Harty: Life under Ferentz is impossible to predict
Besides keeping you awake past your bedtime, the 2010 Insight Bowl also probably changed the way you feel about the 2011 Iowa football team.
Just when you thought the Iowa program was in a serious funk, Kirk Ferentz’s crew rises up to defeat the 12th-ranked team in the country. And did so by doing what it does best, which is grind, grind and grind some more.
Iowa’s 27-24 victory over Missouri on Tuesday was vintage Kirk Ferentz football in how the Iowa offensive line asserted itself well in the trenches.
It showed that Ferentz’s conservative approach, which relies heavily on running between the tackles, still works when executed properly and when the players and coaches are on the same page.
It proved that you don’t need to have a potent spread offense to beat a potent spread offense.
And it served as yet another reminder that the situation usually is never as bad as it seems under Ferentz.
There are a number of things that make Ferentz a successful head coach, not the least of which is his ability to stay level-headed in the face of adversity but also during good times.
Ferentz has an uncanny ability to live in the moment and to provide a spark when most assume the fuse is gone.
Iowa was left for dead after it closed the regular season with three consecutive losses, including an inexplicable 27-24 setback against lowly Minnesota.
The situation then showed signs of becoming a crisis after Iowa’s leading receiver (Derrell Johnson-Koulianos) was booted from the team following his arrest on drug charges in early December and after its leading rusher (Adam Robinson) was suspended for the Insight Bowl.
But now with Iowa winning the Insight Bowl, fans can cling to hope that the November collapse was more of an aberration than what happened in the desert Tuesday.
Nothing can change the fact that Iowa failed to meet expectations in 2010 by losing five games. But there wouldn’t have been such high expectations if Iowa hadn’t exceeded them in 2009 by winning 11 games.
Some of the glow has rubbed off the program from a national perspective. But that could be good for Iowa because Ferentz’s teams perform better when they’re the hunter instead of the hunted as evidenced by the Insight Bowl.
The national pundits have little tolerance for Iowa failing to meet their high expectations. Being wrong once usually is enough for them to change their perception of the Iowa program, at least until the team overachieves again.
Next year’s team won’t have the burden of high expectations, so perhaps the same chip on the shoulder that Ferentz used to rebuild the program a decade ago will give the 2011 squad an edge.
But next year’s team will have the burden of replacing its starting quarterback, three starters on the defensive line, two starters at linebacker, the school’s all-time leading receiver, an all-Big Ten punter, an all-Big Ten tight end, a three-year starter at fullback and possibly three-fourths of its starting secondary if all-Big Ten strong safety Tyler Sash and all-Big Ten cornerback Shaun Prater both bolt for the NFL a year early.
Junior receiver Marvin McNutt also appears to be considering leaving early for the NFL, which would make an already suspect position even more vulnerable.
You hate to put pressure on just one player, but it’s time for former Cedar Rapids Washington star Keenan Davis to make an impact at receiver. He is half way through his college career, but only has 15 catches and two touchdowns to his credit.
And as much as 69-year old defensive coordinator Norm Parker means to the team as a leader, as a strategist and as a mentor, his ongoing battle with diabetes will continue to complicate things whether Ferentz wants to admit it or not.
Parker has earned the right to retire on his terms, much like Joe Paterno has at Penn State.
You just hope for Parker’s sake, but also for the sake of the team that the worst is over because the players and coaches need him around on a regular basis to keep the machine running properly.
It’s already challenging enough without having Parker on the recruiting trail. He can’t be a part-time coordinator.
Breaking in a new starting quarterback also is a challenge, but at least James Vandenberg or whoever replaces Ricky Stanzi as the starter next season, will have the luxury of playing behind a rock-solid offensive line and handing off to Marcus Coker.
One game doesn’t make a star, but Coker’s 219-yard rushing performance against what was considered a pretty good Missouri defense makes it easier to be optimistic about next season.
And it certainly didn’t hurt Iowa’s chances to land Coker’s former high school teammate, Cyrus Kouandjio, who is considered by many the top high school offensive lineman in the country.
Kouandjio had to be impressed with the cohesiveness and physicality of the Iowa offensive line as it carved out holes for his friend.
But even if Kouandjio doesn’t pick Iowa, Ferentz won’t waste any time thinking about what could have been. It’s just not Ferentz’s style.
As for the 2011 schedule, which will conclude with a much-anticipated game at Nebraska, it looks manageable on paper.
But so did the 2010 schedule, whereas the 2009 schedule looked more like a death march.
Iowa is predictable in how it plays offense and defense under Ferentz, but not with how it tackles expectations, either high or low.
So go ahead and predict where you think Iowa will finish in 2011. But after what happened in 2010, why even bother?
Category: Iowa Hawkeyes Football
When Ferentz’s teams can BEAT the NW’s and Indy’s with great regularity and WITHOUT having to win at the bell time after time THEN I’ll be a believer that Iowa’s program is without the need to change/adjust to today’s game. People don’t realize that it’s going to be much HARDER to win Big Ten title now with two divisions. When Iowa updates their offense to a more modern approach then I’ll believe. After all, name 10 pro teams that look like Iowa’s “pro-style” offense.
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By the way, I in no way mean a spread offense….just perhaps more 3-receiver sets with no FB at times….
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Well Harty maybe you should teach Keeler how to write an objective essay. lol. jk. You are right. It’s all up in the air as far as next year. I am exited about the young guys and the new recruits. Lets hope they all do as good as Coker, right? Vandenberg has a great arm but he can’t be throwing bullets all the time. Looking forward to seeing C.J. Fiedorowicz getting more play time. Kouandjio is a stud he needs to come to Iowa. We need Norm back too. I hope the coaches get it right next time around, clean up the house and move forward. I wish they would get rid of the “We are who We are” mentality and start incorporating exotic blitzes on the defense and some spread offense options like Ohio State and others have. And the execution is important also. The Hawkeyes control their own destiny and they can be whatever they want to be. I know there are always going to be a few bad apples but the coaches have got to get it right next time around. And I also know there are always going to be distractions but some of them are getting old. I am not going to dare to make a prediction for the next year especially after what happend this year. Lets hope Coker doesn’t get caught with a pistol, a hooker, and pound of cocaine in his free time. Enough of me. Go Hawks!
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It is time to replace Ferentz. Yes, he won a lot of games but we have not been to a Rose Bowl since 1991. 91 for Gods sake. Why does Iowa feel that they need to keep coaches until they decide to retire. Hayden Fry and now Ferentz. What have they done? Not much when you look at appearances at big bowl games. So, who has been in the Rose bowl since 91 and how many times, we have Michigan (5), Wisconsin (4), Ohio State (2-plus natl champ appear), Penn State (2), Northwestern (1), Illinois (1), Purdue (1). So we are just as bad as Michigan State and Indiana in terms of invites to a real bowl game. And the last time we won a Rose Bowl – wait for it – 1959. Cubs of the big ten. If a coach cant at least get to the big game and not even the natl title, get rid of them.
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I am all for holding coaches accountable but I don’t think firing Ferentz would be the right think to do right now. It was a crazy season with all the distractons and injuries. You have to give coaches some credit they managed to win the bowl game and winning is what matters. You’ll have to wait two seasons to be able to ask for personel changes. I am guessing that the next years excuse is going to be the lack of senior team leadership and the year after the adjustment to the new big ten. Iowa AD has a great PR staff If you know what I mean. There is alot of politics involved. Ferentz is a money maker and it’s going to be hard to get rid of him unless he resigns. I just hope they learn from the mistakes and adjust.
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hawkeyefantoapoint
Iowa would’ve went to the Rose Bowl in 2002, had someone else beaten Ohio State. You can’t blame a team who went 8-0 in the conference for not going to the Rose Bowl.
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mthawkeye
This coming from the fan who thinks coaching is easy! Who thinks getting to a BCS bowl game every year is easy! Who wants All The Coaches Fired after a Loss! Every team has the,”We are who We Are,” attitude. You don’t see Saban’s Tide running an Oklahoma Spread offense. You never saw Jordan average 10 shots a game. The Tide like to pound the rock with their two great running backs and throw the ball 20-25 times. Jordan likes to shoot the ball more than 10 times a game. Because that’s who they are! You don’t need Spread offense Options to win big in College Football. Look at Wisconsin and Stanford.
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aamorri12
I asked you nicely not to reply to my comments, but here you are putting words in my mouth. Most of what you say is not reality. I don’t care about your moronic jibber jabber. Go bug someone else.
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mthawkeye
What’s a matter, you can’t take someone being critical of your comments? You can’t defend your own comments? I’m going to be on your case!
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MTHAWKEYE
Sure it’s okay for you to criticize other people! But you beg for MERCY when someone criticize’s you!
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I’d still like an answer as to why our offense can play like champs for 20 minutes and then like chumps for 40 minutes. Maybe spend some of the off season investigating that little mystery.
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Let’s be honest. He did not coach the Mizzou game the same way he coached against Wisky, OSU, and others. Pressure made him throw a few blitzes. The blitz on Mizzou’s QB late (even though he wasn’t tackled) quietly was maybe the play of the game. They threw on 3rd and short late in a game with a lead instead of sending Coker head first into an angry defensive line. No, the old system didn’t work. The question is which system will be in place next year.
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He also had them play some man up on defense late, but got criticism from the announcers for switching back to zone on an important play where Mizzou got a first down. They said something to the effect of..why go back to what doesn’t work when what you were doing was working (paraphrased)
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Illhawk,
Our old system. Tyler Nielsen should be healthy again. Morris and DiBona will be bigger, stronger, faster with another year in the weight room. I think Prater will be back. Hopefully our corners can get better at planting that foot and closing the gap on those short yardage passes, while not getting beat on the deep ball. Greenwood was a good player, but him graduating might be a plus. We need more athletic safeties.
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“And it served as yet another reminder that the situation usually is never as bad as it seems under Ferentz.”
There’s an equally true flip-side to this observation.
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Ilhawks, you’re correct. Switching to man d seemed to work better, then back to cover-2.
I really thought they should have taken out the linebackers and played a dime.
The blitzing did throw Mizzou off.
Which style will we see next year?
Answer: The same cover-2 zone defense.
The same predictable offense.
I’m not trying to be negative. I’m just being realistic.
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u2Hawk
Missouri did score 2 touchdowns against Iowa Blitzes.
Every offense is predictable. Alabama likes to pound the rock with their two great running backs. Saban’s Tide don’t want throw the ball up 40 times a game. Oregon likes to run a hurry up, zone read Spread Offense. Even with the Great Andrew Luck, Stanford still loves to run the ball.
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That’s a little too simplistic, to state that every offense is predictable. Between evenly matched teams, big plays can happen when the offense fools the defense. With Iowa we can’t really be sure why the offense was stopped. Was it the play calling, or failure to execute. You can’t tell by watching on TV. One thing is for sure, Iowa lacked the talent to run over conference defenses consistantly.
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DancingBull
How often does a coach run a new play that he has never run before? Playaction can fool teams, but it’s not like the defense doesn’t know that the other team likes to do playaction.
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Predictable? Only great teams and great coaches are prectable.
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The real issue with our Defense this year was the graduation of Edds and Angerer. You can afford to rush 4 on the D-line when you have excellent linebackers playing pass coverage and stopping the run. Our “middle” was soft all year and the coaching staff did little to nothing to address this until the Insight Bowl. It’s the truth.
Second, the Offense is the real story in 2010..the Insight bowl was headed down the same story line until the Defense bailed out KOK even with Coker going for 210 yards rushing. I ask you, how many times did the Offense sputter to a stop in the 2nd half of games? Almost every game.
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I was at the Insight Bowl and there is one factor that seems to never go away. The Iowa fans were there, they were LOUD and they supported their team all the way. I have no doubt that this was a huge factor in this game after all of the troubles the team suffered from. In fact, when I saw the replay of Coker’s long touchdown run, I think you could see it on Ferentz’s face when he heard the roar of the Iowa faithful, still standing behind him and his team. In fact, it was hard to find Missouri fans. On paper, it was suppose to be even but you can’t calculate the number of people like me who live in Arizona and bought tickets. I can only hope but think that our recruits and prospective recruits were paying attention. One last observation. The officiating in this game was the best I’ve seen in many, many years. The only questionable call was the no call on pass interference with McNutt in the endzone. It was very close but when I saw it on replay, they were applying a very consistent “let them play” attitude that helped us in the end.
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I am concerned about 2011, because we have a major loss of team leadership. I expect Prater, Sash and McNutt to leave for the NFL, which is a great loss of additional team leadership.
So who is left to lead the 2011 team?
I would expect Marcus Z. and RR to lead the OL one more season. The weakness to the OL is the quality of play and depth at center.
Wideout is a wipe out if McNutt leaves. I expect major playing time from the incoming class. Will we see CJ show up on the field at TE instead of Kickoff?
Tailback is short on depth, but deep on talent.
QB? Does one game from one year ago make VBerg the starter?
I expect Broderick and Daniels to be the senior leaders for the D. I was mystified at the lack of play time Broderick got this year. Will we see Carl Davis and Donovan Johnson make it on the field in 2011?
LB. Does Nielson return from his vertebrae injury? Morris will be a Hawkeye hero in 2011, but who else will step it up for the LB corps?
Secondary. If Sash leaves, who will be the next man in? Will Jordan Berstine be a player in 2011? I like Micah, but we need three other play makers.
LB and secondary are going to be the weakest links next year. I hope next year’s unit will be able to hold a lead
OL and Marcus are going to be our team strength.
I’m thinking 4-4 for conference and a minor bowl appearance once again.
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His teams always perform better when under the radar can be phrased another way…..he has consistently shown that he can’t deliver when he has a team stocked with veteran experienced players who everyone in the country agrees should contend for a BCS bowl.
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doctedhawk
Pre Season Expectations are worthless. Every college football team has to adjust to new personnel every year. The Bulaga’s, Spievey’s, Edds, Angerer’s, and Moeaki’s of the world aren’t easy to replace.
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