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Penn State Football: Who Should be the 2023 Whiteout Opponent?

By Morgan Chapman

UNIVERSITY PARK, PA - OCTOBER 19: General view of the white out crowd before the game between the Penn State Nittany Lions and the Michigan Wolverines on October 19, 2019 at Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Brett Carlsen/Getty Images)
UNIVERSITY PARK, PA - OCTOBER 19: General view of the white out crowd before the game between the Penn State Nittany Lions and the Michigan Wolverines on October 19, 2019 at Beaver Stadium in University Park, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Brett Carlsen/Getty Images) /
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STATE COLLEGE, PA – NOVEMBER 05: Trace McSorley #9 congratulates Tommy Stevens #2 of the Penn State Nittany Lions following a touchdown against the Iowa Hawkeyes on November 5, 2016 at Beaver Stadium in State College, Pennsylvania. Penn State defeats Iowa 41-14. (Photo by Brett Carlsen/Getty Images)
STATE COLLEGE, PA – NOVEMBER 05: Trace McSorley #9 congratulates Tommy Stevens #2 of the Penn State Nittany Lions following a touchdown against the Iowa Hawkeyes on November 5, 2016 at Beaver Stadium in State College, Pennsylvania. Penn State defeats Iowa 41-14. (Photo by Brett Carlsen/Getty Images) /

The Iowa Hawkeyes visit Penn State on September 23rd, 2023. Being a Big Ten West team, these two do not play each other every year. Although they played 6 seasons in a row between 2016-2021, that broke last season when the two teams did not meet on the schedule.

The last time they met was in Iowa City in 2021, where the Hawkeyes beat Penn State 23-20. That game was one of the more frustrating games to watch as a fan as Sean Clifford was injured and removed from the game which allowed Iowa to storm back and pick up the victory.

Because of this, I could certainly understand why James Franklin and company would want to face Iowa in the whiteout. To be able to make them play in an extremely challenging environment would be one way to seek revenge for that 2021 loss.

Iowa’s offense has struggled enough over the past few seasons that adding crowd noise could make matters worse. This year, they will have a new Quarterback at the helm as Cade McNamara transferred in from Michigan.

The weather will not be an issue in September and of course, there is no rule against having a night game during this time of year, so this opponent makes a lot of sense.

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