'There won't be any breaks': Indiana prepared all offseason for the type of crowd noise on Saturday vs Iowa -- The test is here.

Pumping in crowd noise to practice isn’t anything new for college of professional teams in today’s landscape of preparing for an opponent. It’s also been a consistent part of the preparation for Indiana leading into many games under Curt Cignetti. So, this week was no different when Indiana prioritized making practice loud to get ready for a hostile environment at Iowa.

Iowa has consistently been one of the toughest places to play in the Big Ten, no matter the success of the program. Sellouts, loud crowds and a terrific environment, Curt Cignetti understands what’s at stake on Saturday against the Hawkeyes.

“Iowa, it’s a tough place to play, Kinnick Stadium. They sell out almost every Saturday. It’s loud. So we’re going to have to play well,” Cignetti said this week. “This will be a challenge, a more difficult challenge than the last one, for sure. And the sooner our guys realize that, the better.”

The road environment and Indiana’s response has been the biggest question under Cignetti. Every other test, they’ve passed. But whether it was Columbus and Ohio State last year, or Notre Dame in the College Football Playoff, two of the most difficult places Indiana has played in the past two seasons — they weren’t ready.

Indiana had just 153 yards against the Buckeyes, averaged 2.1 yards per rush and gave up 5 sacks with 8.5 tackles for loss.

Against the Irish it was more of the same. The Hoosiers averaged 2.3 yards per rush and gave up 3 sacks with 10 tackles for loss.

8 sacks in just those two games alone. Kurtis Rourke was sacked just 12 times in 10 other starts.

Iowa — who is once again bringing in a stout front seven defensively — will look to replicate some of that success from Ohio State and Notre Dame. While Pat Coogan wasn’t on the Hoosiers’ line last year, his experience playing in big games, with loud crowds — both home and away — brings another veteran voice to the group.

“It’s a challenge to prepare for,” Coogan said on Tuesday. “You have to prepare for it every day. Monday, Tuesday — Can’t just turn it on for Friday and expect to be good. You have to make sure everyone is tuned into the cadences and all the little things that you can gloss over … it’s a bigger challenge. Just have to make sure everyone is on the same page.

“You have to know what to listen to, what not to listen to … going through all the mechanics and reps (in practice). You just put yourself in that mental state during the game.”

Indiana is hoping its mistakes from its road losses last year will move into learning experiences come Saturday.

“We went to something different last year in the College Football Playoff,” Cignetti said. “We didn’t use a silent. We didn’t have a problem hearing. In the offseason you spend time on it (dealing with crowd noise), and obviously it will be a big point of emphasis this week in practice.”

One aspect of the game that will dictate crowd noise is the start to each half. Both teams will be prioritizing that on Saturday.

“We’ve traditionally gotten off to good starts. You never are really 100 percent. So it’s a reflection of preparation, I think,” Cignetti said. “And so hopefully get off to a good start and then play well throughout and finish good. That’s always the goal.”

So come time for the Indiana offense to take the field, all of that preperation throughout the week is hoping to pay off. From the constant music blaring, to the added noise throughout each practice.

“It’s loud, obnoxious. It rings your ears,” Coogan said. “We had it for the whole two hours (of practice). No breaks because there won’t be any breaks on Saturday. It’s good preparation for us.”

What exactly will Indiana do to cause so disruption to Iowa’s front seven and make sure its own offensive line and offensive unit is in sync? Cignetti won’t be giving any clues.

“I’m not going to tell you what we’re going to do.”

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