Penn State schedule breakdown: Inital thoughts on Iowa, Northwestern, and UMass

Penn State will play four of its first six games at home to kick off the 2023 season. Head coach James Franklin, who starts year 10 as the leader of the Nittany Lions, last did that in 2021.

Blue-White Illustrated is taking a mid-July look at each team on the program’s schedule this fall. Earlier in the week, we previewed the first three contests, which feature home dates with West Virginia and Delaware, plus a road trip to Illinois. Today, we’re breaking down the next trio of games. That part of the slate includes a trip to Northwestern plus home dates with Iowa and UMass. Here is an initial thought or two on each.

Sept. 23: Penn State vs. Iowa, 7:30 p.m. (CBS)

The Lions welcome Iowa to town this year for the first time since 2020. It will mark the first September meeting between the two schools at Beaver Stadium since 2009. Our initial thought on the Hawkeyes is this: Can the team’s offense, which has struggled mightily in recent years, perform well in a road White Out game environment?

Head coach Kirk Ferentz caught plenty of flack for keeping his son, Brian Ferentz, on as the team’s offensive coordinator after it finished with an astounding 19 total touchdowns a year ago, which was last in the Big Ten, in addition to a conference-worst 251.6 yards per game. The duo went out and got former Michigan quarterback Cade McNamara from the transfer portal. Experience returns up front and in the backfield, where Kaleb Johnson will again lead the way.

It’s hard to fathom how Iowa could be worse on offense in 2023. But, it’s not easy to see how it will be vastly improved, either. And, it doesn’t figure to fare well in front of a sold out State College crowd.

Sept. 30: PSU at Northwestern, TBD

You don’t need to be a genius or anything close to it to figure out our initial thought here: What will the Wildcats even look like come late September? The fallout from the firing of longtime coach Pat Fitzgerald, and it’s anyone’s guess where things go from here. Players can and likely will enter the portal, even if they might not move on until the end of the year. Will some sit out and wait to play elsewhere next fall? Will the program be able to overcome everything that is going on to have a successful camp ahead of the season? Are more coaching staff changes coming?

These are all questions that will be answered in the days and weeks ahead. But, it is simply impossible to know what the Big Ten West program will be capable of come the fall. And, expectations were pretty low to begin with.

Oct. 14: Penn State vs. UMass, 3:30 p.m. (TBD)

With all due respect to the Minutemen, Penn State has as close to a double-bye situation this year as a program can get. It has an off week to start October and then welcomes an overmatches UMass team to town. Our initial thought here is how can the Lions use this game to maximize rest and recovery for their starters before the second half of the year begins? There will never be a reason for this game to close, which means it should be a great opportunity and evaluation game for many younger and less experienced Nittany Lions.

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