That didn’t take long, and, honestly, did you expect any different? After just one game, the rave reviews from players about the Kinnick factor are already pouring in.
In large part because of the fans, Iowa forced South Dakota State into eight false start penalties, a delay of game and an illegal shift. It had Hawkeyes defensive back Terry Roberts and others singing Kinnick Stadium’s praises.
“It’s the best stadium in college football right now. Best atmosphere hands down, best fans, everything. Can’t ask for anything better than Kinnick,” Roberts said.
Similar to his running mate in Roberts who had a pair of pass breakups, safety Quinn Schulte electrified the fan base with four pass breakups of his own.
“Yeah, I mean, any time you come and play at Kinnick, you know, our fans are great, so they’re going to be loud. Probably one of the toughest spots to play as you guys know, so it definitely helped us out defensively,” Schulte said of the Kinnick crowd.
The crowd reached its fever pitch on a pair of second-half safeties that Iowa recorded to secure the week one win over South Dakota State, 7-3. Star linebacker Jack Campbell was responsible for the first safety, earning a deafening end zone ovation.
“I don’t even know if anything was going through my mind, it was so loud down there. I mean, you guys saw today. I don’t even know how many false starts they had, but it kind of just proves how big of an advantage it is to play in Kinnick Stadium. Just the opportunity arose because all of my teammates were in their gaps and I just flew my gap and that’s kind of how it went. My whole thing is just going out there and do your job every single play. Even if you can’t hear anyone, you’ve got to do it, so it was pretty unique and cool to just hear how loud it was there tonight,” Campbell said.
Iowa State had five penalties in its opener: one false start, a pair of delay of games and two offensive holdings. With an inexperienced quarterback under center, maybe Kinnick Stadium is just getting started creating havoc for opponents ahead of the annual Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series.
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