Penn State football's 2025 season blew up halfway through, but the Nittany Lions have a lot of game left to play. Former head coach James Franklin was fired after the first six games of the season following Penn State's loss to Northwestern, 22-21. Associate head coach and cornerbacks coach Terry Smith will see his introductory game as interim head coach of the Nittany Lions in the first of a brutal three-game challenge.
Penn State hits the road in Week 8, facing Iowa at Kinnick Stadium. While the Nittany Lions aren't new to hostile environments, including on their own field in Happy Valley, beating the Hawkeyes in their territory is a tall task for Smith. Smith has 12 years coaching experience at Penn State and five as the associate head coach. While the team navigates tough times, Smith will also have to navigate the loss of third-year starting quarterback Drew Allar. Backup quarterback Ethan Grunkemeyer will see his first collegiate career start on Saturday.
Adding insult to injury, Penn State gets season-ending player news
Iowa is coming off a shutout win against Wisconsin. This was its second Big Ten victory of the season after opening conference play with a win over Rutgers. The Hawkeyes lost 20-15 against No. 3 Indiana in between the two triumphs. As for a bruised and broken Penn State team, it seeks its first Big Ten win of the season after dropping 0-3 with losses to No. 8 Oregon, UCLA, and Northwestern.
How to watch Penn State at Iowa in Week 8
- Date: Saturday, Oct. 18
- Time: 7 p.m. ET
- Venue: Kinnick Stadium
- How to Watch (TV): Peacock (with subscription)
- Streaming: Peacock
- Penn State record: 3-3, 0-3 Big Ten
- Iowa record: 4-2, 2-1 Big Ten
Penn State at Iowa odds, spread, and total
Odds provided by FanDuel Sportsbook.
Moneyline
- Penn State: +120
- UCLA: -144
Spread
- Penn State: +2.5 (-104)
- UCLA: +2.5 (-118)
Total
- 39.5 (over -110 / under -110)
Injury report
Penn State
- CB Donte Natasi - OUT (undisclosed)
- DE Jordan Mayer - OUT (undisclosed)
- DE Max Granville - OUT (undisclosed)
- DE Mason Robinson - OUT (undisclosed)
- DT Kaleb Artis - OUT (undisclosed)
- LB Kari Jackson - OUT (undisclosed)
- LB Tony Rojas - OUT (undisclosed)
- OL Liam Horan - OUT (undisclosed)
- OL Brady O'Hara - OUT (undisclosed)
- QB Drew Allar - OUT (undisclosed)
- QB Bekkem Kritza - OUT (undisclosed)
- WR Josiah Brown - OUT (undisclosed)
- WR Peter Gonzalez - OUT (undisclosed)
- WR Kaden Saunders - OUT (undisclosed)
- CB Zion Tracy - Questionable (undisclosed)
- OG J'Ven Williams - Questionable (undisclosed)
- OL Anthony Donkoh - Questionable (undisclosed)
- RB Cam Wallace - Questionable (undisclosed)
Iowa
DB Shahid Barros - OUT (undisclosed)
LB Jaden Harrell - OUT (undisclosed)
RB Jaziun Patterson - OUT (undisclosed)
RB Terrell Washington Jr. - OUT (undisclosed)
TE Addison Ostrenga - OUT (undisclosed)
WR Jarriett Buie - OUT (undisclosed)
Penn State v. Iowa series history
This is the 33rd time the Nittany Lions and Hawkeyes meet in series history. Penn State leads 18-14 all-time, the 18th win coming in 2023 when the teams last met in Happy Valley. The Nittany Lions are also 10-6 on the road against the Hawkeyes and 12-11 as conference rivals. Four of the past six games were decided by six points or less, including the last three games held in Iowa City.
The blue and white shutout Iowa 31-0 in their last meeting, a contest that saw Allar throw four touchdown passes and the defense force four fumble recoveries. Former tight end Tyler Warren caught two of the four scoring passes and tight end Khalil Dinkins tallied one. The Hawkeyes were held to 76 total yards and four first downs over 33 plays.
Peacock announcers for Penn State at Iowa
Paul Burmeister will be calling play-by-play and joined by analyst Michael Robinson on color for Saturday night's contest. Caroline Pineda will be on the sidelines reporting for the game.
Weather forecast in Iowa City
Saturday evening into night in Iowa City will progressively get cooler with a low of 48 degrees and high of about 55 degrees. It will be breezy with wind gusts predicted to be up to 28 miles per hour. In a mostly cloudy night, there is a 25 percent chance of precipitation.