At halftime of the No. 25 Iowa Hawkeyes 41-10 rout over the Western Michigan Broncos, the Iowa band paid homage to their superstar basketball point-guard, Caitlin Clark. In the 2023 season, the AP Women's College Basketball Player of the Year award winner drew the world's attention to women's college basketball. So much so that the women's championship game on ESPN saw a 104% increase of viewership from 2022 to 2023.
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The Iowa band recognized her accomplishments at halftime by using their band members to form the image of a stick-figure wearing Clark's iconic #22 jersery, shooting a basketball into a hoop, 40-yards down the field.
The Crossover at Kinnick apparently won't be the first time "Caitlin Clark" sinks a jumper in the stadium. pic.twitter.com/RouTIjume1
— Ryan M. Jaster (@Hawkologist) September 16, 2023
While the band's movement might not be as dazzling as Clark's unbelievable performances, the focus from the band to perfectly nail down the movements and figures is impressive.
Iowa's women's basketball team made it all the way to the NCAA championship game in April before falling short to LSU. Clark led the Hawkeyes in scoring with 30 points against the Tigers but did not receive enough help from her teammates late in the game.
This halftime tribute from the band though must've motivated the Iowa football team to perform at a Caitlin Clark level of domination though. In the second half, the Hawkeyes scored 27 points compared to just 14 in the first half. The 31 point win featured an up and down performance from Michigan transfer quarterback Cade McNara, who finished the day going 9/19, 103 yards, 2 touchdowns, and 2 interceptions.
The main form of attack for Iowa's offense though was junior running back Leshon Williams, for 145 yards on just 12 carries. Iowa had three other running backs go for over thirty yards in Saturday's win including Kamari Moulton, Terell Washington Jr., and Seth Anderson. Iowa ended the day with 254 total rushing yards.
Iowa will be met with a much tougher challenge next week when they face off against the No. 7 ranked Penn State.
