While the Big Ten will become a permanent fixture at CBS's signature 3:30 p.m. ET time slot beginning in 2024, the conference will see a number of games played on the network as its new TV deal begins at the start of the 2023 season. The first of those contests to be announced should quite a scene as Penn State will host Iowa on Saturday, Sept. 23 at 8 p.m. ET in a White Out game.
The Big Ten on CBS schedule will officially begin in Week 1 on Saturday, Sept. 2 with future game selections to be announced at a later date. In the meantime, though, the Happy Valley showdown between the Nittany Lions and Hawkeyes will present two major Big Ten programs to a national primetime audience in Week 4.
The 2023 season marks the first as part of a seven-year deal between CBS and the Big Ten. Games will be played at various time slots in 2023 before moving to the traditional 3:30 p.m. window in 2024.
Penn State is 17-14 all-time against Iowa, though it has dropped two straight meetings after previously winning six in a row.
The Nittany Lions come into the 2023 season with lofty expectations. The reigning Rose Bowl champions return five offensive linemen who started at least five games last season, including star OL Olumuyiwa Fashanu, who elected to return to school for one final season instead of declaring for the 2023 NFL Draft. Fashanu was projected as an early first-round pick before deciding to come back to Happy Valley.
Maybe the most important addition to the Penn State starting lineup, however, will be former five-star QB Drew Allar heading up the offense. Allar appeared in 10 games last season while serving as the backup to Sean Clifford and completed 35 of 60 passes for 344 yards and four touchdowns. Penn State also returns a pair of dynamic running backs -- Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen -- who combined for 1,928 yards rushing and 24 total touchdowns last season. Allar's two top receiving targets are expected to be WR KeAndre Lambert-Smith and TE Theo Johnson.
Iowa is coming off a disastrous season offensively. The Hawkeyes ranked as the second-worst offense in the FBS in yards per game (251.6) and ninth-worst in points per game (17.7). In the offseason, Iowa added QB Cade McNamara and TE Erick Ali, both of whom played at Michigan last season. McNamara and Ali are both expected to start for the Hawkeyes.
The Hawkeyes also landed one of the top wide receivers available in the transfer portal in former Ohio State WR Kaleb Brown, who ranked as a four-star recruit and the No. 78 overall player in the 2022 recruiting cycle, per 247Sports. Brown only played 27 total offensive snaps in 2022 and was buried on an Ohio State receiving depth chart that included Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Marvin Harrison Jr. and Emeka Egbuka.
