Featured matchup: Iowa's Jeremiha Hunter vs. Evan Royster
Name: Jeremiha Hunter
Year: Senior
Position: Linebacker
Breakdown: Last year, Hunter finished with 89 tackles, second best on the team. He joked at the Iowa media day on Aug. 6 that former Hawkeye linebacker Pat Angerer stole many of his tackles.
On Saturday, Hunter will get a chance to prove he deserved those tackles when he goes against one of the best backs in the country, Evan Royster.
Iowa's defensive line will surely wreak havoc again, but if and when Royster slips past the line, Hunter and his fellow linebackers will be required to limit the Royster's yardage. It will be on the Hawkeye senior to fill gaps and keep Penn State's running back from getting to the second level.
Royster can do some serious damage to the Hawkeyes' defense.
Hunter and his defensive mates have proved capable already in this young season. Iowa is third in the nation in rush defense, and Hunter is second on the team in tackles with 21.
"Best way I can sum up his career is he's well on his way to being a three-year starter on a team that's had two very good defensive teams," Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz said. "So he has had a really productive career, and he's a good athlete."
Name: Evan Royster
Year: Senior
Position: Running back
Breakdown: At the beginning of the season, Royster stood 481 yards away from the Nittany Lion rushing record. It seemed a foregone conclusion that he would ascend to the top.
But then he ran for 40, 32, and 38 yards in Penn State's first three games. Two of those games came against warm-up squads Youngstown State and Kent State. The other was against top-ranked Alabama.
The Doak Walker Award candidate was due for either a breakout or a benching. Unfortunately for Temple, Royster decided to break out.
On his first run from scrimmage on Sept. 25, he broke off a 50-yard scamper. He finished the day with 187 yards on 26 carries — a hefty 7.2 yard average. For Penn State to upset Iowa in Kinnick Stadium on Saturday, Royster must again break the century mark — something he hasn't done in his Nittany Lion career against the Hawkeyes.
"He's a smooth and efficient player is how I'd describe him," Ferentz said. "If you leave the door open at all, might be 60 yards later you're looking at him."
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