Whether fans admit it or not, Iowa's been a good rival for Nittany Lions

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Penn State likes to call itself Unrivaled, and we've debunked that over the years with regards to the many great showdowns against Ohio State.

But make no mistake about it, Iowa has been a really good rival for the Nittany Lions.

You think that's overstating things a bit? Well, some of the most memorable Penn State games of the past 25 years have come against none other than the Hawkeyes, including:

• 6-4 in 2004. YIKES!

• A crushing 24-23 road loss in 2008 -- thanks to an untimely pass interference call -- which prevented Penn State from going undefeated.

* A thrilling, last-second 21-19 road victory on the final play in 2017, a TD pass from Trace McSorley to Juwan Johnson.

• A blowout 41-21 home loss during the disastrous 2020 season, in a game Sean Clifford was benched for Will Levis.

• A devastating 23-20 road loss, which derailed Penn State's season, in a battle of top five teams in 2021 after Clifford got injured. Nobody's allowed to bring up the name Ta'Quan Roberson, by the way.

Here's a great video look at the past five meetings between the teams.

Still not convinced it's a good rivalry? How about this?

Penn State leads the all-time series, but only by a slim 17-14 margin. Iowa has won the last two, it won eight out of nine from 2000-10, and Joe Paterno went just 12-11 against the Hawkeyes during his tenure.

THAT is definitely a rivalry, no doubt about it.

Penn State fans may not like to think of Iowa as a rival because, perhaps, the Hawkeyes play such a boring brand of football. And let's be honest, most Penn State fans probably look down on the Hawkeyes, both because of their style of play and because they often underachieve as a program.

But not liking Iowa should not be confused with not respecting Iowa. The Hawkeyes have definitely earned their share of respect with how they've always played the Lions extremely tough.

"(I've got) a ton of respect for the University of Iowa, their football program, the history and traditions there," James Franklin said this week. "Coach (Kirk) Ferentz has been there forever and done a phenomenal job -- 34th year at Iowa, 25th as the head coach, which is very, very unusual in today's college football."

Ferentz is, as many fans already know, the longest-tenured head coach at one school in all of major college football. He's stayed so long because he's been a model of consistency.

You always know what you're going to get when you play the Hawkeyes. No, it may not be sexy, but it's going to be a battle, especially going up against their defense.

"They do what they do, and they do it extremely well and have been doing it a long time," Franklin said. "There's obviously some subtle changes, but whether it is 2023 or whether it's 2014, you put the tape on and it's Iowa playing Iowa defense the way they play it. Again, at a high level, been impressive."

Franklin was asked an interesting question with regards to Iowa. He's seen the Hawkeyes a lot over the years -- the teams played every from 2016-21 -- but offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich, defensive coordinator Manny Diaz and special teams coordinator Stacy Collins have not gone up against the Hawkeyes as much. How might that impact this week's game?

"At the end of the day, Manny and Mike and Stacy have had an opportunity to not only see them from playing them but also, we've got a ton of film," Franklin said.

"I would also say specifically with Iowa, they are who they are, and they take tremendous pride in their identity and doing it well. So, you know what you're going to get from them. Again, I mean that as a major compliment. They're going to have wrinkles that are going to cause you challenges every year. But they do what they dom and they do it well. It aligns with their identity. I don't think it takes very long to get accustomed to who they are and their style of football. I think there's enough film and evidence out there for our coordinators, as well as the rest of our staff."

Ferentz is a Pennsylvania native who played at Upper St. Clair High School and grew up as a Penn State fan. He played his college ball at UConn, and noted this week something interesting about Penn State.

“I carry a chip on my shoulder because they didn’t recruit me,” Ferentz said. "I always joke about that. Obvious reason was they were trying to win. They were trying to win then, trying to win now. They didn’t recruit guys that ran 5-flat 40s at linebacker that weighed 200 pounds. I’ve forgiven them. It’s 50 years later. I’m over that, I think.”

One reason Iowa has always played the Lions so tough is because they're similar programs when it comes being built around a strong defense. The Hawkeyes usually don't have a strong offense, but they can hang around in games with anybody because of their defense.

When they've been able to beat Penn State, it's often come down to toughness -- both physical and mental.

“As expected, Penn State is a really good football team," Ferentz said. "Can’t remember a year where they weren’t talented. Certainly the case with this team. And they’re well-coached on top of it. They’ve done a great job recruiting. Take a lot of pride in that. And then they do a great job coaching in all three phases."

Looking at Drew Allar and the Penn State offense, Ferentz said, "The young quarterback’s done a great job running things for them, and looks very composed back there. And their offensive line is big, strong and very experienced."

There was controversy the last time these teams played two years ago in Iowa City, when Clifford got injured and Iowa rallied for a 23-20 win in a battle of unbeatens.

The Lions had some players cramp up during the game, and they were accused by Iowa coaches and fans of faking injuries. There were loud boos throughout the stadium when the players went down with injuries, which I wrote at the time was disgraceful.

Arnold Ebiketie takes a break for an injury during Penn State's visit to Iowa in 2021.

After that game, Ferentz had this to say: "Our fans aren't stupid. They're watching, they know what's going on. I've been here 23 years, I think that's only the second time we have seen that kind of stuff going on."

Well, maybe Iowa fans aren't stupid. But this guy below has caught a whole lot of flak over the past two years for the way he acted that day mocking injured Penn State players.

The booing topic didn't really come up this week on the Penn State side, but you can rest assured that Franklin and the holdover Penn State players from two years ago will remember it.

Ferentz said he doesn't think there will be any sour taste left over from what happened in the last meeting.

“Not really," Ferentz said. "I don’t know how many of their players were here in ‘21. I don’t know how many of our guys were here, either. And then probably, like me, not many of them remember much about it other than it was a tough game. We had to make a big play to really get back into it. And once you play the game, it’s usually pretty much like the rest, you move on to the next season, next game, I don’t think it’s a big game deal there."