By Brendan Stiles
When everyone hears about Penn State having its “White Out,” it can be considered one of two ways.
It can be a sign of intimidation, the way many view looking at a stadium of over 100,000 spectators all dressed in one color, lighting the State College sky.
The other way is as a sign of respect to opponents.
Let’s face it — Iowa is not your historical, traditional powerhouse like Ohio State, Michigan or Notre Dame, which are some of the other schools Penn State has held a “White Out” for.
Last season, the Hawkeyes stared mediocrity head on when they took the field against then-No. 3 Penn State.
Amidst a sea of black and gold — and even green to honor former-Iowa running back Shonn Greene — it was an Iowa City kid by the name of Daniel Murray who made the biggest kick since Rob Houghtlin’s last-second field goal beat Michigan in 1985.
Since that monumental win over the Nittany Lions, the Hawkeyes ended 2008 with three more wins over Purdue, Minnesota, and South Carolina. This season got off to a shaky start as two blocked field goals were needed to beat Northern Iowa, 17-16.
But the Hawkeyes won.
Add in dominating victories over Iowa State and Arizona the past two weeks, and suddenly, Iowa meets Penn State again, this time with a 3-0 record.
As crazy as this may sound, the only people outside of the Midwest showing the Hawkeyes any respect are Joe Paterno and the rest of the Penn State campus.
People nationwide like to rip apart the Big Ten. Well, here’s a statistic I heard after the Hawkeyes’ 27-17 victory over Arizona last weekend that tends to be neglected: Iowa is the last Big Ten team to win a bowl game, beat an SEC team, beat a Big XII team, and beat a Pac-10 team. All that has come in this calendar year.
And yet the Hawkeyes aren’t even in the top 25 right now. In any poll.
That’s why this game against Penn State matters. That’s why seeing “College GameDay” in State College this weekend matters. Yes, this weekend will be all about Penn State, but remember that it takes two to tango.
This is perhaps the biggest game the Hawkeyes have played since Ohio State came to Kinnick Stadium in 2006. Oh yeah, “College GameDay” happened to be in Iowa City that afternoon.
Hawkeye football matters in this state — maybe more than anything else. The people at ESPN should know.
I was among the masses when Chris Fowler told a sea of black and gold on Sept. 29, 2006, that it was the biggest crowd he had ever seen for the show’s “SportsCenter” segment Friday evening.
I was there again the following morning when across the street from our newsroom, all of Hubbard Park in Iowa City was filled with people trying to get on “College GameDay.”
Everyone around here knows the implications at stake. If Iowa wins Saturday night, it will be the most respect it has gotten since that week three years ago when the Buckeyes came to town.
Everyone in Iowa City knows when Lee Corso is debating putting on the head of Herky the Hawk or whoever Iowa’s playing that weekend, it’s a big deal.
Everyone knows when an Iowa game comes up and Chris Fowler asks Kirk Herbstreit for “keys to the game” rather than a prediction because he’s calling said game, it speaks volumes.
Everyone knows when Brent Musburger is talking about “The … Hawkeyes,” on a Saturday night around 7 p.m., Central time, Kirk Ferentz’s team is in the spotlight.
Also consider that Iowa has reached this point missing players like Jewel Hampton, Bryan Bulaga, Tony Moeaki, Derrell Johnson-Koulianos (around Iowa City, he’s known as “DJK”), Jordan Bernstine to injury or illness at one time or another this season.
Now that the stage is set for this marquee showdown inside Beaver Stadium, understand the significance of what a win does for Hawkeye fans across the United States. It would be mammoth.
I look forward to being in State College this weekend, seeing how the Penn State faithful get themselves fired up for this game. But just remember, there is an opponent.
And all the opponent is seeking, in addition to a 1-0 start in Big Ten play, is some national respect it doesn’t seem to get because of its conference’s reputation outside the Midwest.
Follow GameDay on Twitter @GameDayFootball and Brendan Stiles from State College @thebstiles.
