Whenever Joe Paterno takes his team to big road venues, he tells his players to pretend the fans are cheering for them.
That won't be an issue Saturday.
"To be home and to have a crowd as enthusiastic as the crowds that we have here, and to have them as loud as it has been, it's an advantage for us," the Penn State head coach said during his press conference Tuesday. "There's something about it, the whole business about the White Out."
The No. 5 Penn State football team opens up conference play against Iowa at 8 p.m. Saturday in front of a Whitehouse at Beaver Stadium.
The Nittany Lions (3-0) have won 15 of their last 17 games, with one of those losses coming to the Hawkeyes in Iowa City last season.
That victory ended Penn State's run for the national championship and came in the midst of Iowa's red-hot play as of late. Since opening 2008 just 3-3, the Hawkeyes have won nine of their last 10 games.
"Right around this time, teams put it together," Lions quarterback Daryll Clark said. "On film, the guys look pretty much the same -- they don't blitz as much, they're well-coached and they really get after it. We're going to have to execute very, very well."
Iowa's 3-0 record comes with a one-two punch at running back with redshirt freshman Adam Robinson and true freshman Brandon Wegher.
The tandem has combined for 380 yards this season and complements quarterback Ricky Stanzi, who's thrown for five touchdowns and helped lead the Hawkeyes into field goal range late in the fourth quarter to upset Penn State last season, 24-23.
To counter the Hawkeyes' offense, Penn State has the benefit of a defense that has surrendered just 20 points in three games.
Though Sean Lee is recovering from a knee injury and may not play, the Lions are counting on getting Navorro Bowman back after he suffered a groin injury in the season opener.
Plus, the defensive line has been a big reason for the stingy play and has helped the secondary settle in with its four new starting defensive backs.
"We're trying to work as a whole unit," safety Drew Astorino said. "We're trying to take pressure off them, they're trying to take pressure off us."
Jared Odrick has been especially dominating on the defensive front. As a senior, this is the start of Odrick's last go-round in the Big Ten, and the defensive tackle called Saturday's game a big occasion.
From fan support to looking to beat Iowa after the upset last season, linebacker Josh Hull expects it to be a special night.
"It's going to be an atmosphere we haven't seen at all this year," Hull said. "It doesn't get better than 8 o'clock games in Beaver Stadium. We're going to have to maintain a real calm attitude to remain poised."
