WATCH: Heartwarming Kinnick Wave steals the show in Penn State-Iowa

Penn State has its “White Out” game, Wisconsin dances to “Jump Around,” Alabama sings “Dixieland Delight,” but ask any college football fan and they’ll point to the Iowa Hawkeyes’ “Kinnick Wave” as one of the greatest traditions in a sport riddled with them.

Iowa, ranked No. 3, plays its home games in Kinnick Stadium located in Iowa City. The stadium is placed directly next to the University of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital, which directly overlooks the stadium and provides patients the opportunity to watch Hawkeyes football from the windows. At the end of every first quarter, Iowa and its 60,000-plus fans in attendance turn and face the children’s hospital and wave to the children looking out the window.

The tradition was alive and well on Saturday, as Iowa hosts Penn State, and everyone from the fans, players, referees and coaches waved to the patients in the hospital — who were captured on the FOX broadcast waving back.

All the feels 💛👋

There's nothing like the @HawkeyeFootball Kinnick Wave pic.twitter.com/1TPTEPYDfR

— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) October 9, 2021

Iowa did its signature Kinnick Wave for the fourth time this season, with Penn State, the visitors, admitting that the heartwarming tradition means a lot for the program. Penn State head coach James Franklin said earlier in the week that playing in Kinnick Stadium is a tall task for any visiting team, but the tradition is one of the best in the sport.

“It’s a tough environment. There’s no doubt about it,” Franklin said of Iowa’s Kinnick Stadium. “We’ve got a lot of respect for that school and that community and the support that they give their football program. Obviously, there’s special things about it. Obviously, the wave to the children’s hospital is, I think, one of the better traditions in college football. You know, whenever you can support people in challenging times, you want to do that. It’s something that I think is very unique to college football and very unique to the University of Iowa.”

Penn State holds a narrow lead over Iowa at the half, with the visiting Nittany Lions leading 17-10. Quarterback Sean Clifford has struggled for Penn State, as he threw two interceptions, but he was later sidelined with an injury. His backup, Ta’Quan Roberson, threw an interception of his own, and Clifford’s status for the remainder of the game at Kinnick Stadium is still in question.

While Penn State has scored its only two touchdowns via Clifford’s rushing touchdown and a Noah Cain rushing touchdown, Iowa quarterback Spencer Petras threw Iowa’s only touchdown of the game and has logged 83 passing yards on nine completions.