By John Bohnenkamp

CHICAGO — Kirk Ferentz is a baseball guy, always has been.

And he appreciates the history of Wrigley Field.

Playing a football game there, though, was something the Iowa coach wasn’t something he enjoyed, even though the Hawkeyes defeated Northwestern 10-7 on Saturday.

A fourth-quarter goal-line stand by the Hawkeyes in the west end zone churned a huge divot that forced four stoppages of play to fill. Both teams were on the north sideline. And Ferentz cringed at the thought of almost no room along the south sideline into the east end zone.

“You drive into Chicago and you see all of those billboards from the malpractice lawyers,” Ferentz quipped. “Six of them were probably sitting down there (in that corner) waiting to hand out cards.”

There wasn’t much room behind the east end zone and the outfield wall. That, combined with the lack of space along the sideline, bothered Ferentz.

“You’ve got to be worried about stuff like that,” he said.

Iowa dressed in what is usually the visiting team clubhouse for baseball, and the team had to enter the field through the first-base dugout.

The divot was a big topic of the post-game conversation.

The turf, located near what is usually the third-base dugout for the Chicago Cubs, had a big gash in it during the four-play goal-line stand when Iowa was up 7-0 in the fourth quarter.

Northwestern had first-and-goal at the Iowa 2-yard line. Cam Porter got to Iowa’s 1 on the first play, then Sullivan and Porter were stopped for no gain on the next two plays.

Each play carved away at the turf, forcing play to be stopped as grounds crew members kept having to fill the hole.

“I told the ref to fix it so I could get a breather,” linebacker Jay Higgins said, laughing.

“That was a big divot,” defensive tackle Yahya Black said. “That was weird.”

Ferentz said if Northwestern is going to host future games at Wrigley Field, there should be some logistical discussions with opposing teams.

“It’s cool to be in a historical place,” he said. “I’d rather buy a ticket.”

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DEJEAN ON OFFENSE: Defensive back Cooper DeJean was a both-side-of-the-ball star in high school, and on Saturday he got a chance with Iowa’s offense, with one carry for eight yards.

“I think the crowd was as loud as it was all day,” quarterback Deacon Hill said, smiling.

DeJean said he had been practicing with the offense during the week.

“It was a lot of fun,” he said. “A little different — I haven’t been over there for a while.”

Higgins said DeJean’s willingness to play on offense shows his character.

“A player of his caliber, he could go to the coaching staff and say, ‘Protect me,’” Higgins said.

Ferentz said the concern in any situation like that is DeJean getting hurt on offense, which would leave a hole not only at the back of Iowa’s defense, but also on special teams, where he is a dynamic punt returner.

“The fear is we’ve only got one of him,” Ferentz said.

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STILL BOTHERED: It’s been two weeks since DeJean’s potential game-winning punt return against Minnesota late in the game was waved off after a replay review determined that DeJean had given an invalid fair-catch signal.

“I don’t know if I’m over it yet,” DeJean said. “I don’t know if I ever will.”

DeJean had two punt returns in Saturday’s game, including one where he hesitated as the ball bounced before picking it up, similar to what he did before his return in the Minnesota game. This time, there was no arm movement.

“I’ve kind of moved on,” he said. “But it’s still in the back of your mind.”