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Sean Clifford, Penn State preparing for hostile environment of Kinnick Stadium
By Paul Harvey
Published:
Do not expect Penn State to be surprised by the atmosphere inside Kinnick Stadium Saturday night.
Though Iowa is coming off of a lackluster showing in a 10-3 loss to Michigan, the Nittany Lions are preparing for the best shot of the Hawkeyes. Most teams play much better at home, and Iowa traditionally makes life difficult for opponents in Iowa City.
Quarterback Sean Clifford discussed the challenges presented after practice Wednesday, and he said the team is trying to make practice harder than the game will be. Head coach James Franklin and his staff are piping in sound into the practices in order to prepare the Nittany Lions for Saturday’s tough environment.
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Fortunately, Clifford said the team has handled it well to this point:
Clifford on the noise at practice: "We always talk about making practice harder than the games. We handled it really well, so I don't think the noise will be a problem Saturday."
— Onward Sports (@OnwardStSports) October 9, 2019
Clifford went on to say that he believes this has honestly been one of the best weeks of practice so far this season. The noise level throughout has kept the intensity level high all week:
Clifford said Penn State's preparation for Iowa has been the best all season because the team's been consistent at practice throughout the week. "The intensity's been very high because of the noise," he added.
— Onward Sports (@OnwardStSports) October 9, 2019
Hopefully, the extra wrinkle in preparation will help the Nittany Lions thrive in a hostile road environment. Penn State won a hard-fought 21-19 game during the most recent trip to Iowa City in 2017.
Kickoff for Saturday’s top-20 matchup is set for 7:30 pm EST on ABC.
Paul is a lifelong fan and student of all things college football. He has been covering college football since 2017 and the B1G since 2018.