Did the 2015 season really happen for the Iowa football program?
By Pat Harty
AllHawkeyes
IOWA CITY, Iowa – In the wake of Saturday’s beat-down at Penn State, it almost seems as if last season didn’t happen for the Iowa football program.
Maybe it was just an illusion, winning 12 games behind a strong-armed quarterback who had a knack for making big plays at pivotal times, along with the support of a powerful rushing attack and a reliable, bend-but-don't-break defense.
Iowa has none of those things right now.
C.J. Beathard still has a strong arm, but you wouldn’t know it from how he is being used this season. Beathard hardly resembles the gritty leader who sacrificed his body for the sake of winning last season.
He still is sacrificing his body, but has nothing to show for it besides pain, bruises and frustration.
Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz called this season unacceptable while meeting with the press after Saturday’s 41-14 loss to Penn State.
That word certainly fits as do some others like maddening, depressing, disturbing, alarming…I could go on and on.
“There just wasn’t much good out there tonight,” Ferentz said, stating the obvious. “We didn’t play well enough. We didn’t coach well enough. However you want to slice it, we just weren’t up for the challenge.”
The mood right now is similar to the mood after the 2014 season, which saw Iowa crash and burn down the stretch.
Fans screamed for changes back then and are doing the same now.
The situation was so bad against Penn State that some fans wanted to bench Beathard in the second quarter so true freshman Nathan Stanley could play quarterback.
Beathard’s performance left much to be desired, but the fact that some fans seriously wanted to replace him with a kid who was in high school last season is incredible, but for all the wrong reasons.
Fair or not, Beathard has gone from being a legend-in-the-making to a liability in the opinion of some fans, while Iowa offensive coordinator Greg Davis has gone from being mostly left alone last season to being ripped again for having no imagination or any willingness to take chances.
Ferentz might have to make some personnel changes after the season just to show fans that he isn’t oblivious to what is happening. Making changes isn’t always the answer, but it shows that you’re at least searching for answers.
With performances like Saturday, Iowa’s 12-2 record from last season looks more like a fluke, like fools gold, considering Iowa had a 34-30 record in the previous five seasons before that. More than half of the starters from last season are on the current team, adding to the concern and frustration.
Two criticisms always surface whenever Iowa struggles under Ferentz. The first is that his teams are too predictable and too conservative, and the second is that he doesn’t always use his best players.
The part about being predictable and conservative is true, but that’s always been the case under Ferentz. Iowa also was predictable in 2002, 2003, 2004, 2009 and last season, but winning changed the narrative.
I remember knowing many times when Fred Russell was about to run off right or left tackle on 3rd-and-short during the 2002 and 2003 seasons, or when Drew Tate was about to connect with Clinton Solomon or Ed Hinkle on a simple passing route during the 2004 season when Iowa barely even tried to run.
This isn’t to say that Iowa should stick with its current strategy because something needs to change in a hurry before the season turns into a complete dumpster fire, if it isn’t already.
All I’m saying is that being predictable hasn’t stopped Iowa from being successful in previous seasons under Ferentz.
It also hasn’t stopped Wisconsin from being successful. I watched the Badgers defeat Northwestern 21-7 on Saturday and it often was easy to guess what play Paul Chryst was about to call. There was far more execution than surprise.
As far as Ferentz not always using the best players, that’s just silly. It’s a convenient excuse to help with the coping process.
Brandon Snyder and Miles Taylor are the two starters at safety because the coaches believe they give Iowa the best chance to win. That belief is based on hours of practice evaluation and competition.
“We’re looking for answers and we spent the last two weeks looking,” Ferentz said. “Certainly, we didn’t advance far enough tonight.
“And we’ll keep pushing. We’ve got the players that we’ve got and we’ve got to try and coach them a little bit better and try and get them to play a little bit better.”
Ferentz went on to say that the calvary isn’t coming, which is another way of saying there is no quick fix.
That’s discouraging and scary with mighty Michigan up next on the schedule this coming Saturday in prime time at Kinnick Stadium.
What looked like a great opportunity when the season started now shows signs of being a potential beat-down of major proportions. The Wolverines are gaining steam with each victory under head coach Jim Harbaugh and would likely put a serious hurt on the Hawkeyes unless something changes in a hurry.
The New Kirk phenomenon seems likes a distant memory despite being at its peak just a year ago. The same Kirk Ferentz who switched quarterbacks, switched practices to the morning and who tried a few fake goals last season, earning him the New Kirk nickname, is the same Kirk whose team looked overmatched and under-prepared on Saturday.
I wrote a column recently in which I referred to the Iowa football program as a six- or seven-win program under Ferentz.
From a talent standpoint, Iowa is built to win six or seven games each season as a developmental program. Whether a team rises above that is shaped by injuries, circumstances, attrition and luck.
Iowa has been rocked by attrition at the receiver position to where now there is a noticeable lack of talent.
A developmental program like Iowa can only handle so much attrition at a certain position before it becomes a serious problem.
Iowa’s success and reliance on walk-ons under Ferentz makes for some great individual stories during good times, but causes scrutiny during bad times like now.
Iowa started five walk-ons against Penn State: Right tackle Boone Myers, receiver Riley McCarron, fullback Drake Kulick, linebacker Bo Bower and Brandon Snyder at free safety. It probably would have been six walk-ons if offensive lineman Cole Croston were healthy enough to play.
Some fans feel that is too many and points to a problem with recruiting.
It’s hard to argue with that belief in the wake of Saturday’s drubbing.
I’ve always said that nothing is ever as good or as bad as it seems under Ferentz. Either way, fans don’t want to believe it.
But with each decline, it becomes harder to believe that nothing is as bad as it seems. The Penn State game was about as bad as it gets, although, that could change with Michigan next on the schedule.
At some point, Ferentz might not have another rebuild in his system, which is scary, considering his new contract. Some fans believed that was the case after the 2014 season, but then Ferentz proved them wrong with last season’s success.
Ferentz has a certain way that he feels football should be played. His style is built around having a power running game, an opportunistic defense and solid special teams. The current team only comes close to having that with special teams.
Iowa’s running game has sort been like a bully in how it thrives against inferior competition like Purdue, but then disappears against the tough teams.
Saturday’s loss at Penn State was the fourth time this season that Iowa has been held to fewer than 85 rushing yards. It is no coincidence that Iowa has lost all four games.
Iowa gets lost on offense when the running game stalls, partly because there aren’t enough options at receiver to compensate and because the game plan never seems to have a contingency plan.
I’m not saying Iowa should switch to a spread offense during the week of the Michigan game, but trying switching some things, because right now, the running game is unreliable at best.
There was an effort to get junior running back Akrum Wadley in space more often against Penn State by playing him in the slot. It paid dividends at times, but not enough to mean anything.
Iowa fans deserve a better product than what showed up at Beaver Stadium on Saturday.
Ferentz told reporters that he would evaluate everything in his search for a solution.
He should start with himself because the momentum from last season has faded.
It almost seems like we went directly from the 2015 TaxSlayer Bowl debacle into this season, making the 2015 season just a fairytale.