By Pat Harty

IOWA CITY, Iowa – It could be argued that there is no such thing as a bad win, especially if it comes wrapped in history, which is the opportunity facing the Iowa football team on Saturday against UMass.

With a victory, Kirk Ferentz would become the Big Ten’s all-time winningest head football coach. He is currently tied with Ohio State coaching legend Woody Hayes for first place with 205 wins.

Hayes retired from coaching following the 1978 season, meaning he has been perched on top for nearly a half century.

So, what Ferentz is about to achieve is a big deal.

If it doesn’t happen against UMass, then fans would have witnessed a different kind of history as it would easily rank as one of the biggest upsets in program history.

But it’s hard to see the 0-2 Minutemen winning this game under almost any circumstance.

That isn’t to say it’s impossible, but it’s highly unlikely as evidenced by the betting line that has Iowa favored by a whopping 35.5 points.

Iowa doesn’t just have to win Saturday’s game to shift the narrative. It will have do so in convincing fashion, and with the much-maligned passing game playing a significant role to appease the fans, who certainly have their doubts after watching Iowa quarterback Mark Gronowski combine to pass for just 127 yards in the first two games.

The struggles with the passing game was a key factor in Iowa’s 16-13 loss to Iowa State this past Saturday in Ames, and also the continuation of a disturbing trend.

Gronowski and his offensive cohorts have to start building some momentum with Big Ten playing starting next Friday night at Rutgers. And the way to do that would be to defeat UMass by a wide margin, and with the passing game contributing to the win.

Because if Iowa were to struggle with its passing game against UMass, and yet still prevail, it would put a damper on the post-game celebration, even with Kirk Ferentz’s situation.

The thinking would be if Iowa can’t throw against UMass, who can it throw against?

“As we push forward, basically this week is like any week; our goal is to win the game and then secondly to improve and grow and see what we can do to move forward as a football team,” Kirk Ferentz said.

The best way for Iowa to move forward would be for the passing game to show some life, at least a pulse.

Gronowski has to show confidence and awareness in the pocket and his receivers have to create space and make catches.

So many other teams make it look routine, but not Iowa.

This will likely be the last game on Iowa’s schedule in which it will be heavily favored.

Iowa’s defense is ranked 12th nationally in total defense (207.5), 16th in rushing defense (73.5) and 30th in scoring defense (11.5) through the first two games.

Iowa is also averaging 220.5 rushing yards through two games, and it has one of the best kicker/punter combinations in the country in senior kicker Drew Stevens and sophomore punter Rhys Dakin.

So many of the pieces that it takes to win are in place, but if the passing game doesn’t improve significantly, Iowa would likely fall short of meeting its goals.

The No. 1 goal in this age would be to make the 12-team playoff.

Of course, winning the Big Ten title is another goal.

But making the playoff is what matters the most.

As for UMass, it hasn’t just fallen on tough times, it has sunk to a staggering low with its last winning season coming in 2010 when it finished 6-5 overall.

Since the start of the 2012 season, the Minutemen have a combined record of 26-124, including five seasons it which it finished 1-11 overall.

The hope is that new head coach Jim Harasymiak can finally end the misery, but obviously, it won’t be easy to change a culture that is so used to losing.

Harasymiak should know what to expect from Iowa as he served as the Rutgers defensive coordinator from 2022 to 2024.

He was also previously the co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach for Minnesota from 2019-21.

In December 2015, Harasymiak became the youngest head coach in NCAA Division football when he was named to the post at the University of Maine. He was just 29 years old at  the time.

Kirk Ferentz was also the head coach for Maine from 199o to 1992.

“UMass has an outstanding coach,” Kirk Ferentz said. “We’ve got a background with Joe from being at Minnesota and being at Rutgers most recently, so familiar with his work. He’s a defensive coach. He’s an outstanding coach; was a head coach at Maine on top of that. A little bit of familiarity there in terms of philosophical approach to the game.”

Even with Harasymiak’s Big Ten background and his familiarity with Hawkeye football, if Saturday’s outcome is anything besides a lopsided Iowa win, Hawkeye fans would probably be more concerned than happy.

Iowa’s running game has made significant improvement under second-year offensive coordinator Tim Lester, while the passing attack has continued to perform at historically low levels.

The struggles with the passing game might help to explain why Gronowski combined for 27 carries in the first two games, including 16 against Iowa State.

That’s just too many carries for a quarterback in an offense that strives for balance. It would almost certainly be a bad sign for the passing game if Gronowski were to have more than 10 carries against UMass.

If the passing game were to click against UMass, one good performance against a massive underdog certainly wouldn’t be enough to say it’s fixed.

But it would give Iowa, and Gronowski, some positive momentum heading into Big Ten play. And it would give fans at least some hope that Iowa’s passing attack is finally moving in the right direction.

Prediction: Iowa 44, UMass 7

 

UMass (0-2) vs. Iowa (1-1)

When: Saturday, 6:30 p.m.

Where: Kinnick Stadium (69,250)

TV: Big Ten Network

Radio: Hawkeye Radio Network

Series: Saturday’s game will be the first meeting in the all-time series.