Blue White Illustrated

T I M   O W E N | O W E N . T I M . B W I @ G M A I L . C O M S E P T E M B E R 2 0 , 2 0 1 7 B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M 9 Penn State eager to take its show on the road Senior safety Marcus Allen, who now has three years of traveling to road games under his belt, is especially looking forward to it. For him, it's an opportunity to see a new state, experience a different city and check out stadiums and locker rooms of other teams. Perhaps most important, it provides an- other opportunity to grow closer to those who wear the same colors and uniform as him. "One of the fun parts of a road trip is just being on the plane," he said, explaining how team travel helps build camaraderie. "Laughing and stuff, just bonding. We al- ways get one movie to watch on away games and look forward to doing that as well, just bonding with our teammates. It definitely preps us for the game, because we all prep with each other and watch film, so that's the good thing, that's the fun part of an away game." For the first time since the Rose Bowl, Penn State is set to leave the comfortable confines of University Park. Traveling to Iowa for a night matchup against the Hawkeyes, the Nittany Lions are not only gearing up for their first away game this year, aBer starting with three consecutive wins in Beaver Stadium, but they're also launching their conference season. If history indicates anything, they're not about to receive a warm welcome. Penn State hasn't been to Iowa City since 2012. The Lions won handily, 38-14, but no one on the current roster or on the coach- ing staff was on hand for that one. For the majority on the sideline Saturday night, this will be the first time experiencing the atmosphere. That doesn't mean they haven't heard about it. Sophomore defensive end Shareef Miller recently talked with members of the train- ing staff who were in attendance previously and he's heard all about how close the fans are to the sideline and other unique aspects of Kinnick Stadium, including the pink locker room for the away squad. Combine that with the efforts from the coaches forewarning about what they ex- pect from this Hawkeye team, and Allen, Miller and their teammates are gearing up for a variety of different scenarios this week. "We're going to play in a hostile environ- ment," Miller said. "We're ranked No. 4 in the country, so they're going to bring their 'A' game. Every team is going to bring their 'A' game when they play Penn State, but we'll be up for the challenge. We know they're going to give us their 'A' game. We're going to be prepared. We're going to have a good week of preparation this week for Iowa, so we'll be ready. Our coaches will have us ready by game time." The Lions will be facing a run-heavy of- fense, but it's unclear which Iowa running back will be doing most of the work. Starter Akrum Wadley suffered an ankle injury that forced him out of last week's game against North Texas, while backup James Butler exited with an elbow injury. Wadley is listed first on this week's depth chart, but Butler, the team's second-leading rusher, isn't expected back until the Northwestern game on Oct. 21 at the earliest. Freshmen Toren Young and Ivory Kelly-Martin are listed behind Wadley on the depth chart. Miller said Penn State is preparing for a variety of looks and its approach does not depend on which running back carries the ball most. "It doesn't affect us at all," he said. Nor is Miller dwelling much on is the se- ries history between the two teams. His Nittany Lions hold a slim 14-12 edge in the all-time series, including an 8-5 mark at Iowa. But before winning in 2012, the Lions had lost four in a row at Kinnick Stadium, including disheartening defeats as ranked teams in 2008 and '10. None of that matters right now, though. Miller is "not really focused on the past. I'm pretty much focused on us right now. We just have to do what we've got to do and we'll be fine." It's unclear if the same could be said for the Hawkeyes, who are looking to rebound from last year's 41-14 loss in Beaver Sta- dium. It was the largest margin of defeat in the series since PSU's 61-21 win in 1994. Will they be looking for revenge this time at home? "I'm pretty sure they probably would," Allen said. "I'm not in their locker room, so I don't know what their coaches are telling them, but I'd guess that they are. Us, per- sonally, we're just going to play for each other and play to our standards. That means we're just going to have to play Penn State football, regardless of how they're feeling." Following that 61-21 home win in '94, Penn State traveled back to Iowa City in '95 where it notched another victory, 41-27.

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