Kinnick Stadium will play host to the Big Ten opener for both Iowa and No. 4 Penn State on Saturday night, and it promises to be an electric atmosphere. Penn State enters the game ranked at No. 4 in the AP Top 25 and with a Heisman Trophy candidate in running back Saquon Barkley.

The Nittany Lions have won the last three meetings in this series, including a 41-14 thrashing at Beaver Stadium last season, but there's a trend in this series that could be giving Penn State fans sleepless nights.

In 2008, Penn State came to Iowa City ranked No. 3 in the AP Top 25 and was upset by the Hawkeyes 24-23. The two teams met again in 2009 with Penn State ranked No. 5, and once again Iowa pulled off the upset, winning 21-10.

In fact, Iowa has beaten Penn State the last four times the Nittany Lions were ranked for the encounter. Will the Nittany Lions break the streak, or will the Hawkeyes rain on Penn State's parade once again?

Viewing information

Date: Saturday, Sep. 23 | Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
Location: Kinnick Stadium -- Iowa City, Iowa
TV: ABC | Live stream: Watch ESPN

Storylines

Iowa: The Hawkeyes are not ranked right now, but they are 3-0. The problem is that wins over Wyoming, Iowa State, and North Texas aren't going to do much to impress voters. Offensively, Iowa looks like you expect it to, though it has struggled to run the ball effectively, averaging 3.83 yards per carry. In the air, the Hawkeyes haven't been prolific, but they have been efficient, choosing their spots wisely.

Defensively, Iowa has been solid, but not spectacular. It's allowing only 3.99 yards per carry against opposing running backs, but this defense hasn't had to stop anyone as talented about Saquon Barkley. How well the Hawkeyes do stopping Barkley will probably be closely related to the final score here.

Penn State: PSU entered the 2017 season with a lot of hype and promise, and so far the Nittany Lions have lived up to it. They're off to a 3-0 start with a couple of shutouts against Akron and Georgia State, as well as a 33-14 win over Pittsburgh that was closer than the final score makes it look.

It's hard to take away anything from the wins over Akron and Georgia State, but that Pitt game showed some concerns. The Nittany Lions managed only 312 yards of offense, and if not for three Pitt turnovers, this game could have been a lot closer. We're going to learn a lot more about the Nittany Lions this week than we have all season.

Prediction

I just have a strange feeling about this game. I don't know if it's the history of upsets between these two teams over the last decade, or if I'm just not fully on board with the Nittany Lions yet, but I have a hard time believing this is a game Penn State's going to win handily. I expect a close, low-scoring game in which the team that makes the least mistakes comes out with the win.  Pick: Iowa +12.5