Up-close look at oddity that is Iowa football right now under Kirk Ferentz
By Pat Harty
IOWA CITY, Iowa – The Iowa football team has won three games in a row in which it was outgained by the opponent.
The Iowa football team has gained fewer than 300 yards in each of its past four games, including 76 yards against Penn State.
The wide receivers on the Iowa football team have combined for just 22 catches, 225 receiving yards and one touchdown in seven games.
The Iowa football team hasn’t had a wide receiver make first-team All-Big since Marvin McNutt in 2011, and only twice under Kirk Ferentz has an Iowa wide receiver made first-team all-Big Ten, with the other being Derrell Johnson-Koulianos in 2010.
The current starting quarterback for the Iowa football team, sophomore Deacon Hill, has combined to complete just 27-of-70 passes for 311 yards while appearing in five games this season, including starting the last two games.
The previous starting quarterback for the Iowa football team, senior Cade McNamara, had completed just 49-of-90 passes for 505 yards and four touchdowns when he suffered a season-ending knee injury in the first quarter against Michigan State in game five.
The Iowa football team has converted on just 25-of-95 third-down plays this season.

Only three times since the start of the 2022 season has an Iowa quarterback thrown for at least 200 yards in a game.
The Iowa football team hasn’t had a quarterback throw for at least 300 yards in a game since Nate Stanley in 2019.
The Iowa football team hasn’t had a quarterback make first-team All-Big Ten since Drew Tate in 2004.
The Iowa football team is averaging just 20.85 points per game, which is below the 25-point performance incentive in Brian Ferentz’s revised contract.
The Iowa football team has scored fewer than 25 points in 15 games since the start of the 2022 season.
Okay, now for the flipside.
The Iowa football team is 6-1 overall and 3-1 in the Big Ten, and now controls its own destiny after having defeated Wisconsin 15-6 this past Saturday in Madison, Wisconsin.
The Iowa football team defeated Wisconsin this past Saturday, and for the third time in the last four games in the series, despite being down to its fourth, fifth and sixth-team tight ends.
In defeating Wisconsin for its sixth win, the Iowa football team is now bowl eligible for the 22nd time in 25 seasons under Kirk Ferentz.
The Iowa football team has a 49-19 record since the start of the 2018 season.
The Iowa football team has a 30-12 record since former strength and conditioning coach Chris Doyle was relieved of his duties in the summer of 2020.
The Iowa football team has won 11 of its last 13 games dating back to last season.
The Iowa football team has an 11-3 record in trophy games since the 2020 season.
The Iowa football team has a 29-3 combined record record against Illinois, Iowa State, Minnesota and Nebraska since 2015.
The Iowa football team has only had two losing seasons (4-8 in 2012 and 6-7 in 2006) since the 2001 season.
The Iowa football team has had 85 players selected in the NFL draft under Kirk Ferentz, including 13 in the first round and 11 in the second round.
The Iowa football team has only had two defensive coordinators under Kirk Ferentz, both with the last name of Parker as Norm Parker ran the defense from 1999 to 2011, while Phil Parker (no relation) has been the coordinator from 2012 to the present.
The Iowa football team has excelled on special teams since making LeVar Woods the special teams coordinator in 2017, finishing last season ranked among the top three in the Big Ten in punt and kickoff returns and punt and kickoff return defense.

Iowa senior punter Tory Taylor is now being compared to legendary Hawkeye punter Reggie Roby, and it’s a fair and reasonable comparison.
Mix all these statistics and facts together and you have one of the oddest storylines in college football right now.
The team that so many enjoy ridiculing and mocking because of its sputtering offense, and because the offense is run by the head coach’s son, keeps defying logic by winning games at a rate that so many programs fall short of achieving.
Iowa certainly isn’t elite under Kirk Ferentz, and rarely has been, but Iowa has been a model of consistency under Kirk Ferentz, in how it wins games and in how many games it has won.
Kirk Ferentz believes that the game of football should be played a certain way, and he has stuck to those beliefs in unwavering fashion during a career that has spanned over 40 decades.
“Football is still you’ve got to play defense, it starts there,” Kirk Ferentz said in his post-game press conference at Wisconsin. “And you can’t be sloppy with the football. And we didn’t do that today. And if you play good in the kicking game, and if you run the ball successfully, it gives you a shot.
“So, those are basics and it’s been that way for 100 years, typically if you look at big games. That really is kind of what it still gets down to.”
Critics will counter by saying that while Iowa has won a lot more games than it has lost under Kirk Ferentz, his teams almost always fall short of being elite and that is because of Kirk Ferentz refuses to admit that his offense needs to be modernized and that his son needs to be terminated.
That narrative, barring a major upgrade on offense, will persist until Kirk Ferentz decides to retire or get rid of his son.
While more and more teams are scoring more and more points with offenses that routinely stretch the field, Iowa’s approach to offense has changed very little in nearly a quarter century under Kirk Ferentz.

It could certainly be argued that the Iowa offense is boring and predictable, and that the offense is standing in the way of Iowa being elite.
But Iowa also controls its own destiny in the Big Ten West Division and should be favored in all five of its remaining games, beginning with Saturday’s game against Minnesota at Kinnick Stadium.
Iowa has won eight games in a row against the Gophers and 10 of the last 11 games in the series.
Kirk Ferentz gets criticized for supposedly not evolving as an offensive coach, and for being too stubborn and conservative, and too stuck in his ways.
But he probably doesn’t get enough praise for how tough, resilient and fundamentally sound his teams have been over the years.
What his teams have lacked in imagination and style, they have made up for with discipline and substance.
What his teams have lacked in offensive firepower and productivity, they have made up for with rock-solid defense and special teams.
Critics can laugh all they want about the offensive deficiencies, but the joke ultimately could be on them should Iowa go on to win the Big Ten West for the second time in three years.
Some will dismiss Iowa’s success this season, and say it’s only from playing a soft schedule.
All a team can do, though, is play the opponents on the schedule.
Iowa’s 2023 schedule says more about the Big Ten West than about Iowa.