Iowa Hawkeyes head coach Kirk Ferentz high-fives his players as they come off the field against the Indiana Hoosiers Sept. 27, 2025 at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City, Iowa. Julia Hansen/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Iowa vs. Penn State Kickoff Time Revealed

Originally posted on Iowa Hawkeyes on SI
By Jordon Lawrenz | Last updated Oct 6, 2025 2:15 PM ET

The Iowa Hawkeyes, announced that their October 18 game against Penn State will kick-off at 6:00 p.m. EST. Airing nationwide on Peacock, the Hawkeyes are going to look to take advantage of a vulnerable Nittany Lions squad. Coming off back to back losses, head coach James Franklin no longer has a ranked team on his hands.

Those losses favor Iowa, a team that is coming off their bye and would love to blow past Wisconsin like they did last season. Knowing how easily they handled them in 2024 (42-10), it's safe to assume Iowa will be hosting the Nittany Lions with a 4-2 record. If that's the case, it will likely be a battle of 4-2 teams on the 18th.

Neither Iowa nor Penn State should get too far ahead of themselves, especially knowing how many upsets have transpired this season. The Hawkeyes are still awaiting an official decision on QB Mark Gronowski, though he was listed as QB1 on their official depth chart. As for Penn State, they're coming off one of, if not their most embarrassing losses in franchise history. Franklin's squad was beat by a winless UCLA squad, one that had losses to New Mexico and Northwestern.

KICK TIME

Our game against Penn State is set to kick off at 6:00 pm CT on Peacock.

Don't miss out! Limited tickets remain ⬇️
— Hawkeye Football (@HawkeyeFootball) October 6, 2025

For what it's worth, Northwestern could be a trap game for Penn State. The Wildcats handled the Bruins, 17-14, back on September 27. Thankfully on October 11, Penn State plays prior to Iowa, so Hawkeyes fans can do a little bit of scouting. It's a FS1 doubleheader as the Nittany Lions vs. Wildcats matchup is at 3:30 p.m. EST while the Hawkeyes take on the Badgers at 7:00 p.m. EST.

After playing in Wisconsin, Iowa knows they have a relatively easy schedule ahead of them. They won't be able to coast past their opponents, but they'll be happy to know their next three games are all at home. Not only that, but their second Bye is after they play Minnesota on October 25. They'll have an extra week to practice before welcoming No. 3 Oregon to Kinnick Stadium.

Hawkeyes fans can only thank Penn State for making their schedule easier. There are no guarantees they'll be able to get a win over the Nittany Lions, but seeing how well they played against No. 16 Iowa State and No. 11 Indiana, there's no reason they shouldn't be able to get the job done against an unranked team. Before they can put all of their attention into the Nittany Lions, they have to make sure they get past the Badgers first.

This article first appeared on Iowa Hawkeyes on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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