Well folks, the Iowa Football season has, for all intents and purposes, ended. Losing to this Michigan State team would be really embarrassing, an obviously I want to see a win against Nebraska, but even if they win those games, that will just bring another trip to Tampa (yawn) and a bowl loss to a ranked team (par for the course).
I stand by my earlier writing that said 7-5 was on the table.
the schedule was difficult and there were a lot of unknowns on both sides of the ball. But I didn’t expect
the team to be so close to having a really, really good season. We saw flashes of potential – like the first half against USC. and then we saw it all fall apart…like the second half against USC.
It’s frustrating and it’s a perfect encapsulation of everything we’ve seen in the late-stage Kirk Ferentz era that has featured him losing 13 straight games to ranked opponents. There’s no doubt that USC is an extremely talented team, but Iowa absolutely collapsed on Saturday.
And yet, the media barely talked about it in Kirk Ferentz’s press conference. Yes, senior day is important, and yes, I read enough of these to know that Kirk Ferentz is never going to give good answers when pressed with difficult questions. But I would have liked to see them try. But let’s get into it, shall we? Check out the full transcript HERE.
This one was at least a pretty valid question, given the still rough state of the passing game, despite the much improved scoring numbers:
Q. Looking at the passing offense from last season to this season numbers, completion percentage, yards per games, pretty much on par between last season and this season. Can you pinpoint maybe why there hasn’t been that sizeable growth into this season?
KIRK FERENTZ: I think we’re a little different team, just the way we’re made up and the way we do things right now. And obviously a lot of that is contingent on the quarterback and what he does best. And the way things have panned out, we’re running Mark probably a little bit more than maybe we would have anticipated going into this whole thing. But that’s kind of how things have developed. And certainly not perfect. We’ve missed some throws along the way, had some protection breakdowns at times, but I think overall the guys have done a good job. I think each season unfolds in a certain way, and you learn about your players and try to do what they do best, and that’s just kind of how it’s materialized.
Hey, points are points, I get that. Scoring has unquestionably improved under Tim Lester. But my god our passing game is rough. Gronowski’s passing has never really had a chance to be consistent, and if you played wide receiver, would you want to come here given our usage rates for wideouts in recent years? I wouldn’t either! There’s no question that there needs to be changes in the passing game (cough replace the wide receivers coach for one cough cough). Yes it’s true that the team is scoring points and that the offense has improved but this goes beyond being ‘contingent on the quarterback and what he does best.’ Gronowski threw for 2500+ yards in the last three seasons. We know he can throw the ball, Kirk.
Q. I wanted to ask you the three offensive linemen that got hurt, looked like Beau had a helmet-to-helmet maybe. The other two guys, it was kind of hard to tell, maybe a lower body. Is that a fair characterization of those?
KIRK FERENTZ: Yeah.
Q. What can you say about the severity of those injuries? You said they’re not 100 percent chance, but is it like five percent chance that they’ll play?
KIRK FERENTZ: First thing I would say is it doesn’t help the cause Saturday, obviously. It’s one of our strengths right now. And, I’m not real good on percentages, but I think it’s realistic to think all three of them have a good chance to play. We’re being very careful with what we do daily right now, and probably know more certainly Thursday or Friday. But right now, I’m optimistic, but cautiously optimistic, I guess. I don’t know what percent that is. So like probable, non-probable, you know, whatever.
Q. If only one is down, would be Leighton be the guy?
KIRK FERENTZ: Yep.
Q. How do you feel about him?
KIRK FERENTZ: Good. He’s done a great job. I can’t remember. It was a couple weeks ago where he jumped in there and I thought really did a good job. And, again, we get to watch these guys in practice. You guys don’t get that exposure for guys that aren’t playing as starters. So he’s really just grown with every phase, and yeah, we got great confidence. I thought he did a nice job, again, Saturday. And if he’s the guy in there, he’ll do fine.
I would definitely be more concerned about this if it happened two weeks ago or even last weekend, but going into this game, I don’t think a little bit of offensive line shuffling will be the crisis it could have been. Still sucks, but I have been pleased overall with the offensive line play this year. Hopefully this won’t ben an issue.
Q. I wanted to ask you more about some of the guys that you’ve kind of acquired over the years that are seniors now. Like the one-year guys, you’re kind of betting on something there that they’ll fit in and assimilate to the way you guys do things. With Mark, Jonah, we talked to those guys today, about what’s that process like to find those guys and make sure that they’re good fits for you guys and how they’ve worked out for you?
KIRK FERENTZ: Yeah. I’m smiling, I’m not laughing, but I’m thinking ahead already about what’s going to come up here because of the new calendar, and it’s going to be more blind dating this year than ever, which is really scary. To your point, vetting and just having a good feel, is this going to be a good place for that player; is this player going to be — fit with what we do. It has to be a mutually beneficial arrangement hopefully. But it is speed dating almost in some ways, social media dating, not that I’ve ever participated in that, but I’ve heard about it. It does work at times.
So it’s interesting, to say the least. A little bit of it’s a crap shoot. And then the other, your thoughts, I thought about this earlier when I’m talking about the guys, four years, five years, six years, a guy like Jacob Gill has only been here two years, yet it feels like he’s been here five. He has been an unbelievable fit here. He’s all that’s good in a football player, person, outstanding student. Just shows up every day, works hard.
He’s not the biggest guy, but he’s taken a beating over the last two years. I say that, weekly, he’s sore on Sundays typically and Mondays and Tuesdays, but the guy shows up and works with a great attitude. He’s the kind of guy you love to have in your program for four years or five years, and we got him for two. So I’m appreciative of that.
But it is a crap shoot. The biggest thing is you hope it fits for the player, like he gets here and he’s really comfortable in the program, because if guys are comfortable, then they have a chance to use what they have and prosper and hopefully have a great experience. That’s the whole objective is for everybody to walk out of here feeling good about what they’ve done during their time here. That’s what you’re hoping for.
“Hey do you want to come play offense for a school where quarterbacks are guaranteed to regress and wide receivers won’t be coached by someone who’s played the position? If so, you’ll have a great time at Iowa!”
Q. Kirk, when you’ve had so many close losses and maybe the playoff is out of reach, the Big Ten, sometimes guys can maybe coast at the end of the year, all this sitting out stuff. What gives you confidence that these senior leaders will keep this team rolling into the final two games and then a bowl game?
KIRK FERENTZ: I mean, we try to encourage a couple of things during the course of the season certainly, and one is just let’s worry about this week this week and tell the guys we’ll do all the math afterwards. We have plenty of people helping us on that anyway.
But at the end of the year we’ll figure out where we’re at on all that stuff. But the biggest thing is just about getting ready each week and competing, as cliche and mundane as that is. But that’s easier said than done.
And these guys have done it 10 weeks. They’ve competed as hard as you can out there. And that’s all you can ask, and to me it would be such a waste of 10 good weeks to take our foot off the gas at this point. That’s really, to me, what it all gets down to.
And you’re playing because every week is a challenge in itself, and you’re trying to go out and do the best you possibly can regardless of who’s there Saturday. And that’s really what the game is about.
So just being around our team, you can never predict anything. Like you never know 100 percent what’s going to happen, but after 10 weeks, I’m confident these guys are going to do it again. They’re going to show up and line up and compete again Saturday, knowing that we have a team that’s going to do the same thing we’re playing.
First of all, just to survive in the Big Ten, you better be doing that. But, more importantly, it’s about what we’re trying to — how do we want to feel about this team when the season is over.
I’ll give Kirk Ferentz this, he does get his guys to play for an entire season, even when they’re playing to go to Tampa for the millionth time. He’s right here that it would be a waste of 10 weeks to take their foot off the gas and finish the season 6-6 at worst. But when it comes to ‘how do we want to feel about this team when the season is over?’ Obviously us fans are not in the locker room building these relationships, but what we see on the outside is a group who took very talented teams to the brink and couldn’t get the job done. Again and again and again. For what feels like the millionth season in a row. And yet the last home game of the season is sold out and we’re gearing up to do the same thing next year!
Q. I realize the wins and losses completely matter and all that. But the way the guys talk, I mean they all believe and I think a lot of people in this room probably believe that this is one of the better teams you’ve probably had in terms of just quality. Do you feel that way? I know the race isn’t finished yet, but do you feel like this is one of the better teams that you’ve had despite the win-loss record, I guess, at this point?
KIRK FERENTZ: Yeah, the objective is not to be close, but the objective is to really compete hard and play our best. And every game you can find things that, hey, we could have done this a little better or that a little better. But to me the biggest thing of 20 some years it’s about the effort you put in, the commitment you make and how you compete.
So these guys have been checking that box. And, again, it’s a lot, I think, easier said than done. And all you have to do is look at the scores every weekend, how that happened or how did this game be that close, that type of deal.
So it’s a hell of a challenge. And, yeah, as a coach, like that’s really what I feel good about or don’t feel good about at the end of the year is like just what was the level of commitment and how do our guys respond to the various situations.
And it’s tough after you get beat. We’ve had heartbreaking losses against really good teams. So, you know, it is hard, and you gotta give these guys a lot of credit for the way they come back, go to work on Monday. And that to me is what the game is about. That’s really what you learn from it and what you take away.
So, you know, we’d rather be 10 and 0 right now. We’re not. And we can’t do anything about it. So the thing we have to do is worry about the next two, and right now that second one is a mile away.
Like we have to worry about this week first, and like I said, all that other stuff gets figured out.
I think there are 12 teams in the playoffs now. We keep changing it, right, or we do change it. But I know this math, outside of 12 teams, everybody else is going to be mad, they’re going to be upset or whatever. Obviously you’d rather be in that 12, but if you’re not, there’s still a lot of good teams and a lot of good stories that aren’t in that top 12.
I’ll go back to 2001, like, I don’t know if I enjoyed a win more than the Alamo Bowl, to go 7-5. Every season, every game has its own significance, and you can’t get sucked into the, you know, they said or they think all that stuff. To me you can’t, unless you just want to go crazy, drive yourself crazy, and that’s not good to do to yourself or let other people do that.
“All that other stuff gets figured out.” Does it though, Kirk? Seems like you’ve had plenty of time to figure out these things that have consistently occurred over the last few years and yet they’re still happening!
His point here is correct that there is still obviously merit in having a winning season that doesn’t result in a playoff appearance. But it feels like a missed opportunity. It especially feels like a missed opportunity when you are mere points away from being 10-0 like he mentioned. Almost being 10-0 isn’t really worth hanging a banner over. Yes this has been a season of improvement on offense, but it’s also been a season of regression at spots on defense, and there’s still a lot that can improve on offense. I kinda wish Kirk would drive himself crazy about some of the things that the fanbase has been saying for years, because then maybe we’d actually be making a playoff appearance. But instead, we’ll be going to Tampa while the Indiana Hoosiers make their second playoff appearance in as many years.
If I had any emotional capacity left to dedicate to Iowa Football, it would drive me crazy. How does it NOT drive Kirk crazy??
