, and the early lines Sunday morning reflect that.
Penn State opened as 2.5-point underdogs to Iowa, according to FanDuel Sportsbook. Other sportsbooks have the Hawkeyes as 1.5-point favorites, according to aggregator VegasInsider.
But the odds reflect what many are expecting: Penn State and Iowa are set to play a tightly contested matchup.
Read more: Sunday Morning Quarterback: Four postgame reads on Penn State’s 24-0 shutout of Indiana | Jones
The Hawkeyes and Nittany Lions are scheduled to kick off at 4 p.m. ET on Saturday, and the game will be nationally televised on Fox.
Both teams are coming off impressive victories to improve to 5-0. Iowa dismantled Maryland, 51-14, in a game that featured the Hawkeyes forcing seven turnovers, including six interceptions. Penn State, meanwhile, shut out Indiana, 24-0, in the latest impressive performance from a defense that hasn’t allowed more than 20 points in a game this season.
Penn State leads the overall series with Iowa, 17-13, with the Hawkeyes defeating the Nittany Lions, 41-21, at Beaver Stadium last season. But Penn State has won its last three matchups at Kinnick Stadium, including a 17-12 win in 2019 and a 21-19 win in 2017. So it figures to be a tight one in Iowa City this weekend.
Daniel Gallen covers Penn State for PennLive. He can be reached at dgallen@pennlive.com. You can follow him on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Follow PennLive’s Penn State coverage on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.