Tag: Kinnick Stadium

ChatGPT ranks the most intimidating Big Ten football stadiums to play in

ChatGPT ranks the most intimidating Big Ten football stadiums to play in

From SHI Stadium in Piscataway, New Jersey, to Husky Stadium in Seattle Washington, the Big Ten stretches from coast to coast.

With the conference’s latitude comes different stadium environments, different histories and unique traditions in every case.

Related: You might be surprised where Wisconsin football is on ESPN’s early 2024 SP+ rankings

Late last summer, I ranked the toughest road environments in the Big Ten after the conference’s new additions. Now that the 2023 season has concluded and the conference officially has 18 members, I decided to check the list with some outside counsel.

That is where ChatGPT comes in. I asked the OpenAI language model to rank the 18 Big Ten football home atmospheres by the most intimidating to play in — obviously including new additions USC, UCLA, Oregon and Washington.

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Here is what the ChatGPT responded:

Watch: Rutgers football participates in the Kinnick wave

The Kinnick Wave draws participation from Rutgers football.

Following the first quarter of Saturday’s game between Rutgers at No. 22 Iowa, both teams participated in the famed Kinnick Stadium wave.

The tradition began six years ago when Iowa fans turned from inside Kinnick Stadium and waved to the patients inside the University of Iowa Children’s Hospital. The hospital is located across the street from the football stadium and overlooks the football stadium.

Pediatric patients are provided a great view of Iowa home games.

On Wednesday, Rutgers head coach Greg Schiano said that he was a fan of the tradition and wanted his team to participate.

“I’ve been a part of it. It’s a powerful thing. You know, the children’s hospital is up above looking down at the stadium and all the windows are lit up and you can see all that all the kids in their windows and if what we do, if that can give some joy to some young people that are struggling and their families, right?” Schiano said on Wednesday after practice.

“I mean, anybody who’s got kids knows (that) you’re only as happy as your saddest kid.”

 

Players on both sidelines participated in the wave as did fans in the stadium. It is the best tradition in college football, hands down.

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Iowa held a 3-0 lead at halftime.

247Sports ranks Kinnick Stadium as top-10 tailgate scene

Iowa City’s ability to turn into a sea of black and gold has earned a spot from 247Sports as a top-10 tailgate experience nationally.

Please make no mistake about it, Iowa Hawkeyes fans will turn out for their team in rain, snow, sun, and during the good or the bad. They are loyal to a fault, but it is what has morphed Iowa City and Kinnick Stadium into an electric atmosphere on college game days each fall.

Every single Saturday, the college town comes together for the tailgate, which takes priority over everything else. The tents are popping up at 7 a.m. with the smell of freshly lit grills soon thereafter. There are truly few things better. This has the Hawkeyes as one of 247Sports’ top 10 tailgate scenes for 2023.

The Kinnick Wave is the thing that gets the attention at Iowa home games, but fans are good for more than just that at home games. A 69,250-seat stadium, Kinnick Stadium has been turned into one of the more surprising hard challenges in the Big Ten. Rain or shine, Iowa fans are not afraid to pack the stands and create a home edge for their team. This is huge for the Hawkeyes, considering they encounter some brutal weather late in the season. The Pedestrian Mall is the heart of downtown Iowa City and is worth a visit if you’re in town. – Hughes, 247Sports.

The advantage this gives Iowa is huge. Teams, coaches, and national media have discussed the difficulty of going into Iowa down the stretch of the season, especially at night. Just last year, Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh famously mentioned it as “the place where top-five teams go to die.”

Other Big Ten members cracking the top 10 tailgate scenes include Penn State at No. 7 and Ohio State at No. 5.

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Iowa retains the Campbell Legacy with latest commit

The Campbell name is staying in Iowa City as Iowa football earns an in-state commitment from 2024 edge rusher Drew Campbell!

Iowa football earned a massive pledge for their 2024 recruiting class, securing four-star edge rusher Drew Campbell.

The Cedar Rapids, Iowa, native has been linked to Iowa for months, picking up a third 247Sports crystal ball prediction back in March. Of course, Campbell has been linked to Iowa City for much longer, his last name inseparable from the black and gold.

Drew Campbell is, of course, the younger brother of legendary Iowa linebacker Jack Campbell. Jack became the first Hawkeye to win the Dick Butkus Award this year, cementing his legacy as one of the best to ever play at Kinnick Stadium.

Campbell announced his commitment to Twitter on April 1st, and luckily for Hawkeyes fans, this was no April Fools joke. As the proud face of Hawkeye Nation Roy Higgins III described, Iowa City does indeed have a “diesel” coming.

The 2024 edge rusher chose Iowa over offers from Iowa State, Kansas State, and Northern Iowa. He also rejected interest from a budding Kansas program as well. Campbell said in an interview with Hawk Fanatic back in August that while his brother’s allegiance to the program would play no part in his decision, his success under Ferentz was certainly hard to ignore.

“Jack has no part in my decision, but his success certainly shows what Iowa can do for a player,” Campbell said then of his thoughts on Iowa.

Now, he’s the latest 2024 Hawkeye commit.

“I think one of the most important things is how they develop you into not only a great player but a great human,” Campbell told Inside the Hawkeyes’ Rob Howe yesterday on why he picked Iowa.

Here is everything you need to know about the Hawkeyes’ newest Campbell to join coach Phil Parker’s machine! Plus, a look below at his Hudl highlights.

College Football News predicts comfortable Michigan win over Iowa in low-scoring affair

College Football News’ Pete Fiutak is predicting that Michigan will snap its losing streak at Kinnick Stadium in a defensive struggle.

This is the week Iowa fans have been waiting months for.

The last time these two met it was on Dec. 4, Lucas Oil Stadium the backdrop, and subsequently the witness, for a Big Ten Championship beatdown for the ages. Iowa’s defense was on fire, causing a bevy of turnovers every week and just making life hectic for opposing offensive coordinators. The team’s stock might not have been where it was a few weeks ago when the Hawkeyes somehow found themselves ranked second in the nation, but big wins over Penn State and Minnesota showed that they deserved to be there!

Michigan obviously thought otherwise, treating their black and gold opponents like a bug on their windshield, one that would not stand in their way to either the Big Ten Championship, nor the College Football Playoffs.

Winning 42-3 in a conference championship against one of the best defenses in the nation no less is pretty much as profound a statement you can make as a program. Michigan truly was back, and all of the Harbaugh naysayers who called for his job the past few years would have to flock back to the woodwork.

Now, almost a year later, these two teams meet in a much different venue, Kinnick Stadium, the host for Fox’s Big Noon Kickoff and one of the most anticipated Big Ten matchups of the season.

Pete Fiutak. in his recent breakdown for College Football News sees this one going the way of the Wolverines, in a comfortable, low-scoring contest.

Michigan hasn’t given away a thing.

One interception against Hawaii, one fumble against Maryland. That’s been in for the turnovers. The team has been flagged a ridiculously low nine times, and it’s been able to get through any slight adversity by being methodical.

This is the game for the Michigan defense.

The offense will sputter and cough, and Corum will be bottled up, but it’ll be a slow and steady drum beat with just enough points to get by. The Wolverine D will hold up well with a great day against the non-existent Iowa passing attack.

Michigan 26, Iowa 13. – Fiutak, College Football News.

Iowa sputtered out of the gates to start the season, the offense quite literally offensive to any onlookers those first two games. It has since improved over the past two games, 27 points scored in both contests which isn’t amazing but it is pretty good for typical Iowa standards.

Meanwhile, Michigan enters Kinnick undefeated, overcoming their biggest test yet in Maryland last week. Ranked fourth in the USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches Poll, they face easily the biggest defensive test of the season in the Hawkeyes. It is assumed that the J.J. McCarthy-led offense is legit again, but this will be their chance to prove so.

Every Hawkeyes fan in Kinnick will have the hope that their team will come away with the victory, the Iowa defense exposing the Wolverines offense as overrated whilst the offense does just enough to capitalize. With all rationale and logic heading in, those hopes are most likely just that: hopes. The same argument of Michigan having yet to face a truly good opponent also rings true for the Hawkeyes as well.

The difference though is that Michigan looked fantastic against the teams they were supposed to look great against. Iowa instead has struggled to inspire any confidence in their offense, the biggest cause for optimism is the unit scoring 27 points against Nevada and Rutgers.

By all rational logic, Michigan should win this one in a classic Big Ten-style way, their talent simply too much for Iowa. You never know, though.

Games are not won on paper.

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Iowa Hawkeyes facing Cyclones quarterback Hunter Dekkers fresh off stellar debut

Cyclones quarterback Hunter Dekkers impressed in his debut, giving hope to Iowa State fans. He faces his first big test in Iowa.

Much has been made over the past week about the Hawkeyes’ inability to move the ball through the air against FCS opponent South Dakota State, but their upcoming opponent and rival Iowa State had zero problems in week one.

Sophomore quarterback Hunter Dekkers was one of 20 quarterback debuts featured by Athlon Sports after week one. In the first week of the Dekkers era at Iowa State, the Hawarden, Iowa, native diced up FCS foe Southeast Missouri State in a 42-10 victory.

Athlon Sports’ Steven Lassan wrote this of Dekkers starting debut.

Filling the void left behind by Brock Purdy isn’t easy, but the Hunter Dekkers era in Ames is off to a fast start. The Iowa native was nearly flawless in Iowa State’s 42-10 victory over FCS Southeast Missouri State, completing 25 of 31 throws for 293 yards and four scores. Dekkers also added 11 rushing yards and ranked third among Big 12 signal-callers in quarterback rating (196.2). – Lassan, Athlon Sports.

A lot of those in the media have talked about the pressure on Dekkers’ shoulders coming in to replace four-year starter Brock Purdy, almost to the point where his upside for the Cyclones gets lost in the shuffle. Purdy, now with the San Francisco 49ers, was a respectable quarterback, but wasn’t anything spectacular. He was a good college quarterback, and had his moment, but not one who would consistently take over in the big games. You knew what you were getting in Purdy, and he never reached the heights of his sophomore year again.

With Dekkers, the hope around Ames is that he can elevate the Cyclones to another level. They’ve finished inside the top 25 once in the past six years under Matt Campbell, finishing ninth in 2020. That’s the level the Cyclones want to get back to. Every other year they’ve been a mediocre team in the Big 12, finishing right around .500 in the conference.

The hope is that Dekkers can bring them back to that level, and while it was against an FCS opponent, he impressed in week one. He looked decisive, took what the defense gave him, but still was able to hit the deep ball. Week two in Kinnick against one of the strongest defenses in the nation will be the true test for the young lefty.

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‘It’s the best stadium in college football right now’: Kinnick Stadium sports fangs early in 2022

It took all of one week for the fans inside Kinnick Stadium to remind everyone that they are always a factor for the Iowa Hawkeyes.

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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5 positives from Iowa’s 7-3 win over South Dakota State

Iowa is 1-0 on the season. Here are five of the biggest positives from the Hawkeyes’ season-opening victory over South Dakota State.

While it was far from the debut any Iowa fan was looking for, ultimately, the Hawkeyes did win their opener over South Dakota State, 7-3. There’s plenty of cause for concern with Iowa’s offense and grades have already been doled out here.

Still, even with some of the good marks that Hawkeyes Wire passed out, that space really didn’t lend itself to fully rewarding some of the good play that fans did in fact witness. Let’s do that now with the five biggest positives for the Hawkeyes against South Dakota State.

5 takeaways from the Iowa Hawkeyes’ abysmal opener against South Dakota State

Iowa topped South Dakota State, 7-3. Here’s the five biggest takeaways from the Hawkeyes’ season-opening triumph.

I honestly don’t even feel like writing about this game, or giving this team any attention right now. All credit to South Dakota State. They are not a pushover despite their FCS status and they played hard on defense. They were overmatched on offense, which was always going to be a likelihood with the talent on Iowa’s defense, but they surely were right there to stop Iowa’s offense.

Was that South Dakota State playing out of their minds, or Iowa just being a complete disaster? You can make your own judgement, but I know what my choice is.

I don’t care that they are a good FCS opponent, this Iowa team went into the season with aspirations of making it back to the Big Ten Championship game! That’s how you start out the season at home?! It was an embarrassment, it was a disgrace, and a disservice to every fan that sat through that mess in Kinnick Stadium Saturday. Ferentz and his staff need to figure it out, or this is going to be a long, long season.

That said off the top, let’s look at five of the biggest takeaways for the Hawkeyes versus South Dakota State.

5 Offensive keys for the Iowa Hawkeyes against South Dakota State

Here’s five keys for the Iowa Hawkeyes on offense to get the season off to a strong start in week one against South Dakota State.

Week One is the perfect time to work out the kinks, earning some needed chemistry and playing time. While No. 2 Ohio State is playing a national contender in No. 5 Notre Dame to kick off their season, Iowa is also facing a national championship contender, albeit a very different one.

The Hawkeyes will host the South Dakota State Jackrabbits at Kinnick Stadium to kick off their season. It certainly isn’t the toughest week one slate, they didn’t elect to schedule a top 25 team like No. 12 Oregon or a returning College Football Playoff team in No. 22 Cincinnati, but SDSU is certainly not a pushover. They aimed for a bit more of an ambitious FCS opponent than say Wisconsin taking on Illinois State, a team that didn’t even muster five wins in 2021.

Expectations are high for the Hawkeyes, fresh off of their Big Ten Championship game campaign. The first team left on the outside looking in of the USA TODAY Sports AFCA coaches poll, Iowa certainly has a chip on its shoulder entering the season. After an offseason of incessant talking points, none of that matters anymore. The season is here, time to put up or shut up. Here are five keys for the Iowa offense against South Dakota State.