Why Iowa football will stay calm in opener against South Dakota State

Northwestern won the season-opening game against Nebraska 31-28. The game was overshadowed by Scott Frost's onside kick decision. But the game's bigger moment was when Cam Mitchell made an interception. Pat Fitzgerald told his quarterback to keep calm. Iowa football players watched the same game in Dublin. In the previous game, Iowa came back from a big deficit to win 21-6. It was a 6-hour slog amid rain and lightning at Iowa State. In 2019, the Hawkeyes won 18-17 after a 2-hours, 55-minute weather delay.

Iowa football will stay calm in its opener against South Dakota State.

Iowa's special teams coach harps on the importance of special-teams games. Special-team players learn the value of field position. South Dakota State is ranked No. 3 in the preseason coaches' poll. Iowa's football team is calm under pressure. Nebraska's team has a reputation of stuttering under stress. The game starts at 11 a.m. on Saturday. It's sold-out at Kinnick Stadium. They play at South Dakotas. Their team won't be perfect under the pressure, though. Kirk Ferentz's head coach says, "You've got 60 minutes to play it, so you play."

Iowa is expected to win the game against South Dakota State. The Hawkeyes won 4 one-score games last season. Quarterback Spencer Petras says finishing mentality is a cultural thing. Chad Leistikow has covered sports for 27 years. He has written for The Des Moines Register, USA TODAY and Iowa City Press-Citizen.