Sept. 25, 2009
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Penn State opens its 17th season of Big Ten competition, hosting unbeaten Iowa in a nationally-televised primetime clash.
All Nittany Lion fans are encouraged to wear white to the game to create the Whitehouse.
ABC will televise the clash to a national audience The Penn State Sports Network, Westwood One and GoPsusports.com also will air the game.
ESPN''s College GameDay Built by the Home Depot will originate from Penn State Saturday from 10:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. The public is invited to attend the show, which will take place near the Bryce Jordan Center. An interview with Joe Paterno will be featured on GameDay.
Penn State (3-0) has a 43-11 record since the start of the 2005 season, the nation's ninth-best record over that span. The No. 5/4 Nittany Lions have won 30 of their last 32 games in Beaver Stadium.
The Nittany Lions own an 11-10 series advantage in a series that began in 1930. The squads played nine times before Penn State began Big Ten competition in 1993. The visiting team has won 13 of the 21 series games, but the Hawkeyes won last year, 24-23, on a field goal in the final seconds.
Penn State and Iowa have met 12 times as Big Ten competitors, with six of the last nine games between the squads being decided by seven points or less.
The Nittany Lions have played in five overtime games all-time, with the Hawkeyes involved in two of the contests, including Penn State's first overtime game on Nov. 4, 2000. The Hawkeyes won that contest, 26-23, in double overtime, and on Sept. 28, 2002 captured a 42-35 overtime win, both in Beaver Stadium.
Following the Iowa game, Penn State plays its first road game of the season, visiting Illinois on Oct. 3 at 3:30 p.m. ET/2:30 p.m. CT. The game will air on ABC (ESPN outside the ABC coverage area), the Penn State Sports Network and GoPsusports.com