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The last play Penn State ran at Kinnick Stadium went for a touchdown.
Trace McSorley’s last-second, game-winning strike to Juwan Johnson was just two years ago under the lights in Iowa City. But the Nittany Lions have just two players remaining from the 11 that were on the field for that famous snap.
That would be guard Steven Gonzalez and tackle Will Fries.
Fries was just a redshirt freshman then, pressed into duty at right tackle because of an injury to Andrew Nelson and battling a terrific Iowa defensive line.
He’ll return to Iowa on Saturday with the spotlight firmly on him and the starting tackles for both sides.
”Yeah, the first thing is, it’s loud,” Fries said. “I think anyone that’s been there knows how passionate those fans are and how great of an atmosphere it is. We’re expecting a great atmosphere again and really just a memorable experience under those lights, (my) first Big Ten play (in 2017). I’m excited to go back there and play there again.”
This time it will be Fries giving the pointers, particularly to fellow bookend Rasheed Walker, a redshirt freshman. Walker will draw one of the top pass-rushers in the country in Hawkeyes junior A.J. Epenesa, who led the Big Ten in sacks a year ago.
”Rasheed’s done a great job,” Fries said. “I saw yesterday he was one of the (Pro Football Focus) tackles of the week. Just a testament to him, how much he’s worked and put into this offseason and how hard he’s worked. Really played a great game against Purdue overall. He’s got a lot more in the tank to keep playing better.”
On the other side of things, Iowa’s excellent tackle tandem of Alaric Jackson and Tristan Wirfs will take on Penn State’s Yetur Gross-Matos and Shaka Toney, among others, in the Lions’ deep rotation.
Toney and Gross-Matos combined for five of Penn State’s 10 sacks in last week’s win over Purdue. Iowa, meanwhile, surrendered eight in a painful 10-3 loss at Michigan. Jackson, an All-Big Ten selection a year ago, was just returning from an injury and likely wasn’t at full strength.
”There’s no one magic answer,” Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said. “We didn’t play consistently enough. There are some good plays in there, certainly, (but) didn’t play consistently enough. The negative yardage plays are always going to affect you, and part of that was our lack of execution.
“Maybe part of that’s Michigan being a really athletic, aggressive defensive team. But that being said, we’re looking at the same kind of opponent this week. Penn State has got great athletes, and they play hard and can be very disruptive, too.”
Ferentz added that Iowa’s miserable day on offense in Ann Arbor was a unit-wide problem. Running backs missed blitz pick-ups. Interior linemen were confused by stunts. Quarterback Nate Stanley didn’t always get rid of the ball quickly enough, and — at 6-foot-4, 243 pounds — isn’t much of a scrambler.
The game ended with the Hawkeyes being driven backward by sacks and penalties, with Stanley frantically trying to twist out of a tackle from an unblocked defender on fourth down.
Iowa’s defense, meanwhile, may not be as deep as it was two years ago, but the Hawkeyes still enter the weekend third nationally in scoring, allowing just 8.5 points per game. Penn State is second at 7.5 per game.
Epenesa and Chauncey Golston are the top ends with Cedrick Lattimore in the middle with Brady Reiff, who is expected to return Saturday after missing the last four games with an injury.
“I would say both defensive ends we’ve been really impressed with, both defensive ends,” Lions coach James Franklin said. “Obviously Epenesa is the guy that got all the headlines coming into the season, but we’ve been really impressed with both of those guys.”
”Yeah, definitely got a lot of respect for those guys,” Fries said. “They play really hard. They are coached up really well. They play with just a high effort and high motor every play. It’s not something you can relax on. You have to be aware for multiple moves from both of them.
“They fill their gaps. It’s about us doing our responsibility as well as they’re doing theirs.”
Schedule change for 2020
Eleven months out from the start of the 2020 season, the Lions will have a new opponent for the opener.
Penn State was originally scheduled to take on Nevada for the first time in school history. Instead it will be a more familiar squad in Kent State that will come to Beaver Stadium on Sept. 5. It’s part of a swap that will see Nevada instead head to play Arkansas. The Razorbacks were in line to play the Golden Flashes.
The change was first reported after the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette learned that Arkansas and Nevada had signed off on the game last month.
Neither Penn State nor Arkansas has publicly announced the switch — or given the reasons for it — but Penn State did confirm the change and has since updated its 2020 schedule on its website.
Kent State has made plenty of recent trips to Happy Valley, including as recently as last season, a 63-10 win for the Lions.