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O T H E R M A T C H U P S THE LOWDOWNIowa's kicking game is excellent. Penn State will have to be particularly wary of Desmond King, who leads the Big Ten and is sixth nationally with an average of 32 yards kickoff return. Against Wisconsin, King had a 77-yard return, Iowa's longest play of the season. In addition, K/P Ron Coluzzi leads the conference with 33 touchbacks on 43 kickoffs, and K Keith Duncan has hit 6 of 7 field goal attempts and all 28 of his PAT tries. The Nittany Lions' kicking units have made game-changing plays in both of their past two outings. Against Ohio State, Penn State returned a blocked field goal for the go-ahead touchdown. And at Purdue, a recovery of a muffed punt helped open the floodgates in the second half. // EDGE Even SPECIAL TEAMS THE LOWDOWN The Hawkeyes are coming off a bye week, and that should prove helpful considering that their most recent game was a low-scoring slugfest vs. a physical Wisconsin team. But the Lions will have plenty of energy, too, with James Franklin having called for another White Out. The last one turned out pretty well. // EDGEEven THIS 'N' THAT THE LOWDOWN Kirk Ferentz is the longest-tenured active coach in the Big Ten. He arrived in Iowa City in 1999 and won't be going anywhere for a while, having recently signed a contract extension that will keep him on the Hawkeyes' sideline through the 2025 season. Ferentz had Joe Paterno's number, going 8-3 against the Lions' long- time coach, but was 0-1 against Bill O'Brien. He's never coached against Franklin, who is enjoying his best season since taking over the Penn State program in 2014. // EDGE Even COACHING STAFF N O V E M B E R 2 , 2 0 1 6 B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M 5 336 yards (11.2 ypc) and three touchdowns. Senior TE George Kittle has 17 receptions for 280 yards and two TDs, with a team-leading average of 16.5 yards per catch. Sophomore WR Jerminic Smith has 14 catches for 186 yards, and Wadley is an excellent receiver out of the backfield, with 18 catches for 188 yards. Beathard has completed passes to 12 receivers. The Nittany Lions rank sixth in the Big Ten in pass defense. They have eight interceptions, in- cluding a team-best two by backup MLB Brandon Smith. Six other Nittany Lions have one interception apiece. CB John Reid is Penn State's premier defensive back, with six pass break-ups and seven passes defended. Penn State has 23 sacks, including a team-best five by Sickels. DE Evan Schwan is next with three sacks, while Miller, DT Kevin Givens and DE Ryan Buchholz have two apiece. // KEY MATCHUP Myers and RT Ike Boettger will be look- ing to keep Penn State's defensive ends away from Beathard. // EDGE Penn State

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