Leistikow: Why Iowa football expects to stay calm in South Dakota State opener

IOWA CITY — All anyone wanted to discuss after Northwestern’s Big Ten football season-opening win against Nebraska was why-in-the-world Scott Frost tried an onside kick up 11 points early in Saturday’s third quarter. And at last check, folks are still talking about that Dublin decision that undoubtedly contributed to the Cornhuskers’ implosion in Ireland.

But there was an even bigger moment in that game that nobody’s talking about. Still down 28-24 in the fourth quarter with Nebraska driving, Northwestern cornerback Cam Mitchell snagged an interception near his own 20-yard line and raced across midfield to set up the Wildcats’ go-ahead touchdown. After that moment, people in purple were jumping up and down. But TV cameras caught Pat Fitzgerald stone-faced on the sideline; the longtime Wildcats coach wasn’t swept up in the moment. Instead, he quickly harnessed the attention of his quarterback, Ryan Hilinski, and motioned toward him as if to say, “Keep calm. Keep calm.”

It doesn’t make for exciting TV to rave about how methodically and calmly the fundamentally-sound Wildcats stayed over the course of 60 minutes to win that football game as a double-digit underdog, 31-28. It was an impressive display of staying the course, one that Iowa football players like Riley Moss and Logan Lee noticed while watching the game ahead of their own looming season opener.

“It doesn’t matter how you start the game,” Lee said. “Ultimately, it’s all about how you finish. And Northwestern finished on top.”

Iowa football fans who watched the opener in Dublin probably felt like they had seen this before. It was actually in Nebraska’s previous game — back on Nov. 26, 2021 — in which the Hawkeyes overcame 21-6 deficit with 22 unanswered points in the final 15½ minutes to steal a fifth straight win in Lincoln. Iowa trusted its scouting preparations and waited for a punt-rush opportunity it saw on film; their reward was a blocked-punt touchdown to help turn the tide in a game that also tilted the Big Ten West Division title.

Another extreme recent example of the Hawkeyes staying patient was in 2019 in what became a 6-hour slog amid rain and lightning at Iowa State. They overcame not only a couple deep-shot touchdowns from the Cyclones but a hostile crowd and a 2-hour, 55-minute weather delay to rally for the narrowest of victories — by an 18-17 score, clinched (naturally) on a right-place, right-time special-teams fumble recovery.

While those on the outside may point to Northwestern getting luck of the Irish against Nebraska or Iowa getting a beneficial bounce in 2019 to beat Iowa State, there’s a reason that only three teams have won the Big Ten West since the league’s expansion to 14 teams and divisional split in 2014 — Iowa (twice), Northwestern (twice) and Wisconsin (four times). You won’t find many more well-disciplined programs in the country than those three.

So, how does Iowa get its players to buy into the idea of composure?

How do Iowa coaches teach it?

“I feel like it really starts with special teams and those special-teams meetings,” third-year running back Gavin Williams said. “(Special-teams) coach (LeVar) Woods harps on us about how big special teams are, how they can influence a game.”

Special-teams are a valued piece of the Hawkeyes’ program; and were a key part in Northwestern’s opening win, as punter Luke Akers pinned Nebraska inside its own 10-yard line three times, including once at the 1 and then at the 4 with 2:12 remaining in a three-point game.

Even big-time recruits at Iowa — take five-star Xavier Nwankpa, for example — are tasked to cut their teeth on special teams and learn the value of little hidden edges like field position.

“When you come in here at first, you might not really think about it that way,” Williams said. “Because you were the star on offense, defense. … (But) if we’re not in field goal range, punt it away, pin it deep, and make them drive the whole field and kind of put them in a situation where they might make a mistake.”

That’s a redshirt sophomore running back talking that way.

That’s got to make Kirk Ferentz proud.

“Even if you're getting slaughtered, you still play the game,” the 24th-year Hawkeye head coach said. “You've got 60 minutes to play it, so you play it. … A lot of things can happen, so you've just got to keep playing. It's as simple as that."

That’s not to say Iowa is perfect under pressure. Far from it. Iowa’s pass-happy approach against Northwestern in 2020 was ill-advised in a one-point home loss. And it was too panicky last October in a 24-7 home loss to Purdue as the nation’s No. 2 team.

But generally speaking, this is a program that stresses the idea of being calm in the storm and waiting for those seemingly little moments in a game to make a big difference. By contrast, Nebraska’s reputation under Frost (5-21 in one-score games) is to stumble under any kind of stress.

Why write about this topic in Week 1 of Iowa’s football season instead of the passing game or Phil Parker’s defense or sold-out-for-the-season Kinnick Stadium? Well, sure, those are all valid topics as well. But a very well-coached FCS program in South Dakota State (ranked No. 3 in the preseason coaches’ poll) comes to town for Saturday’s 11 a.m. kickoff against the Hawkeyes. And rest assured, the Jackrabbits will throw every punch they can, trying to land a haymaker or two.

The question is, if Iowa gets hit … how will it respond?

Keeping composure in a hotly contested game isn’t easy, especially when you’re supposed to win by two touchdowns (Iowa was an early 15½-point favorite). Just ask 0-1 Nebraska. Or the 2016 Hawkeyes when they lost to North Dakota State on a staggering last-second field goal. Beating South Dakota State on Saturday might require some second-half grit.

Iowa went 4-1 last season in one-score games and won another three tense tussles (Iowa State, Colorado State, Illinois) by 10 points each.

Fifth-year senior quarterback Spencer Petras said possessing that finishing mentality is “a cultural thing. It starts with the seniors (who) have played college football, that have been around — leading the way of not losing composure. Because I’m sure there’s a time Saturday when it hits the fan, briefly, and that’s OK. It happens every football game, unless you’re just playing a horrible team, which we're not.

“And cultures that have been developed like ours has or like Northwesterns, you just keep riding through it. It was cool to see. It was a great win for those guys."

Hawkeyes columnist Chad Leistikow has covered sports for 27 years with The Des Moines Register, USA TODAY and Iowa City Press-Citizen. Follow @ChadLeistikow on Twitter.