(13) Iowa (4-2) at (12) Penn State (2-4)

Iowa continues to get better and better with each game. The same can’t be said for struggling Penn State.

The 25th-ranked Hawkeyes (4-2, 2-1 Big Ten) shoot for a third straight impressive victory when they visit the Nittany Lions in a matchup of conference rivals headed in different directions.

Iowa followed a 44-7 defeat at No. 21 Arizona State on Sept. 18 with a 30-17 loss at 13th-ranked Michigan the following week, seemingly ending any hopes of serious Big Ten contention for the Hawkeyes.

But Iowa has bounced back to win two straight in convincing fashion at home, including a 33-7 triumph over Ohio State last Saturday that lifted the Hawkeyes back into the national rankings after a three-week hiatus.

“We’re going in the right direction,” said Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz. “The best thing is we continued to improve as a football team.”

Iowa’s improvement has coincided with the maturation of sophomore quarterback Drew Tate, who is in his first season as a starter. After a disastrous outing at Arizona State, where he was 8-for-19 for 44 yards, Tate has picked up his game.

He threw for 331 yards and three touchdowns against Ohio State, and has completed 70 percent of his passes for 941 yards and six touchdowns in three Big Ten games.

“The more I play, the better I see things,” said Tate, who became just the third Iowa quarterback to top 300 yards in consecutive games Saturday. “We’re just doing whatever we have to do to win.”

The Hawkeyes will hope for more of the same from Tate as their ground attack has been riddled with injuries. Having lost three running backs for the season to torn knee ligaments, Iowa watched Marques Simmons suffer an ankle injury against Ohio State that will put him out of action for several weeks.

Sophomere walk-on Sam Brownlee will start against Penn State (2-4, 0-3 Big Ten) and freshman Damian Sims will back him up after playing in his first game last week. The two combined for 77 yards on 19 carries against Ohio State.

Penn State returns from its bye week after losing its first three conference games for the third time in four years.

Dropped passes, missed blocks, blown tackles and inopportune penalties are costing precious yards in close games for the Nittany Lions, who opened Big Ten play against three ranked opponents—Wisconsin, Minnesota and Purdue.

“We continue to discuss what it is going to take for us to get us over that little inch that separates success from failure,” said Penn State coach Joe Paterno. “All I know is that we have lost three games in a row. Having lost three games in a row, if anybody is optimistic, they are probably cuckoo.”

Michael Robinson, one of the keys to Penn State’s offense whether he is at quarterback, receiver or tailback, is expected to return to action this weekend after suffering a concussion at Wisconsin on Sept. 25. Iowa is the last currently ranked opponent Penn State will face on its remaining schedule.

The Hawkeyes have won the last four meetings with the Nittany Lions and five of the last six at State College. In both previous games Ferentz coached at Penn State, the Hawkeyes won in overtime.

“I think the lesson we learned is that you better go there prepared and play well,” Ferentz said. “If we do our jobs, this is going to be a 60-minute ball game. If we don’t do our jobs, it might be over in 30.”