Game Notes: Iowa vs. Penn State

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1st and 10

1: In a tradition that started at the University of Iowa football team’s season opener in 2017, fans inside Kinnick Stadium and patients and families inside the UI Stead Family Children’s Hospital will exchanges waves at the end of the first quarter.
 
2: QB Nate Stanley has 10 touchdown passes over the last three games, Iowa’s best three-game stretch since Chuck Hartlieb threw 11 touchdowns over a three-game stretch in 1987. Chuck Long threw 12 touchdowns over a three-game stretch in 1985.

3: The Hawkeyes have won four straight night games at Kinnick Stadium (9/19/15 vs.Pitt 27-24; 11/14/15 vs. Minn. 40-35; 9/10/16 vs. Iowa State 42-3; 11/12/16 vs. #2 Michigan 14-13).
 
4: Iowa has won five straight Big Ten openers. Its last conference opening loss was in 2011 at Penn State (13-3). The Hawkeyes are chasing their fifth 4-0 start under head coach Kirk Ferentz (2003, 2006, 2009, 2015)
 
5: The Hawkeyes are opening the Big Ten Conference season at home for the first time since 2012 (31-13 win vs. Minnesota).
 
6: The Hawkeyes have won 397 games at home since becoming a varsity football team in 1889. 
 
7: Iowa is 3-0, but has trailed each game (3-0 vs. Wyoming; 31-21 at Iowa State; 7-0 vs. North Texas).
 
8: RB Akrum Wadley ranks No. 3 in the Big Ten and No. 13 nationally averaging 170.0 all-purpose yards per game. Through three games, he has 258 yards rushing, 152 yards receiving, and 100 yards on kick returns. He has 2,681 career all-purpose yards, 18th most in program history (2,021 rush, 560 receiving, 100 KO returns).
 
9: The Hawkeyes have won six of the last 10 against Penn State and hold a 9-8 advantage since 1993 when the Nittany Lions joined the Big Ten Conference. 
 
10: Iowa had 29 first downs at Iowa State, tied for second most in Kirk Ferentz era, and 28 first downs against North Texas, tied for fifth in the Kirk Ferentz era. The 57 combined first downs is the highest total in back-to-back games in the Kirk Ferentz era. 
 
    HAWKEYE HISTORY 
    Iowa has played 1,223 games since beginning football in 1889. Iowa’s overall record is 636-548-39 (.535). That includes a 397-217-16 (.643) record in home games, a 239-331-23 (.422) record in games away from Iowa City, a 320-369-25 (.464) mark in Big Ten games and a 281-182-15 (.607) record in Kinnick Stadium.
 
     A PLEASANT RESOLUTION TO THE CASE OF THE UNKNOWN
     QB Nate Stanley is the 14th quarterback to start a game under Kirk Ferentz. Since 1999, both of Kirk Ferentz’s Big Ten championships have been with a first-year starting quarterback. Brad Banks led Iowa to a share of the conference title in 2002, and Drew Tate did the same in 2004. In 2015, first-year starter C.J. Beathard was given the keys to the offense and drove Iowa to the Big Ten championship game and Rose Bowl.
     Ferentz teams have also finished in the Associated Press top-10 on five occasions, and in four of those seasons the Hawkeyes were led by a first-year starter — Banks in 2002, Nathan Chandler in 2003, Tate in 2004, and Beathard in 2015.
    
     STANLEY MAKING HISTORY
     QB Nate Stanley has 10 touchdown passes over the last three games, Iowa’s best three-game stretch since Chuck Hartlieb threw 11 touchdowns over a three-game stretch in 1987. Chuck Long threw 12 touchdowns over a three-game stretch in 1985.
     Stanley threw three touchdowns in his first career start Week 1. The last quarterback to do that was Ricky Stanzi (3, vs. Florida Atlantic in 2008). Since, 1999, the only other quarterback to throw three or more touchdowns in his first career start under Ferentz was Jon Beutjer (4, at Indiana in 2000).  
     Stanley threw for five touchdowns and 333 yards against Iowa State in Week 2, becoming the first Iowa quarterback with 300-plus passing yards and five-plus touchdown passes since Chuck Hartlieb vs. Northwestern in 1987.
     Stanley had zero career completions when he was intercepted on his third pass attempt of the season. He has since completed 51-of-80 (63.8) attempts for 10 touchdowns and zero interceptions.
 
      HAWKEYES AT NIGHT
      Iowa has hosted 14 night games in Kinnick Stadium’s history, holding a 10-4 record in those contests.  The Hawkeyes have won four straight night games in Kinnick Stadium, including two games in both 2015 and 2016. 
 
     FERENTZ AMONG B1G LEADERS, CLOSING ON FRY
     Kirk Ferentz has 138 overall wins and 82 Big Ten wins as Iowa’s head coach. The 82 conference wins rank sixth among the conference’s all-time winningest coaches in Big Ten games.
     Ferentz’s 138 wins in all games coached as a member of the Big Ten Conference rank sixth in league history and second all-time at Iowa. He is five wins from tying Hayden Fry as the Hawkeyes’ all-time winningest football coach.
     Both Ferentz (138, 82) and Fry (143, 96) rank in the top seven in overall wins and Big Ten wins. Only Iowa and Michigan have two coaches ranked in the top 10 of both win categories (Bo Schembechler 194, 143; and Lloyd Carr 122, 81).
 
     FERENTZ TOPS IN LONGEVITY
     Kirk Ferentz is in his 19th season as Iowa’s head football coach. He is the longest tenured active head coach in college football. Ferentz was named Iowa head coach on Dec. 2, 1998. Gary Patterson of TCU is No. 2 in coaching tenure. Patterson’s first year with the Horned Frogs was 2001. Among Big Ten coaches, only Pat Fitzgerald (2006) and Mark Dantonio (2007) have been at their current schools for 10 seasons or more.
 
    THE SERIES
    Saturday will be the 27th meeting between Iowa and Penn State, and the first meeting in Iowa City since 2012. The Nittany Lions have won the last three meetings and hold a 14-12 advantage in the series.

• Prior to the Hawkeyes’ loss at #12 Penn State last year, Iowa had won four straight meetings when Penn State entered the game ranked (2010, 24-3 vs. #22 PSU; 2009, 21-10 at #5 PSU; 2008, 24-23 vs. #3 PSU; 2002, 42-35 OT at #12 PSU). Iowa is 6-12 all-time when playing a ranked Penn State team. The Hawkeyes are 1-1 when playing the Nittany Lions under the lights at Kinnick Stadium (W, 24-3 in 2010; L, 38-14 in 2012).
• The Hawkeyes have won six of the last 10 and hold a 9-8 advantage since 1993 when the Nittany Lions joined the Big Ten Conference.  Iowa is 5-8 in games played in Iowa City.  
• The teams first met Nov. 15, 1930, with Iowa winning 19-0 in Iowa City.  PSU won five in a row, as Iowa didn’t defeat PSU again until 1976.
• Both teams have had a five-game winning streak in the series.  Penn State won each game played between 1971 and 1975.  Iowa’s longest streak in the series began with a double-overtime win in 2000 and included wins from 2000-04.  The teams did not meet in 2005 and 2006.
• The teams have played two overtime games, both at Penn State.  Iowa won in two overtimes in 2000 (26-23) and in single overtime in 2002 (42-35). 

     TACKLE BY JOSEY JEWELL
     LB Josey Jewell leads the team and ranks third in the Big Ten with 28 tackles. He has led the team in tackles in each of the last two seasons (126 in 2015, 124 in 2016). Jewell was named Walter Camp, Lott IMPACT, and Bednarik Award national and Big Ten Conference Defensive Player of the Week following Iowa’s 24-3 win over Wyoming on Sept. 2. Jewell led Iowa with 14 tackles, including seven solo stops.  His totals included two sacks, 2.5 tackles for loss, and one pass break-up. His QB pressure late in the game led to Iowa’s second interception. The Big Ten Player of the Week recognition was the first for Jewell. 
 
     FRESH LEGS
     Running backs Toren Young and Ivory Kelly-Martin carried the ball for the first time in their careers Week 3 when RB Akrum Wadley and RB James Butler each left the North Texas game with injuries.
     Young, a redshirt freshman, finished the game with a team-high 19 carries for a team-best 78 yards. Kelly-Martin, a true freshman, finished with 74 yards on 11 carries and two touchdowns (2, 6).  Kelly-Martin is the first Iowa true freshman with two-plus rush TD in a game since Marcus Coker in 2010 (vs Missouri).
     The rookies combined for 152 yards on 30 carries and two rushing touchdowns. Iowa’s seniors, Wadley and Butler, had 98 yards rushing on 24 carries.
 
     WADLEY PURSUES RARE FEAT
     Senior RB Akrum Wadley has 258 yards rushing in 2017. He rushed for 1,081 yards in 2016, and with another 1,000-yard campaign he could become the fourth Hawkeye in program history to produce back-to-back 1,000-yard rushing seasons, and the first since Fred Russell went back-to-back in 2002 (1,355) and 2003 (1,264). The other Hawkeyes with back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons include Sedrick Shaw (1,002 in 1994, 1,477 in 1995, 1,116 in 1996) and Ladell Betts (1,090 in 2000 and 1,060 in 2001).  Wadley is tied for 19th in career scoring with 144 points.
 
     wadleY2K
     RB Akrum Wadley is the 15th player in program history to rush for 2,000 career yards. He has 344 career carries for 2,021 rushing yards. Among the 15 career 2,000 yard rushers in program history, Wadley ties Tavian Banks and Shonn Greene for best average yards per carry (5.9).
 
     THIS, THAT AND THE OTHER
     RB Akrum Wadley ranks No. 3 in the Big Ten and No. 13 nationally averaging 170.0 all-purpose yards per game. Through three games, he has 258 yards rushing, 152 yards receiving, and 100 yards on kick returns. He has 2,681 career all-purpose yards, 18th most in program history (2,021 rush, 560 receiving, 100 KO returns).
 
     REINVENTING THE STADIUM WAVE
      In a tradition that started at the University of Iowa football team’s season opener in 2017, fans inside Kinnick Stadium and patients and families inside the UI Stead Family Children’s Hospital will exchanges waves at the end of the first quarter.
      The UI Stead Family Children’s Hospital opened in 2017. It is connected to the south end of the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics and overlooks Kinnick Stadium from the southwest grandstands. During Iowa football home games, patients and their families can watch the game from the top floor (Level 12), one of the highest vantage points in Iowa City.
      The wave highlights the relationship between the football team and the hospital. The Hawkeyes’ “Touchdowns for Kids” campaign has long been a fundraiser and during every game, a “Kid Captain” from the hospital receives special recognition from the Hawkeye football program.
 
     BRIAN FERENTZ IMPACT ON OFFENSE
     Brian Ferentz, a former Hawkeye football team captain and three-year letterman for the University of Iowa football team, was named Iowa’s offensive coordinator on Jan. 9, 2017. He also coaches Iowa’s running backs. In his first three games as offensive coordinator:

• QB Nathan Stanley has thrown 10 touchdown passes, the best three-game stretch since 1987.
• Iowa has scored in 11 straight quarters plus one overtime period. The only quarter Iowa was shutout this season was the first quarter of the season opener against Wyoming.
• Iowa has five touchdown drives 87 yards or longer. Iowa had two scoring drives 87 yards or longer in 2016.
• Iowa has nine touchdown drives of 10 plays or more. Iowa had six such drives in 2016.
• Iowa’s second-year tight ends, sophomore Noah Fant and redshirt freshman T.J. Hockenson, have 12 combined receptions, each resulting in a touchdown (4) or first down (8).
• Iowa’s time of possession against North Texas was 40:45, the second highest under head coach Kirk Ferentz. Iowa ranks sixth in the country averaging 35:35 in time of possession.
• Iowa had 29 first downs at Iowa State, tied for second most in Kirk Ferentz era, and 28 first downs against North Texas, tied for fifth in the Kirk Ferentz era. The 57 combined first downs is the highest total in back-to-back games in the Kirk Ferentz era.

     IN THE RANKINGS
     Iowa’s 2017 schedule includes three schools ranked in the top 10 of the AP poll. They include No. 4 Penn State (9/23), No. 9 Wisconsin (11/11), and No. 10 Ohio State (11/4). Games against Penn State and Ohio State are at Kinnick Stadium. Iowa faces Wisconsin in Madison. 
     These are Iowa’s most recent wins versus nationally-ranked opponents:
     Home:        40-10 over #15 Nebraska, 11/25/16
                        14-13 over #2 Michigan, 11/12/16
                        24-16 over #13 Michigan, 11/5/11
     Road:         40-10 over #20 Northwestern, 10/17/15
                        10-6 over #18 Wisconsin, 10/3/15
                        38-28 over #24 Michigan, 10/16/10
     Neutral:      27-24 over #12 Missouri, Insight Bowl, 12/28/10
                        24-14 over #9 Georgia Tech, Orange Bowl, 1/5/10
                        30-25 over #11 LSU, Capital One Bowl, 1/1/05
 
     KIRK FERENTZ RADIO SHOW
     Iowa Coach Kirk Ferentz is featured on “Hawk Talk with Kirk Ferentz” each week during the regular season. The radio call-in show is hosted by Gary Dolphin, the play-by-play voice of the Iowa Hawkeyes.  The show airs live each Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. from Carlos O’Kelly’s in Iowa City.
 
      ALL ABOARD TO KINNICK STADIUM!
      The Hawkeye Express, the passenger train that transports fans from Coralville to Kinnick Stadium, is in its 14th season in 2017.
      Adults can ride the train for $15, round trip, while children (12-and-under) ride for free.  Tickets can be purchased in advance at the UI Ticket Office or on game day (cash only on game day) at the Hawkeye Express depot located near the boarding ramp.  The trip to Kinnick Stadium is approximately 10 minutes. Media credentials are accepted as well.
      Free parking is located in lots near the Comfort Suites and Coral Ridge Mall.  Fans can begin boarding the train three hours prior to 11 a.m. kickoffs, and four hours prior to the start of afternoon and night games. Return trips begin at the start of the fourth period and run 90 minutes after the game.
      The Hawkeye Express is owned by the Iowa Northern Railway Company and operates on the Iowa Interstate Railroad.
 
    IOWA GAME DAY INFORMATION
    The University of Iowa has implemented changes intended to improve the safety and game day experience for fans attending Iowa football home games at Kinnick Stadium this fall. Changes include, but are not limited to, a partial closure of Hawkins Drive, a postgame two-lane traffic pattern on Melrose Avenue, single-game ADA parking, and information regarding the UI Hawkeye Marching Band pregame performance in the Recreation Building. A complete list of game day changes and procedures is available at http://hawkeyesports.com/footballgameday.

    CHAD GREENWAY IS ANF HONOREE
    The Iowa Farm Bureau and University of Iowa are teaming up to celebrate Iowa’s farmers for the seventh annual America Needs Farmers (ANF) Game Day Saturday when Iowa hosts Penn State.
    Former Iowa linebacker Chad Greenway is the sixth recipient of the ANF Wall of Honor, which salutes former University of Iowa football players who exemplify the tenacity, work ethic, and character of the Iowa farmer.  Previous recipients include Casey Wiegmann (2012), Jared DeVries (2013), Bruce Nelson (2014), Robert Gallery (2015), and Dallas Clark (2016). Greenway will be recognized on the field at Saturday’s game.  
    ANF was launched during the Hawkeyes’ 1985 Rose Bowl season by head coach Hayden Fry, when the Farm Crisis of the 1980’s was hitting the Heartland exceptionally hard.  A gold ANF decal on the Hawkeye helmets is the effort’s signature.  This year marks the 32nd anniversary of ANF, a longstanding tribute to America’s farmers. For more information about ANF and Game Day activities, visit www.americaneedsfarmers.org.