By Pat Harty

IOWA CITY, Iowa – The easy and popular thing to do right now is criticize the Iowa offense for being inept.

Criticize Brian Ferentz for being in over his head and for being the beneficiary of nepotism and privilege.

Criticize Spencer Petras for his woeful performance at quarterback.

Criticize the offensive line for its inability to run or pass block.

Criticize the circumstances at receiver where Iowa’s depth is alarmingly low.

And rip Kirk Ferentz for allowing it all to happen.

Yes, the Iowa offense is a mess and the controversy surrounding Brian Ferentz’s job as offensive coordinator continues to be a distraction heading into Saturday’s game against Northwestern at Kinnick Stadium.

Fans are upset, and rightfully so, because the performance on offense has been unacceptable, and it’s made worse by Brian Ferentz being Kirk Ferentz’s son.

But just imagine how the Iowa offensive players must feel.

It’s easy to forget that as hard as it is on fans to see the offense fail, the players live with it for every second of every day.

Sophomore receiver Arland Bruce knew what kind of questions he would be asked at Tuesday’s weekly press conference, but he still showed up and talked in great length about being accountable, and about how tough it is on the Iowa defensive players.

“I’m not going to lie, at times, it’s hard (to stay positive) during games,” “Bruce said. “But at end of the day, we see the defense busting their ass for us and I just think as offense we have to look at those guys and hold ourselves accountable.

“Like are we really doing everything we can to help those guys out because I know it’s frustrating for them. I feel for those guys at times, too, because they’re doing everything they can.”

Bruce was among three offensive players that were made available at Tuesday’s press conference, the others being sophomore center Logan Jones and redshirt freshman receiver Diante Vines.

The players on offense obviously know they haven’t held up their end of the deal, and because of that, the season is in danger of unraveling with Iowa having lost three games in a row.

It’s tough on the offensive players knowing that they’re the weak link to a team that excels on both defense and special teams.

And it’s tough knowing that you’re letting down your teammates on defense.

Iowa has only scored 10 touchdowns in seven games this season, but the defense has scored three of them.

“Sometimes, I just feel badly that we’re not scoring,” Jones said. “They have a lot of pressure on their backs right now. We’re not always holding up our end of the deal.

“So, once we start working together, I think we’ll start heading in the right direction.”

Some fans might roll their eyes after reading the comment about heading in the right direction because they’ve watched the Iowa offense perform at a level that even the most cynical fan couldn’t have imagined.

They’ve watched the Iowa offense struggle in virtually every phase of the game, and it’s causing the season to unravel.

But what else is Jones supposed to say publicly.

To show any signs of surrendering or feeling hopeless would only make a bad situation worse.

The team has to stay unified, and right now, that appears to be the case.

None of the defensive players have pointed fingers or called out the offensive players for not doing their jobs, at least not publicly.

“Everyone on the defense is team first,” said Jones, who came to Iowa as a defensive lineman before switching to center. “We’re not separate. We’re one team.

“Our record is 3-4 right now. The defense is doing great right now, and the fact that they’re supportive tells you a lot about the character on that side of the ball. They’re great guys. I used to play with all of them. They’re great guys. I love every one of them.”

Senior linebacker Jack Campbell is not only one of the best players in the country at his position, he’s also a team captain and a respected leader, by example, and by what he says because it carries a lot of weight with his teammates.

“Just knowing the position I’m in as a captain on this team, I’ve got to lead by example 24/7,” Campbell said. “There can be no time when I’m hanging my head or pointing my finger because that’s just setting a terrible example for the younger guys.

“So, at the same time, it’s just that much more that I expect out of myself. And I just reflect all the time and make sure that I’m doing enough because if you’re not doing that, I feel like you’re not focused on the right things. Because I feel you have to be constantly evaluating yourself becauses you’ve got to start with yourself before you can tell other people what to do and how to do things.”

Campbell supports his teammates on offense, and he has sympathy for them, but on the other hand, there is a little room for sympathy in college football because it ultimately comes down to being accountable and doing your job.

“To an extent, I have sympathy,” Campbell said. “But at the end of the day, we’ve just got to do our jobs. I hope like if the defense goes out there and has a bad day, I hope the offense doesn’t have any sympathy for me honestly because I’m going to be harder on myself than anyone else in the whole entire world.

“Not everyone is wired like this and not everyone thinks this way, this might not be the right way for other people, but honestly, if things aren’t going my way family members might text me and give me a little bit of supportive messages. But I honestly don’t need a pat on the back because I already am thinking how I’m going to do better the next time and I’m not going to let my teammates down. And let’s say a situation if I do let my teammates down, I’m going to do everything in my power to never let that happen again.

“I feel like that’s the mindset we have right now. So, I do have sympathy for them. I’m going to pat them on the back. But at the same time, they’re full-grown men and they’re ready to go. And at the end of the day, we’ve just got to do our jobs.”

Campbell leads the Big Ten with 71 tackles, and he leads one of the best defenses in the nation with Iowa ranked sixth nationally in total defense, allowing just 278.3 yards per game.

And yet, the Hawkeyes still are below .500 and in a fight just to qualify for a bowl game with five games remaining.

“It’s frustrasting,” Campbell said. “I feel like anyone in any type of job or anything, if you’re not meeting goals and standards, you’re going to get frustrated at some point. But I know that this adversity is only temporary. And if you come in here with a terrible attitude and a terrible mindset, it’s only going to get worse.

“So for me, I’m going to come in here with a positive attitude. It’s my last year. I only have five guaranteed games left as a Hawkeye. So why not just makes the most of it and try to uplift as many guys as I can.”

Part of being a leader is keeping the team unified during tough times, and Campbell is also meeting that challenge, with his words, and with his actions.

“We’re just going to keep playing Iowa football and try to do it to the best of our ability, whether that’s the offensive side, special teams or defense,” Campbell said “And at the end of the day, we’re not going to point fingers. We’re one team. You win as a team. You lose as a team.

“But I just think it speaks a lot when after the game everyone individually feels like it was their fault because I feel that ownership is what’s going to take guys further.”

Kirk Ferentz talks to his players frequently about being accountable and about doing their job because that’s what it ultimately comes down to on offense and defense.

So, Ferentz didn’t surprised when told on Tuesday what Campbell said about having sympathy to an extent.

“Everybody is working hard. And appreciate everybody being together,” Kirk Ferentz said. “And everybody being supportive. But we all have a job to do. And nobody’s looking for anybody’s sympathy. We just want to get better. That’s what we want to do. That’s how our players are thinking. There’s only one way. You have to work through it and push and work through it. There’s no easy way around it. And if anybody’s waiting for that, it’s like trying to win the lottery.

“You’re probably going to come up short most of the time. It’s all of us trying to do what we can to get better and help each other out and the defensive guys, what they can do is encourage and they’ve been great at that. And keep playing the way they have been playing. Play better. I think that’s how they’re looking at it.