Kirk Ferentz has created this situation on offense, and only he can fix it
By Pat Harty
IOWA CITY, Iowa – While Illinois could be on the verge of having a breakthrough season under former Hawkeye Bret Bielema, his college alma mater has lost four of its last seven games dating back to last season, with each loss coming in similar fashion.
Iowa has scored 3, 17, 7 and 14 points in its last four losses, and was held below 100 yards rushing in three of the four losses, including this past Saturday’s 27-14 loss to No. 4 Michigan at Kinnick Stadium when the Hawkeyes gained just 35 yards on the ground.
Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz probably would counter by saying that each season, and each team is different, and that what happened last season has no effect on this season, but some fans don’t see it that way.
What fans see is a sputtering offense that keeps Iowa from having any chance of being elite.
What fans see is a struggling quarterback who seems to have a stranglehold on the starting position no matter how poorly the offense performs.
And what fans see is an awkward situation with Brian Ferentz being the embattled offensive coordinator and Kirk Ferentz’s son.
Brian Ferentz has gone from being a fan favorite when he returned to his father’s coaching staff as a young, vibrant and outspoken assistant coach who could get his stubborn father to think outside the box to now being a pariah, and a laughingstock who is mocked and ridiculed.
The amount of vitriol directed towards Brian Ferentz on social media these days is quite telling.
Much of it is mean and over the top, but the message is always the same in that he just isn’t getting the job done.
Fans keep waiting and waiting and waiting for something to change for the better on offense, but nothing ever seems to change.
There were some bright spots on offense in the loss to Michigan, including Iowa’s receivers combining for seven catches, the continued emergence of sophomore tight end Luke Lachey as a receiving threat to complement senior tight end Sam LaPorta, and that Spencer Petras passed for more than 200 yards, which rarely happens.
But on the other hand, Iowa was held scoreless for the first three quarters, failed to sustain a rushing attack, and it’s fair to say that Petras padded his statistics late in the fourth quarter against a Michigan prevent defense, and with the outcome already decided.
“I’m never discouraged by our players,” Kirk Ferentz said in his post-game press conference. “I thought the effort was there. I thought we had a good week of preparation and practice. I thought the guys were wired in, and we knew what we were up against, what we had to do today to be successful.
“Credit our opponent; they did a good job of setting the tone and made it difficult for us in offensive and defensive phases, special teams maybe not as much, but they did a good job there.
“As crazy as it may sound, from where I stood, I thought our guys played hard and I saw some growth in our football team.”
Kirk Ferentz’s assessment of the game was vintage Kirk Ferentz in that he’s always going to give credit where credit is due, and Michigan certainly deserves credit, and he’s always going to emphasize the positives about his team.
In this case, the Iowa players did play hard, and the passing game from a statistical standpoint did show some growth.
But Iowa also trailed 20-0 after three quarters and showed that it’s just not at Michigan’s level.
Even the Iowa defense struggled as Michigan scored points on four of its first five possessions and rushed for 171 yards.
In fairness to the Iowa defense, however, it isn’t what is keeping the team from being elite.
“I thought this was the best our offense has looked this season,” said senior receiver Nico Ragaini. “As the season goes on, good teams continue to get better. The season is not over, and our goals are still there.
“So, we just have to continue to push forward and get better every single day.”
Some fans might roll their eyes at the we-just-have-to-keep-pushing-forward-and-get-better narrative, but it’s true.
That is the only option, to push forward and hope that you get better.
The 1985 version of Chuck Long, or the 2002 version of Brad Banks aren’t walking through the door to help the offense.
Iowa has what it has on offense, and it’s up to the coaches and players to make it work.
It’s easy to overlook that Iowa won the Big Ten West Division and 10 games last season despite all the problems on offense.
But some will say it’s easy to overlook because every chance Iowa had to show that it was elite last season, it failed, and in most cases, it failed miserably, mostly because of the offense.
What makes it worse now, besides the fact that it’s now, is that Iowa already has matched the number of losses it had in the 2021 regular season when it finished 10-2.
There has been a growing concern that the deficiencies on offense would ultimately cause the program to hit a downward cycle, and that’s a legitimate concern.
But there are also seven games left in the regular season, so this team still has a chance to achieve its goals.
“This isn’t easy; coming out to play Michigan,” Ragaini said. “If you thought we were going to come out here and roll all over them, that wasn’t going to happen. Every game we play is going to be a Big Ten battle on the field and pushing through it is just something that football players have to do.
“I am confident in everyone in the room and everyone on the team that we are all going to contribute and continue to grow as the year goes on.”
That’s exactly the kind of mindset and leadership that Iowa needs right now moving forward. Some fans might not want to hear it, but Ragaini said what you should hope a team leader would say following a loss.
Some fans have accused the media of being soft on Kirk Ferentz and Brian Ferentz, and for not asking the tough questions, which in this case appears to be: “Kirk; why haven’t you fired your son yet?”
That question, besides being unfair, is a lot easier to ask on social media than in an Iowa press conference where a certain level of decorum and respect is expected, and you could say demanded.
Kirk Ferentz gets asked repeatedly about the struggles on offense, and about his refusal to play another quarterback.
Just a few weeks ago, Chad Leistikow from the Des Moines Register pressed Kirk Ferentz on Ferentz’s belief that Spencer Petras’s body of work speaks for itself and shows why he is deserving to be the full-time starter.
Leistikow reminded Kirk Ferentz about the few points that Iowa scored in Petras’s most recent starts, and it seemed pretty clear that Kirk Ferentz wasn’t comfortable with the line of questions.
Kirk Ferentz stood firm, however, and the press conference eventually moved on because there is only so much that can be asked about a particular topic.
Kirk Ferentz has created this situation on offense, and only he can fix it.
He took a chance by giving Brian Ferentz so much responsibility, and right now that decision leaves much to be desired, and puts Kirk Ferentz in a difficult situation as Brian Ferentz’s father because some believe that Brian is getting preferential treatment.
That’s the risk Kirk Ferentz took by promoting his son to offensive coordinator.
Illinois, meanwhile, served notice on Saturday that it might be for real as it pounded Wisconsin 34-10 in Madison to improve to 4-1 in Bielema’s second season as head coach.
The Big Ten West could be on the verge of a power shift with Illinois, Purdue and Minnesota on the rise, and with Wisconsin, and maybe Iowa, moving in the wrong direction.
It seems pretty obvious that Wisconsin is moving in the wrong direction because it had set a higher standard over the past two decades compared to Iowa.
The fact that Bielema used to be the Wisconsin head coach made Saturday’s 24-point victory even sweeter, and you can bet that Bielema’s connection to Iowa will be used as motivation this week.
Kirk Ferentz will meet with the media again on Tuesday for his weekly press conference, and while he probably won’t be asked why he hasn’t fired his son, nor should he be asked that question, he will be asked some of the same questions that have been asked about the offense throughout the season.
And he will answer them like he always does.
He will stand firm in his beliefs and push the we-just-have-to-get better narrative without throwing anybody under the bus, especially his son.
Some fans probably won’t like it, and will accuse the media of being Ferentz apologists because that’s apparently how some feel right now with Kirk Ferentz in his 24th season as head coach.
Fans certatinly have a right to be frustrated and concerned about the offense, and they have a right to question the media.
But they also should realize by now that Kirk Ferentz isn’t changing how he operates regardless what questions he gets asked.
That could change should Iowa go on to struggle this season because Kirk Ferentz would have a lot of explaining to do.