Each week during the season the Hawkeye Headquarters staff will predict the outcome of the Iowa football game.

HawkeyeHQ.com
Blake Hornstein (3-0): Former Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer thinks that the Penn State whiteout is worth a 10-point advantage for the home team. That probably has something to do with his second-ranked Buckeyes losing as 19.5 favorites in Happy Valley in 2016.

But here’s a better question… is it? Penn State is just 10-8 in whiteout games since it started back in 2004. Out of those eight losses, only one came when the Nittany Lions were the betting favorite — to Kirk Ferentz’s football program in 2009. (Penn State was No. 5 and Iowa was unranked.)

Yeah, the blocked punt game. One of the most iconic wins of the Ferentz era on arguably the best team in the Ferentz era. Between 2009 and 2016, maybe Happy Valley is where Top 5 teams go to die after all.

But no top five teams will be passing this week, at least at State College.

Before the season began I truly believed this team would be special. A 2009, 2015 or perhaps even a 2002 level team. Through three weeks, it’s hard to wrap your arms around what we’ve seen.

Cade McNamara’s only completed 53% of his throws. (Spencer Petras completed 55% last season.) The Iowa defense has been solid, but has only mustered three sacks through three games. Facing the best offense in the Big Ten, that scares me.

All that being said, I still believe this team will win 10 games. But to go 10-2, you’ve got to lose two. This will be one of those weeks.

Prediction: Penn State 20, Iowa 10

Ryan Jaster (3-0): Those who forget their past are doomed to repeat it. Yet critics tell me Kirk Ferentz’s previous games at Iowa against common opponents have no bearing on future outcomes.

Fair enough. Throw out Kirk’s 10-8 history against the Nittany Lions – half of those wins at State College. Forget the trick plays. The safeties.

Let’s focus on the really relevant factors: TV networks and pant colors.

Yes, the Hawkeyes are breaking out the black pants for the first time on the road… or at least the first time in a long time. Also coming back: CBS. Yes, Local 4 is Local 4 You and now Local 4 the Iowa Hawkeyes for the first time since the 1997 Sun Bowl. If you aren’t counting those glorified postseason exhibitions of B1G power, you have to go back another 11 years to the 1986 Iowa-Michigan “rematch” to find a WHBF game. This is a show 37 years in the making.

Why is this significant? It’s probably not to you. But… Iowa is 11-4-1 when broadcast over our airwaves from that famous downtown Rock Island beacon, our majestic-yet-mysterious transmission tower. How’s that for relevant?

What’s definitely not — by definition — is the Totally Irrelevant Prediction. It says the Hawkeyes win 23-17. Thank the defense for disrupting the backfield all day with six sacks and five forced fumbles (recovering two). They bend and break, but only on the first play — a 58-yard touchdown pass — and in garbage time after a game-sealing pick six. Despite the TIP’s confidence, the national media is not at all on board. Therefore, the Hawkologist’s prognosis is a 5 on the 6-point pain index.

Here’s a look at what others from near and far expect, starting with the weather from Local 4’s Tyler Ryan:

HawkeyeInsider.com
David Eickholt: Iowa 20, Penn State 17.

Watch David’s breakdown with Blake in the video above, then tune in to Local 4 WHBF on 6:30 p.m. Friday and Fox 18 KLJB at 9:30 p.m. Friday for “Road to Pennsylvania,” our Hawkeye Headquarters preview show in advance of the game at Penn State.

CBS Sports
Dennis Dodd: Penn State
Tom Fornelli: Penn State
Chip Patterson: Penn State
Barrett Sallee: Penn State
Shehan Jeyarajah: Penn State
David Cobb: Penn State
Jerry Palm: Penn State

ESPN
Bill Connelly: Penn State 26, Iowa 14

Athlon Sports
Steven Lassan: Penn State
Joe Vitale: Penn State
Luke Easterling: Penn State

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