Ferentz says he missed the call
IOWA CITY, Ia. — On further review …
… Kirk Ferentz said he would have called a timeout.
Iowa’s veteran football coach second guessed himself Tuesday when asked about Minnesota’s successful onside kick that led to the winning touchdown during the Gophers’ 22-21 victory Saturday.
“The onsides kick, you know — I’ll take that one,” Ferentz told reporters during his weekly press conference. “Just as soon as (the kicker) started making his approach, I almost called timeout.
“I’m standing next to the official. I should have (called timeout) in retrospect, but I didn’t, so that’s the way it goes.”
His 5-3 team tries to regroup at home Saturday during an 11 a.m. game against No. 13 Michigan (7-1). It tries to recover after losing against a Minnesota team that was outscored 144-31 against three previous Big Ten Conference opponents.
This time, Iowa will be wary of onside kicks, which wasn’t the case Saturday when Minnesota defenders crushed Jason White before he had a chance to react.
“We knew as soon as they started approaching the ball that something was up,” White, a backup running back, said Tuesday. “There were skill players up there on the front line, but at that point, we were not (prepared).
“On that particular instance, they executed well and we didn’t.”
White said special team coaches mentioned the onside possibility during a pre-kick sideline huddle.
“We were on special teams alert,” White said. “We just weren’t lined up and prepared when he kicked it.”
Iowa was a double-figure favorite to reach six-win bowl eligibility Saturday, and the fact that it didn’t has fans wondering if or when it will happen.
The Hawkeyes’ remaining schedule consists of games against three rated opponents, and one at Purdue, where Iowa has won just once since 1991.
“We’re coming off a loss, and it hurt,” Iowa athletic director Gary Barta said during an interview before Ferentz’s press conference. “Broader than that, a long time ago time ago, I learned to observe daily and evaluate annually.
“We’re all hurting from the loss — our fans are hurting, I’m hurting as athletic director, and obviously the staff and student-athletes are hurting, but we’ve got a game to play, so we’re going to go out and try to win it.
“Beyond that, I still feel the same way I felt two years ago, three years ago, five years ago — we have one of the best coaches in the country. When you look at success on the field, when you look at his approach to student- athlete graduation rates and his value system and the way he fits with Iowa, I feel the same way today that I have for several years.”
Iowa’s most recent Graduation Success Rate is 83, according to the NCAA. Nationally, the average is 68.
People have questioned defensive alignments and offensive play calling. Some even raised the question: Is Iowa getting its money’s worth from a coach whose annual salary is $3.8 million?
That was brought up in a recent Omaha World-Herald column, to which Barta said:
“You can have a whole discussion about what the marketplace is, isn’t, what it should be, or what it shouldn’t be. That’s a separate discussion.
“Do we have the person that best fits Iowa? We have somebody who has taken us to a very high level competitively, someone who graduates student-athletes at a level that’s among the top in the country, somebody that I trust as he brings in young people and develops them as people.
“Yes, we’re getting the bang for our buck.”
Category: Iowa Hawkeyes Football
I think Ferentz is getting too old.
I think the game is passing him by.
I think it’s a shame he’s the highest-paid employee of the State of Iowa and he’s not able to do his job.
Time to go Kirk?
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Kirk is primed to be JoePa’s successor. 7-8 years ago, I would have said no way. Now? Well, I’d say he’d be the perfect fit there for the next 20-23 years.
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You claim to be a Penn State fan and you say Ferentz is “too old”? What a joke. Hawk haters don’t get a vote on this. Only Hawkeye supporters. Joe Pa is 120 years old, so your comment is hypocritical, at best. You’re just a windbag hiding in the weeds because Iowa has beat the crap out of Penn State 8 of the last 10 seasons. And you just don’t know football.
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Ferentz and his staff do far more things right than they do wrong. The Omaha Herald commenting on the Iowa coach, whatever. I like Ferentz and I think he represents the U Of I in an outstanding way. The whole get rid of Ferentz, it’s time for a change, is nonsense. I just wish he or his staff would do a better job of situational game management especially near the end of close games. If you’re strategy is a conservative style, play to be close at the end, than you better darn well be good at late game decision making and clock management. I would say that in most cases we are poor at it, plain and simple.
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Well said. All this fire KF talk is nonsensical. He runs a tight ship, is a tremendous leader and doesn’t act like a hot headed idiot on the sideline (I’m talking to you, Mike Stoops). I’ll take him as our coach any day and twice on Saturday.
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Well played, 94, well played.
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I couldn’t agree more. As an Iowan and lifelong Hawkeye fan living in Omaha, I couldn’t be happier with the way Coach Ferentz represents our state. Nebraska’s Pelini could stand to take a few notes. Sure, Iowa loses some games it shouldn’t, but I’m behind Coach Ferentz 100%. He’s a class-act and a fantastic coach. Go Hawks!
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Your complete and utter acceptance of the mediocrity for most of the past 7 years (minus 2009) is a reason that Iowa will only continue to have that rare “special season” rather than actually maintaining a higher level (9-11 wins per year). There’s always been valleys with KF’s peaks – and MANY more of those since 2006.
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Thumbs up, John. Was it only two years ago that Iowa handed Minnesota the worst defeat in Big Ten football history? Maybe it was three years. Seems like a century.
I don’t like this play close, manage the clock, we don’t have an offense, style of football. It’s a lot more fun when they ROLL!
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C O R R E C T !!!
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U @
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As a Minnesota grad, I was happy with Saturday’s outcome. As an Iowan whose brother played for Kirk Ferentz under Hayden Fry, I cannot understand the animosity Iowa fans have for Kirk Ferentz. Ferentz runs a clean program. Ferentz has won major bowls, something that Hayden Fry never did (and Fry was an amazing coach). Ferentz wins in bowls, 6-3 overall. Iowa’s program ranks in the top five teams that have players on pro rosters. Ferentz has had double digit win seasons four times to Fry’s two. Yeah, Iowa is predictable – I suspect most Hawkeye fans could call O’Keefe’s games for him and, yes, Norm Parker would rather eat hot coals than call blitzes, but the overall record is clear that Ferentz is worth every penny he is paid. He is a man of integrity and his program reflects the same values. I wish we had someone like him at Minnesota, and we just might have him as Jerry Kill is cut from the same cloth as Ferentz (but the jury is out whether he will be as successful).
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You disqualified yourself as a credible commenter as soon as you said you were a Minnesota grad…..JK!
KF’s best years, save 2009, were 2002-2004 = seven years ago.
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Ferentz is a good coach who sometimes has his head up his you know what. But Norm is not healthy enough to run the defense full time and needs to be replaced. He’s been great but it’s time for new blood there.
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Goofer in the house!!
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EEK! It’s a mouse!
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Thank you, westsidebilly. As an IOWA grad who lived in the Twin Cities for 23 years, I can say with complete confidence that Minnesotans are the biggest bunch of fair weather fans who ever occupied the earth in one place. When the Gophers moved to the Metrodome, they forgot the U of M even has a football team. Of course, old Memorial Stadium was about to fall down before they tore it down. Gopher fans have no reason to understand that we Hawkeyes have much HIGHER expectations than they have. Gopher glory lies buried DEEP in the dusty archives of college football. STLCardinal says, “I wish we had someone …” If wishes were horses, Gophers would ride. As long as they stay sore about the Lou Holtz incident up there, no one else like that will ever come along. We Hawkeyes aren’t complaining this week because we think we don’t have a good coach. We’re complaining because we lost to Minnesota—again!—when there’s NO WAY it should have happened—again! We’re complaining because, unlike the Gopher fans, our expectations are HIGH!
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HawkinAZ – I agree that Gopher fans are the biggest fair weather fans ever. I grew up a Hawkeye fan – my dad was Zabel’s color commentator from 1965 – 1978 and my brother played for Hayden Fry and his position coach was Kirk Ferentz. I remember when Iowa completely sucked in the 1970s, but Iowa fans still wanted success. Minnesota fans suck, but it’s my alma mater, so I want them to succeed and that is why I wish we had Ferentz as our coach. I asked Ferentz once if he would take lots of $$$ to go to Minnesota and he laughed in a friendly, but “are you kidding me” way.
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I seem to recall a certain basketball coach at Iowa, I believe Tom Davis was his name where the same glowing comments were made of him right up until they decided not to renew his contract. Our expectations are reasonable I believe, we don’t ask for National Championship hunts every year, we don’t even expect to win Big Ten championships once every 2-3 years but is there anything wrong with expecting to be “relevent”? We expect our $3.8M a year coach not to be outcoached by an interim coach in 2010, and a first year coach of what is considered by many to be the worst team in D1. If you look at the games Iowa has lost over the years that are considered to be “upsets”, like what happened at Minnesota, they far outnumber the number of games Iowa has won that are considered “upsets”. Sorry, that’s coaching.
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I give Ferentz props for admitting he made a key mistake. In the same way, I think it’s important to try to look at what’s actually wrong with the Iowa program and fix only those things that are broken.
Can Ferentz coach? Well, a head coach wears so many hats that you can’t just give a thumbs up or thumbs down. Based on his experience as an offensive line coach, and on the players he’s recruited and sent to the pros, the answer is affirmative: Kirk Ferentz can coach the pants off most other coaches. Based on his graduation rate and the way he disciplines moron players on his team I’d also give him high marks.
On the other hand, game-day coaching and the management of the offense and defense have been suspect. I sense a genuine shift in the offense this year, in attitude and objective, but the defense seems as committed to a specific philosophy as ever, and I think that’s hurt the team. As head coach Ferentz is obligated to evaluate his head coaches as he would an offensive lineman, and I’m concerned that he’s not doing that. (I think, rather, that he has deep friendships with NP and KOK, and that affects his judgment.)
The bottom line is that Ferentz is in charge. If he’s making bad calls during a game he needs someone talking in his ear to manage those moments — and all coaches have those people on the sidelines and in the booth. If the offense and defense aren’t getting the results they should get — if it’s a scheme problem — then the schemes have to change, and if the coaches won’t bend on that they need to be broken.
I don’t know if Ferentz is worth his money or not. It’s an impossible question to answer without looking at the books. But his job is not a mystery. It’s to put the best product on the field every weekend, and he’s clearly not doing that. The only question is whether he’s willing to accept that challenge or incapable of doing so, with all that means.
To my mind Norm Parker needs to go, and has probably stayed with the program too long. That may seem cold-hearted, but there’s no warm-hearted clause in Ferentz’s contract.
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This is well reasoned and well written. Everyone seems to agree that the program needs a coaching shake-up, and not necessarily at the top. But the guy at the top sets the tone, doesn’t he? As an alum, I am proud of the philosophy at Iowa that we are coaching boys to become good men and COLLEGE GRADUATES as well. That is what college athletics should be about. But we can be gentlemen and also raise the level of intensity on the field, can’t we?
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Well spoken Mystery! I agree with you completely. I would take it one step further though and think about the offensive side too. I think KOK is also too set in his ways. I don’t think the offense is diverse enough. We don’t surprise anyone with our schemes. I feel that the man at the top can do the job, but we do need to shake things up a bit.
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K should ahve said this right after the game and earned some respect instead of coming out and saying well that is football and all his other lame crap.
As far firing KF, I say no but it’s time to shake up the staff and not in a minor way either. They are to predictable and stuck in their ways.
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Yeah. “Oh well, that’s the way it goes.” That is KF in a nutshell. I agree with hawkeyeguy. TOO PREDICTABLE AND STUCK IN THEIR WAYS. Stuck in the mud, more like. Minnesota knows EVERY YEAR that despite their won-loss record, they can beat Iowa by simply playing on a higher emotional level. Iowa State knows that too. And Penn State. And Michigan. And …
I say again. Remember Hayden Frye?
“The hay’s in the barn, boys, let’s go huntin’!”
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Okay HawkinAZ:
No E in Fry. Do YOU remember?
Thom Davies
Dane Gable
C. Vivian Strynger
Christine Grante
Neil Kinnick
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I love KF as a person and coach but his loyalties run too deep. I hope as HC he is still holding the coaches accountable the way they do to the players. We have had some horrible coaching this year and it shows. We don’t have the talent this year to handicap our players with poor schemes, personelle and clock management. Why was Jason White in on 3rd down on the biggest drive of the game? He hasn’t played all year. Why was Herman our #1 option two plays in a row when double covered? You knew they were going bring pressure why not have an extra TE in? If Jason White knew they had their HANDS team in on the kickoff why is he not able to call a Timeout? I think the coaches handcuff the players way too much! We had 2:30 seconds a timeout and clock that stops on first downs and only 60 yds to go for a fg…we didnt run once when Coker gets 7yds a carry…VERY POOR COACHING! And if KF knew something was up why wouldn’t he just call the timeout to be absolutely sure? YOU HAVE THE LEAD! Iowa fans are frustrated because we lose to teams we shouldnt every year. We dont expect to beat everyone..just teams we should. MN was one of the worst teams in the country. I just hate it when KF gives us answers like we are morons. “they played better than us”. “we need to execute better”. Really? we watch every game and these are the explanations we get? We pay money to go to games and we deserve honest answers. At least he admitted this one mistake i will give him that. All in all, i would love to keep KF here for years to come but shake someting up with the coordinators. I would love to see M.Stoops energy on the sidelines pumping up his team getting ready for a big possesion. I hate the robot attitude our team has. Play with some heart, passion and aggression. You are football players! Act like it means something to you!
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Looking back at the last 30 years of Iowa football, I think it has been very cyclical. Two or three good or great years are followed by two or three average, or below average, years. I know good, great and average are matters of opinion, plus there are other factors to consider when labeling a certain season. Under Fry, Iowa was good from 1981 through 1984, very good from 1985 through 1987, then slipped from 1988 through 1989. Iowa came back well in 1990 and 1991, only to slip again from 1992 through 1994. Ferentz has almost had the same history. Iowa was very good from 2002 through 2004, then fell from 2005 through 2007. Hawks were much better in 2008 and 2009. A coach can win at Iowa, but not consistently. I think Iowa’s football history since 1981 should have created a humble fan base. The 8-10 wins a season can happen, but are not guaranteed the next year. That should have created a humble and appreciative fan base. Iowa fans can’t get spoiled by the wins. Some schools’ fans are spoiled by the wins. A 2 or 3-loss season is a disaster. (Consider at Nebraska soon after Osborne left). If you want to follow a consistent winner, try the elite SEC schools, but try not to get spoiled with the wins. I don’t think it’s time for Ferentz to leave because he hasn’t been “below average” long enough to cause concern. If he did leave, I think he would be hired someplace else the next day. Look at what has happened to Univ. of Colorado football. It has had a progressive and horrible decline after McCartney left and they are not even close to average this year. Yes, CU’s new coach needs time to build a program and he deserves that. Things didn’t go bad long term at Iowa after Fry retired. I’d much rather be a fan of an Iowa-like program that what CU fans have had to go through the past 6-7 years.
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Six or seven years is nothing. How about fifty years of bad football like my Gophers? Don’t forget those years in the wilderness the Hawkeyes had from 1962-79. Remember Butch Caldwell? Iowa fans are lucky to have a program that has been consistently competitive for over 30 years.
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Sorry, but KF, good a teacher as he is, doesn’t always have his head in the game. He missed onside kick calls in two losses to Northwestern, last year against Minn., this year against Minn. Last year he blundered by not keeping anyone on the scrimmage line when Wisconsin pulled off that fake punt. That would have never worked if had prepared for the only play that could have given Wisconsin that win.
He also plays not to lose and gets scared to try anything with short time near the end of the first half–as with ISU this year, and this past game…or even sometimes when the game is tied near the end, as it was with the conference championship at state in ’09…preferring to run out the clock when a field goal would have beaten Ohio State. Playing scared is never a good thing.
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Kirk, when you make sarcastic comments about “doing what the fans want,” they want you to play to win…and keep in mind that all that money you get paid is there only because of the fans. That’s how it’s generated. You’ve had a good run at Iowa but there are others out there who can win here.
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Sure, there may be others out there who can win at Iowa. But will there be consistency? How many of these so-called others will build a sustainable program here at Iowa that lasts for more than 5 seasons? It’s not by accident that Iowa has had 2 head football coaches in the last 30+ years.
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Paul Rhodes best coach in the state!!
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http://www.firekirkferentz.org/
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Iowa is 28(W) & 24(L)in Big 10 games since 2005. We can and should expect more W’s. I for one am tired of hearing excuses regarding why Iowa can’t win. (small population, etc.) Kirk needs to get it done, and get it done much more often
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I hate to say it but the Iowa defense’s woes began about the same time as the severity of Norm’s problems escalated. I am not saying the ship is sinking by any means. However, I am saying it’s time to address the situation. Norm either has to retire (not my wish) or needs to get back down on the field where he is within arm’s reach of his players. Kirk Ferentz is a loyal guy and most likely he is too nice with respect to this sort of situation. It’s no secret Norm is in the twilight of his career and it’s time for Kirk to make a definitive decision about the future of the defense. I will agree that he allowed himself to be hoodwinked by the onside kick (again) but at least he stepped outside the box and went for it on 4th down once. Go Hawks!
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the problem doesn’t lay with Kirk not calling the T?O.
It is the fact that he and his coaches should have understood it before they ever lined up.
Lets be truthfull, we seem to make a large amounts of missed calls and we seem lose because of them, along with players making the same type of mistakes esp on defense that allows us to notch up another loss in a game we had no reason to lose. If your a coach, then coach. DON’R GET CAUGHT UP IN WATCHING GAMES, JUST COACH AND PUT OUR TEAM IN A PLACE TO WIN.
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Politics-Politics:
Obviously, the relationship between the AD and head coach is more than just a little too comfortable. Just when almost every Iowan and ex-Iowan has been screaming for his head on platter, this lame AD gives the typical, “…but he’s one of the best coaches in the country” routine. Bull-Hunky!! The fact of the matter is the people of Iowa deserve better than this… at this stage of the game, we should have been in serious contention for the National Championship. And NO, I’m not talking about a win over GT in the Orange Bowl… I’m talking the whole kit & kaboodle!! Maybe Ferentz’s true colors may have shown up a little earlier if they would have matched us up with Boise St in the Fiesta Bowl, like they were supposed to…but once again, politics rears its ugly head. We all know what the outcome of that game would have been.
Poor coaching decisions, not good ones, will be the hallmark of memories when anyone mentions this guy’s name & Iowa together in the same sentence. This guy really had all the stars aligned…Mich on the decline, PSU on the decline… and then he sucker-punches every Iowan right in the nads and wipes away a good thing, with good teams & talent.
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Did you seriously say National Championship? You do realize that we are in the same conference with Nebraska, Michigan, Penn State, Ohio State, right? All schools that have won National Championships. Penn State on the decline? Is that why they are undefeated in Big Ten play? Michigan still gets better recruits, so there goes your claim that Michigan is on the decline. Really, guy, no more peyote in the desert.
We have the best coach at developing young players because we HAVE to develop young players immediately. Can’t hide them behind 4 star Seniors. Have to play them now, and that means trouble that can’t be avoided.
That being said, Kirk needs to take the reigns and run the show. If that means unplugging KOK’s headset or placing Phil Parker (likely successor to Norm) in charge of the D, so be it. Something has to change, but Kirk is not one of them.
In Kirk We Trust
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Comments like yours, thankfully, represent a tiny but vocal minority on the KF debate.
Iowa will NEVER be a regular NC contender – EVER! What it could/should be is a Big Ten title/BCS bowl contender most years. That hasn’t happened under Ferentz since 2004 (except 2009), and that needs to change.
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doesn’t it seem like the decline of our defense has paralleled the deline of Norm’s health? We need an on-filed general at this point.
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i realize that i just jumped into the conversation. obviously i’m not alone though. go hawks.
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I fear Hawknspit is correct. Norm is not a well man, and I know from having been an Army medic and a registered nurse for more than 30 years what diabetes can do to you over the long haul. He has lost a foot. He has had several hospitalizations. Does he have to die in that press box, too? No, I say!
The time to say goodbye comes to everyone, and for his own health and a reasonable life expectancy, perhaps Norm should consider that this job is not worth dying for and retire.
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Bam! Every post here is missing a point that none of you want to believe. Born and raised in Iowa and I come from generations of Iowa alum and my blood runs black and gold. But, I live in the south (27 years) now and have to listen to the SEC and ACC junkies and most of them make me want to regergitate through my oral cavity. Most of you will take this hard, but the majority of you only know a midwest culture. I include Pat Hardy and the rest of the sport beat writers there. The culture of life is different along the east coast and here in the south east. I’m a professional and travel frequently up and down the eastern seaboard. Most of you think Iowa City should be the greatest place in world to play college football, and spend four years of life for college. Here is your reality check. Because of dense population in the midwest you don’t hold a high enough number of big name recruits to make a high profile team. KF has to recruit other areas. Most of the 18 year old recruits in this area couldn’t even tell you Iowa’s mascot, let alone if they even know where UI is located. They think some ho-dunk place in the cold weather. When KF says recruitment is tough he is not blowing smoke up your tail. You just cannot garner the fact you do not live in the most facinating place in the world. There is none of you that love Iowa footbal more than I, but most of you live in fantasy land. The problem this year is as simple as this. The defense is young and small. Don’t think for one moment KF is not well aware of that. There are some things in life you cannot overcome and that is one of them. To those of you who want coaching change, let me know how you like Iowa Football if he leaves. That will be your reality check.
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Whatever. But KF should still not get fooled by a gopher onside kick 2 years in a row.
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Exactly right in my opinion. Reality vs fantasy. Thank you for bringing some clarity to the situation.
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[...] I'm still mad about last Saturday, I'll note that Kirk admitted that he probably should've called a timeout when he noticed something funny about Minnesota's kickoff team. I think everyone aside from him [...]
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