Indiana gears up for hostile road test at Kinnick Stadium
Pat Coogan knows what it feels like when the walls close in. At Notre Dame, he played in front of crowds that swallowed up sound and forced players to rely on instincts more than voices.
Now, as Indiana’s starting center, he’s trying to prepare his new teammates for a Saturday afternoon in Iowa City, where the volume will be deafening and the margin for error small.
“It’s loud and obnoxious and it rings your ears,” Coogan said Tuesday of the artificial crowd noise Indiana has spent the week practicing with. “We had it on for the whole two hours, no breaks or anything, because that’s what it’s going to be like on Saturday.”
For Indiana, the setting may be as dangerous as the opponent. The Hoosiers have spent four weeks in the comfort of Bloomington, stringing together lopsided wins that have launched them to No. 11 in the polls. But their 4-0 start has come entirely at home, and the real test arrives this weekend: Kinnick Stadium, where nearly 70,000 fans pride themselves on making visitors miserable.
History has not been kind to Indiana in Iowa City. The Hoosiers have not won there since 2007 and were crushed 34-6 in their last trip, the 2021 opener that spiraled into a season with only two victories. The Hawkeyes themselves have stumbled lately, losing 10 straight games to ranked opponents, but they have remained a tough out under head coach Kirk Ferentz, especially in their own building.
Indiana head coach Curt Cignetti understands that. He hasn’t coached a game at Kinnick, but he knows the venue’s reputation and how easily it can overwhelm. It was the road, after all, that handed him both of his losses in his debut season at Indiana last fall — one at Notre Dame and the other in a hostile Ohio Stadium.
This year, Cignetti and offensive coordinator Mike Shanahan are banking on a different plan. Indiana has reintroduced the clap cadence in hopes of maintaining rhythm, with Coogan and quarterback Fernando Mendoza tasked with keeping everyone synchronized.
“You’ve got to work on it from the very beginning of the week,” Coogan said. “You can’t just flip a switch the day before and think it’s going to work. Everyone has to lock in on the details, the cadences — things you can ignore when it’s quiet.”
Top 10
- 1New
John Mateer update
Red River on the table?
- 2Hot
Best Bets
Top 10 picks for CFB Week 5
- 3
Jah-Marien Latham
Family releases statement
- 4
Frustrated Tim Tebow
OU/Auburn ref concerns
- 5Trending
Dan Lanning
Blunt take on White Out game
Get the Daily On3 Newsletter in your inbox every morning
By clicking "Subscribe to Newsletter", I agree to On3's Privacy Notice, Terms, and use of my personal information described therein.
Noise isn’t just an offensive headache. Linebacker Aiden Fisher, who wears the green dot that connects him to coaches, said communication lapses on defense contributed to last year’s breakdowns away from home.
“It’s something you had to learn from,” Fisher said. “When it got loud, sometimes our communication broke down. We’ve just got to do a better job with that.”
SEE ALSO: Indiana braces for ‘more difficult challenge’ in road clash at Iowa
The Hoosiers don’t need to be reminded that their most recent ranked trip to Iowa City ended in disaster. They also don’t need a history lesson on how often the Hawkeyes have beaten them over the past 15 years. What they need, and what they have spent the week trying to replicate with endless artificial noise, is poise.
Coogan believes the difference comes in the smallest moments.
“We’ve got to make sure everyone’s dialed in,” he said. “It’s easy when you can hear everything. It’s different when you can’t.”
That’s the challenge awaiting Indiana on Saturday: not just a physical opponent, but tens of thousands of voices determined to throw them off rhythm. An early strike might soften the noise. Anything less, and it will swell into the full force of Kinnick Stadium.
Not yet a member of TheHoosier? Join our community for Just $1 for your first week and get a complimentary year of The Athletic included with your membership. Join here!
Use the code “IND20” on Rhoback.com for a generous 20% off for all new customers through the end of this week. Rhoback — Best Fit, Best Feel.
