Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz
Kirk Ferentz and the No. 18 ranked Iowa Hawkeyes have the opportunity to make a statement to the rest of the Big Ten by continuing to send James Franklin and the No. 17 ranked Penn State Nittany Lions (5-2) off the rails in Happy Valley on Saturday afternoon.
The game is scheduled to start at 3:30 p.m. ET and will be broadcast nationally on ESPN. If you don’t have cable or can’t get to a TV, you can still watch a live stream of the game (or DVR it) on your computer, phone or streaming device by signing up for one of the following cable-free, live-TV streaming services:
In addition to a Netflix-like on-demand streaming library, Hulu also offers a bundle of 50-plus live TV channels, including all the ESPN channels. You can sign up for “Hulu with Live TV” right here, and you can then watch a live stream of the game on your computer via the Hulu website, or on your phone, tablet or streaming device via the Hulu app.
If you can’t watch live, “Hulu with Live TV” also comes with 50 hours of Cloud DVR storage (with the ability to upgrade to “Enhanced Cloud DVR,” which gives you 200 hours of DVR space and the ability to fast forward through commercials).
ESPN and ESPN 2 are both included in the “Sling Orange” channel package. You can sign up for a free 7-day trial, and you can then watch a live stream of the game on your computer via the Sling TV website, or on your phone, tablet or streaming device via the Sling TV app.
If you can’t watch live, you can get 50 hours of cloud DVR storage as an additional add-on.
ESPN Platforms
Additionally, you can also watch a live stream of the game on your computer via ESPN.com, or on your phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. You’ll need to log in to a cable provider to watch this way, but if you don’t have that, you can still sign up for one of the above options and then use your Hulu or Sling TV credentials to sign in and watch on the ESPN digital platforms.
Preview
The Hawkeyes, who started 3-0 until losing to the Wisconsin Badgers, have won three straight games. Iowa scored 48 and 42 points in consecutive road wins against Minnesota and Indiana before returning home and shutting down Maryland 23-0.
This will be a classic “great offense” vs. “great defense” game. Iowa’s defense is allowing only 258 total yards of offense per game this season, while Trace McSorley and the Penn State offense average 480.6 yards of offense per contest.
Both of Penn State’s losses this season have come at home. The Nittany Lions blew a two-score lead in the fourth quarter against Ohio State, and lost a knock-em-out, drag-em-out fight against the Michigan State Spartans in their next game following a bye week.
Many know how great Trace McSorley has been for the Nittany Lions, but head coach James Franklin has made it a point of emphasis to be better balanced on offense, especially in a game like this that will feature defensive stops aplenty.
“In general, my concern right now is Trace is carrying too much of the load on offense. That’s something that we need to do a better job of. We need more players having a bigger impact on the game on offense.”
That means a heavy dose of junior running back Miles Sanders. Sanders has rushed for 772 yards and eight touchdowns (6.5 yards per carry) this season.