By Pat Harty

IOWA CITY, Iowa – Brian Ferentz’s critics will say that he was born on second base with regard to his coaching connections, although, they’re probably not saying much right now.

Not with the Iowa football team coming off back-to-back road wins in which the Hawkeyes scored at least 40 points in both games, including this past Saturday’s 42-16 victory at Indiana.

Iowa has actually scored more than 40 points in its last three Big Ten road games if you include the 56-14 drubbing at Nebraska in the 2017 regular-season finale.

And though none of those three teams are world beaters, there have been times when the Iowa offense would’ve struggled to score 40 points against practice dummies.

The offense is clicking right now and Kirk Ferentz’s oldest of five children deserves much of the credit. The players, of course, have to execute, but Brian Ferentz has to create an environment that caters to execution.

And right now, he’s doing that, sometimes in spectacular fashion, as was the case against Indiana in which Iowa quarterback Nate Stanley threw a career-high six touchdown passes and surpassed 300 passing yards for the third time in the last four games.

You name it and the Iowa offense did it well against Indiana, from catching to throwing to running and blocking, Brian Ferentz’s crew performed at an extremely high level against the Hoosiers.

“The last couple of weeks in particular I think Brian has called good games,” said Don Patterson, who served as Hayden Fry’s offensive coordinator at Iowa from 1992-98. “You can always second guess certain calls, of course. But it’s hard to be right all the time.

“And you’ve heard me say this before, there are no perfect calls. They all require execution.”

It would take some real nitpicking to find fault with Iowa’s performance on offense against Indiana.

Unlike the previous week when Iowa struggled to run against Minnesota, Toren Young and Mekhi Sargent rushed for 96 and 59 yards, respectively, against Indiana, and they both averaged more than five yards per carry.

"We didn't run the ball that well against Minnesota, " Patterson said. 'But against indiana we effectively threw it and ran it. So that's when you're hard to defend when they honestly don't know if it's going to be run or pass." 

The victory over Indiana will be remembered mostly for the spectacular play of Iowa’s two-headed monster at tight end with T.J. Hockenson and Noah Fant, and rightfully so, because they were outstanding, as each finished with over 100 receiving yards.

They also combined for three of Stanley’s six touchdown passes, including two by Hockenson.

So the big plays on offense were crucial in winning, but the consistent push from the Iowa offensive line, coupled with the contrasting running styles of Young and Sargent helped set the tone early.

Stanley had the perfect environment in which to use play action because Indiana had to respect both the run and throw.

At times, it seemed like Indiana only had 10 defenders on the field because somebody from Iowa was almost always wide open, including the two tight ends, who you’d think would draw a crowd at this point.

Iowa is now enjoying some of the perks of its success by being ranked in both polls for the first time this season.

Iowa is 5-1 overall and 2-1 in the Big Ten heading into Saturday homecoming game against Maryland, and its best win so far was over Iowa State. That would usually be used against the Hawkeyes, but not this season because the Cyclones, despite their 3-3 record, are good, and potentially real good.

As for Brian Ferentz, his aggressive play calling is starting to match his outgoing personality, and that’s good when you have the kind of dynamic playmakers that Iowa has right now.

The last two games in particular, Brian Ferentz has kept his foot on the gas as a play caller until the very end.

In fact, his play calling against Indiana was so aggressive that he kept throwing on Iowa’s final possession late in the fourth quarter and with the outcome having long been decided.

The crew for ESPN2 wondered if there was bad blood between the two programs, and so did I quite frankly, because it was surprising to see a Kirk Ferentz coached team refuse to let up against a whipped opponent.

It has been suggested that the Indiana coaches have used Kirk Ferentz’s age – he turned 63 on August 1 – against Iowa in recruiting by telling recruits that Ferentz’s days as head coach are numbered.

It wouldn’t surprise me if Brian Ferentz took offense to the negative recruiting and delivered payback on Saturday by throwing until the end.

I don’t really have a problem with it, either, because it’s also up to the opponent to quell Iowa’s aggression.

It’s laughably ironic considering how many times Kirk Ferentz has been easy on an opponent by not trying to score at end of a lopsided game.

So maybe Brian Ferentz has convinced his father that style points do matter, or maybe it was just a case where the Hoosiers deserved payback.

Or maybe this is just how life will be with 35-year old Brian Ferentz calling the plays on offense.

Stanley has thrown 41 touchdown passes in 19 games with Brian Ferentz as his offensive coordinator dating back to last season. That hardly seems like a fluke with a body of work of that size.  

We already knew that Brian Ferentz was different than his father in terms of personality and his outspokenness. Brian often speaks with no filter and doesn’t care if he offends anybody.

His profanity-laced tirade in the Kinnick Stadium press box during halftime of the Minnesota game last season was embarrassing and unacceptable, and his father let Brian know that.

But that same raw emotion and passion is now helping to fuel the Iowa offense in a constructive way.

Greg Davis, who preceded Brian Ferentz as the Iowa offensive coordinator from 2012-16, had his moments while running the offense, especially during the 12-win season in 2015.

But the offense never had the explosiveness, the depth or the same aggression under Davis that it has now under Brian Ferentz, who also coaches the tight ends by the way.

Say all you want about nepotism because Kirk Ferentz set himself up for that criticism by hiring his son as offensive coordinator.

But say it softly because it’s hard to criticize Brian Ferentz’s performance right now.

Brian Ferentz spent four seasons with the New England Patriots from 2008 to 2011 gaining knowledge and credibilty as an assistant coach. His father probably helped Brian land the job, but Brian took it from there. 

Kirk Ferentz then gave Brian a chance that a lot young coaches with similar experience probably wouldn’t get.

But Brian has seized the opportunity by turning the Iowa offense into a dynamic force with multiple playmakers.

Iowa has played in 19 games with Brian Ferentz calling the plays as the offensive coordinator. That’s not enough time to anoint him. But it is a big enough sample size to respect the job he is doing.

Brian Ferentz might have been born on second base without hitting a double, but he appears fully capable of driving himself home for a run.

And if this keeps up and Iowa keeps winning, Brian Ferentz will some day be a serious candidate to replace his father as head coach.