Penn State quarterback Daryll Clark (17) throws the ball away and was charges with intentional grounding as Iowa defenders Christian Ballard (46) and Jeremiha Hunter move in and clear Penn State offensive lineman Nerraw McCormack (72) out of the way during the second half of a Sept. 26, 2009 game, in State College, Pa.

AP photo

Welcome to "Scouting Ahead," a scouting report on Michigan's next opponent.

For Iowa, I watched the Hawkeyes' 21-10 win over Penn State a couple weeks ago, when Iowa upset then-No. 5 Penn State on a Saturday night in State College, Pa.

Offensive play-by-play:
First series:
1-10 I-Form twins right. Adam Robinson runs up the middle. Not much.
2-10 singleback 3 WR. Ricky Stanzi small slant inside to Colin Sandeman left hash.
3-2 singleback 3 WR. Stanzi over middle. Dropped by Paul Chaney Jr.
4-2 Punt.

Second series:
1-10 I-form 2 WR. Brandon Wegher runs up left middle. Great hole created by the offensive line. Wegher has good speed, too, able to get to the second and third tier well.
1-10 I-form 2 WR. Stanzi playaction, scrambles after rollout.
2-6 singleback twins left. Wegher runs middle, gets nothing.
3-6 GUN singleback 3 WR. Stanzi had time. Dropped by Sandeman and intercepted on bobble.

Third series:
1-10 singleback twins left. Robinson runs middle.
2-10 GUN empty 4 WR Stanti over middle to wide receiver Derrell Johnson-Koulianos.
1-10 empty 4 WR. Stanzi pass dropped by Johnson-Koulianos
2-10 GUN singleback 4 WR. Stanzi screen pass to Robinson.
1-10 I-form, 2 WR. Stanzi playaction. Stanzi incomplete. Bad pass by Stanzi.
2-10 singleback 3 WR. Robinson on delay. Doesn’t get much.
3-9 singleback 3 WR. Stanzi over middle, incomplete. Deflected.
4-9 Punt.

Fourth series:
1-10 I-form twins left. Stanzi playaction to Johnson-Koulianos
1-10 singleback 3 WR. Stanzi playaction to Cheney out left.
2-2 I-form TE set back 1 WR right. Stanzi incomplete right to Cheney. Had single coverage.
3-2 I-form TE set back 1 WR right. Wegher runs middle gets nothing. Iowa’s offensive line was thoroughly beat by the Penn State run defense.
4-2 Punt.

Fifth series:
1-10 I-form 2 WR. Robinson runs left over tackle. No much.
2-9 offset I, twins right. Stanzi out left to the tight end Allen Reisner.
3-1 I-form. 1 WR right. Robinson over tackle left. Gets first down.
1-10 offset I 1 WR left. Stanzi rolls out, throws on run to Johnson-Koulianos.
1-10 GUN empty 4 WR. Stanzi incomplete. Dropped.
2-10 GUN singleback 3 WR. Stanzi incomplete, deflected.
3-10 ABC cut back late so no formation. Stanzi incomplete.
4-10 FG 41 yds Daniel Murray is good. 10-5 Penn State.

Sixth series:
1-10 singleback 3 WR. Wegher gets nothing.
2-12 I-form 1 WR right. Stanzi short out to Reisner.
3-8 Gun singleback 3 WR. Delay inside to Wegher short.
4-2 Punt but FLAG hitting the kicker.
1-10 singleback 3 WR. Robinson rung right, decent sized hole. First down.
1-10 GUN singleback 4 WR. FLAG false start.
1-15 GUN singleback 4 WR. Stanzi incomplete.
2-15 GUN empty 5 WR. Stanzi incomplete. Had a receiver but he was crushed.
3-15 GUN singleback 3 WR. Stanzi over middle to Robinson. First down. Wide open middle of field.
1-10 GUN singleback 3 WR. Stanzi over middle incomplete. Threw behind Marvin McNutt.
2-10 GUN singleback 3 WR. Stanzi incomplete.
3-10 GUN singleback 3 WR. Draw for Robinson.
4-9 FG for Murray. Missed well wide right from 42 yards.

Seventh series:
1-10 I-form twins left. Wegher runs middle.
2-4 I-form 2 WR. Wegher runs middle, breaks a couple tackles.
1-10 singleback twins left. Stanzi over middle to Johnson-Koulianos but FLAG.Holding.
1-20 GUN empty 4 WR. Stanzi quick underneath out to Reisner.
2-10 singleback twins right. Stanzi sacked by Hull. Iowa’s offensive line collapsed.
3-17 singleback 3 WR. Wegher runs right, almost gets the first down. Nice run by Wegher. He really has some nice speed.
4th Down. Punt.

Eighth series:
1-10 singleback 3 WR.Robinson runs middle. Doesn’t get much.
2-10 GUN singleback 3 WR. Stanzi dumps off to Robinson, who isn’t covered for first down.
1-10 off-set I twins right. Stanzi incomplete for fullback.
2-10 singleback twins right. Robinson runs middle for a decent game.
3-2 GUN singleback 3 WR. Stanzi read fake handoff giving Stanzi a huge hole for first down. Great play by Stanzi. His best play of the night.
1-10 singleback 3 WR. Stanzi sacked.
2-19 singleback 3 WR. FLAG delay of game.
2-24 singleback 3 WR. Stanzi playaction. Deflected pass and intercepted. Not a good ball by Stanzi.

Ninth series:
1-10 singleback 3 WR. Robisnon off right tackle for 9 yards..
2-1 I-form 1 WR. Robinson up middle. First down.
1-10 I-form 1 WR Robinson finds hole between guard and tackle, breaks two tackles and gets into end zone for TOUCHDOWN. Great blocking by the right side of the line. Iowa leads 18-10.

Tenth series:
1-10 I-form 2 WR. Wegher runs middle. Not much.
2-9 I-form twins right. Wegher runs middle again.
3-2 I-form no WR. Wegher runs left for first down.
1-10 singleback twins right. Wegher crushed by Bowman.
2-13 singleback 3 WR. Wegher runs middle left.
3-13 singleback 3 WR. Wegher runs middle.
4-11 Punt.

Eleventh series:
1-10 singleback 3 WR. Robinson run middle gets about 8.
2-2 I-form 1 WR. Robinson runs middle, gets first down.
1-10 I-form 1 WR. Robinson runs left, stays in bounds.
2-3 I-form 1 WR. Robinson gets first down.
1-10 I-form 1 WR. Robinson runs middle, gets nothing.
2-11 I-form 1 WR. Robinson run middle.
3-13 I-form 1 WR. Robinson runs middle.
4-8 FG Murray from 31 yards. Good. 21-10 Iowa.

Offensive thoughts:
- Wegher, a true freshman, had some nice speed. Also showed ability to break some tackles behind a strong offensive line. He also runs downhill a lot instead of bouncing back and forth like a lot of freshmen do.

- Robinson also has good speed and quick acceleration. He appeared to reach a nice speed before he even got out of the backfield. Robinson also showed toughness in his
fourth quarter touchdown run.

- Stanzi can be dangerous with the playaction, especially since he looks comfortable running out of the roll. He looks better throwing on the run, almost better than when he’s in the pocket.

- Stanzi is pretty good selling the play action. It really seemed to open up the passing game.

- Not totally impressed with Stanzi’s accuracy. And he has a major tell with where he’s going with the ball. He looks down receivers a lot. Penn State’s defensive backs were able to read on that well.

- A.J. Wallace intercepted Stanzi in the third quarter. A horrible throw by Stanzi but great defensive play to step in front of the receiver and tip the ball. Not good recognition by Stanzi, who clearly threw it to a covered guy.

- Iowa’s wide receivers were having issues with drops. Three in the first quarter and a play.

- Iowa’s offensive line kept Penn State from getting much pressure on Stanzi, although it may have been better because Stanzi looks better on the run.

- Iowa uses a ton of play action, especially since the Hawkeyes are known as a running team.

- The Hawkeyes use a bunch of different formations, both in and out of the shotgun.

Defensive thoughts:

- Opened up in a 4-3 with seven guys close to the line.

- Iowa got bit by the play action on the first play and were beat deep on the left side by Daryll Clark and Chaz Powell. There was no one near him. Bad coverage. The safety Tyler Sash really helped Penn State because there was a big hole for Royster on the run, which forced Sash to bite and leave defensive back Amari Spievey alone. Spievey was beat on the play, chasing Powell the whole way.

- Spievey, though, as a really good cornerback. He has good instincts when it comes to reading where balls are going to be thrown and has fast breaking ability on comeback routes to put himself in position for either an interception or a pass breakup.

- Iowa’s defense moves to the ball well when the quarterback scrambles. It seems like they are able to read the run well.

- Iowa is able to play a lot of looks, from its traditional 4-3 out to a dime.

- Iowa looked somewhat susceptible to misdirection with running backs.

- Pat Angerer, a linebacker, is really good in run support. Usually, he’s hovering just over the defensive tackles and is good in anticipation of where the hole might open up in the offensive line so he can cover that gap.

- Iowa, though, could have a hole when running backs slip out of the backfield into the flats.

- Iowa rarely blitzes, yet was able to get pressure with its front four on Clark, hitting him as he threw on a critical third down late in the first quarter.

- Defensive end Broderick Binns is really good. He doesn’t have a ton of speed off the edge, but takes smart angles against the tackles to try and find the hole. Binns almost got a safety on Penn State’s third series, busting through the line and then chasing Evan Royster down on a stretch run out right. Showed Binns’ good lateral movement as well. Two plays later, Binns beat Penn State’s right tackle easily despite only a four-man rush, made Daryll Clark fumble in the end zone and it resulted in a safety. Iowa also had two other linemen around the ball.

- Penn State’s offensive line was dominated by Iowa’s defensive front four. By the middle of the second quarter, the Hawkeyes front four had established dominance over Penn State’s offensive line.

- The front four is very active. They are anything but straight-line rushers. They have agility and good footwork.

- Angerer should have had an interception on the first play of the second half. Forced by Claiborne, though, when he hit Clark.

- Iowa struggled a little bit with designed quarterback runs. That could be a place Michigan could exploit, although there are more planned quarterback runs in the
Wolverines’ system than Penn State’s. The Hawkeyes appeared to adjust better in the
second half.

- Shaun Prater had a nice interception, baiting Clark into making a poor read. Even though Prater is a sophomore, that is a veteran move. Iowa’s defensive backs looked like they made those types of bait-and-read plays all day.

- Iowa had three three-and-outs (including the safety) in its first seven defensive drives.

- Entering the fourth quarter, Iowa blitzed maybe a handful of times the entire game, yet harassed Clark all night. Blitzed twice on the first series in the fourth quarter.

- Angerer with a good position on his interception in the fourth quarter. He was there when Clark’s high pass hit off the hands of Royster and fell right to him. He also had good sense to run at the sideline and down the sideline in case he was hit.

- Angerer then forced a fumble on Penn State’s next offensive play. It was another forced turnover.

- Iowa again opportunistic on the next drive. A.J. Edds intercepted a pass that was tipped by Klug.

Special teams:
- Ryan Donahue is a really good punter. He has the ability to get really good hangtime and can kick it deep.

- Paul Chaney Jr. has a pretty good feel for the return game. Has better than average acceleration and can find the hole well.

- Claiborne blocked a Penn State punt in the fourth quarter, scoring a touchdown. Great pressure on the punt.

- Daniel Murray is still the field goal kicker, and still accurate. Made a 41-yarder in the first half.