Iowa Hawkeyes Football

According to Jon Miller of Hawkeyenation.com, during the Michigan game—a contest Iowa lost 42-17—all members of the press box were greeted with the news that Kirk Ferentz "would no longer be holding ‘On the Side’ interview sessions after his primary Q&A session."

The "On the Side" portion has been a regular feature of his press conferences since he started at Iowa in 1999.

It is in question-and-answer format, much as the primary session is, but it is more informal.

Perhaps that informality led, in part, to Kirk Ferentz's breakdown last week. Via Hawkeye blog Blackheartgoldpants, Ferentz inadvertently let an F-bomb fly following a particularly upsetting question.

The question, delivered by AP writer Luke Meredith, concerned the recent allegations against and the firing of Iowa athletic adviser Peter Gray (via Josh O'Leary of the Iowa City Press-Citizen).

In fairness to Ferentz, the question was asinine, primarily because Gray and the allegations against him have nothing to do with Ferentz or the football team.

Nevertheless, Ferentz's language and hotheadedness were surprising, particularly from somebody that is known for his stoicism.

In all probability, the cancelling of the "On the Side" had everything to do with Ferentz's outburst and what he and presumably the athletic department felt was an inappropriate question and an overall lack of respect from the media.

However, the outburst and the reaction serve as further evidence of the frustration the head coach and the fans feel over this mess of a season. It is also evidence of how Ferentz keeps digging himself in deeper, further separating himself from the fans.

This is not the first time Iowa, under Ferentz, has faced adversity.

2006 and 2007 saw Iowa go a combined 12-13.

2006 was the season of the "fat cats," (per Andy Hamilton of the Iowa City Press-Citizen), a nickname Ferentz gave to his team due to its seeming feeling of entitlement. 2007 saw the Hawkeyes miss a bowl game—though they qualified with six regular-season wins—due to an end-of-the-season home loss to 4-7 Western Michigan.

Complicating the problems in those years were multiple arrests (via Blackheartgoldpants), which led to questions as to whether Ferentz had lost control of his program.

Ferentz and the Iowa program rode out that storm, in large part due to the capital he had built up with the fanbase in previous years. This capital not only came via the unprecedented 2002-04 run in which Iowa finished ranked No. 8 in the country three times in a row.

It was also due to his demeanor and the way he carried himself. His blue-collar, stoic, candid personality appealed to the people that make up the majority of the Iowa Hawkeye fanbase—i.e. Iowans

As the Iowa program faces a new spat of adversity, Ferentz has worn out his capital. Since the 2008 resurgence of the program, the head coach has guided his team to an Orange Bowl win. On the other hand, put in the broader scope, since 2005, Iowa has played one game above .500 in conference play. Moreover, it is likely that "one game" will be wiped out following the final game of 2012, which will be against Nebraska.

The bigger issue than the record is how Ferentz has consistently buried himself further into a foxhole with his notorious conservatism and stubbornness, both on the playing field and with the media.

In the run-up to the meeting with Michigan, Wolverine blog Mgoblog analyzed Iowa film from the Indiana game, and the writer's synopsis can best be summed up, "just got done charting every snap of an offense coached by Greg Davis. I'm pretty sure this is grounds for a hostile working environment lawsuit."

Somehow, it seems that Ferentz has taken his conservative approach and turned it into a bizarre mentality in which Iowa can't run a complex, college-level, pro-style offense. To do so would somehow violate an ethical ideal that Ferentz doesn't share with the likes of Stanford, Michigan or Penn State—programs that do run successful complex, college-level, pro-style offenses.

As for Ferentz's recent issues with the media, he has always been tight-lipped, but the aforementioned capital he had with the fanbase bought him some level of media cooperation.

Now that Ferentz is more famous for his $3.875 million contract than he is for his win-loss record, the media is disinclined to throw softballs at him during press conferences.

Much like the fans—or rather, as the mouthpiece for the fans—they want answers as to why the team has had three disappointing seasons in a row, why the Iowa offense is so bad it's laughable, and most notably, why the team hasn't looked prepared for the last five weeks.

But Ferentz, in his usual way, thanks the fans in words, but sneers at them, via the media, in action. It is as though he is above answering questions as to what is going wrong with a football program that so many Iowans care deeply for.

Therein lies the problem and why, unlike 2007, a vocal section of the fanbase—it's not fair to call them a "majority" just yet—has had it with the current dean of Big Ten coaches.

With the cancelling of the "On the Side" section of his press conferences, Ferentz has once again, in his way, said that he has no interest in answering to the fans.

He has, in effect, delivered one more blow to solidify himself as somebody the same fans have no interest in supporting.

A popular word these days around Iowa media, message boards, blogs, etc. is apologist, which, according to Merriam-Webster, is "one who speaks or writes in defense of someone or something."

As it concerns the Hawkeyes, there is a lot of blame to go around.

The Hawks' woeful 4-6 record includes a loss to MAC bottom-feeder Central Michigan, as well as no-shows against Penn State, Northwestern, Indiana and Purdue—four teams with a combined record of 21-19, with four of those 21 wins coming against Iowa. Add in a 6-9 offensive no-show against in-state rival Iowa State, as well.

Everybody is looking for somebody to blame and almost everybody is defending somebody.

The problem is the coach, the problem is the (new) coordinators, the problem is the quarterback, the problem is the injuries, the problem is the lack of execution.

Most recently, Bryce Miller of Hawkcentral.com declared that it is a "lack of playmakers, not Ferentz, causing Hawkeye woes."

Iowa's inability to recruit top-notch playmakers, especially at offensive skill positions, has been well-documented, as most recently noted by Hawkeyenation's Jon Miller.

As Miller noted, the ability of the state of Iowa to produce FBS-level players makes it unrealistic to think that the Hawkeyes can compete on the recruiting trails with schools from or close to talent-rich states such as Ohio, Florida, California and Texas.

In effect, it is realistic to argue that Iowa is unable to compete with opposing programs such as Ohio State, Florida or Texas—whether on a yearly or overall basis—due to recruiting limitations.

Thismay or may not be true, but it is a valid argument.

On the other hand, the argument that Iowa doesn't have the playmakers to compete with Central Michigan—which, according to Scout had the 75th-ranked recruiting class in the country in 2012, 76th in 2011, 100th in 2010—is ludicrous.

Moreover, the idea that playmakers are more accessible to programs like Indiana, Northwestern or Purdue is equally absurd.

Furthermore, it is true that Penn State typically has considerably more talent—and access to talent—than Iowa.

Nonetheless, this year PSU returned the fewest starters in the Big Ten before multiple players left the team due to lenient transfer rules (per CBS Sports).

Post transfers, Penn State had two official "returning starters" on offense, with another five on defense.

One would have hardly known that the Nits were talent-poor after the way they walked all over the Hawkeyes en route to a 31-0 lead entering the fourth quarter.

As for Iowa, most fans have no problem accepting the inherent challenges and thus, limitations that the Hawks face.

In fact, a small segment of the fanbase argues that it is that acceptance of Iowa's "limitations" that has held the Hawkeye program back over the years.

That being as it were, at this point, it is impossible to say if the problem lies exclusively with the coordinators, execution or the coach himself.

But the idea that the Iowa Hawkeyes don't have the firepower to do better than 4-6 against their soft schedule is laughable.

I am not from Iowa.

I never attended the University of Iowa.

I never lived in the state of Iowa.

But I am an Iowa Hawkeye football fan.

My connection to the Hawks comes from my significant other, who is from Iowa, went to U of I, was born into a Hawkeye family and has been a Hawkeye fan since birth. In other words, she's much the same as 90 percent of all other Iowa fans—her connection is entirely emotional.

I met her in 2000 and shortly thereafter, was introduced not only to Iowa football but college football—being an East coast native, I'd always been into pro football.

Slowly but surely, I fell in love with Iowa football. Third-year coach Kirk Ferentz, after two years of slow but painful progress, led his squad to bowl eligibility, and, for three miraculous seasons—2002-2004—the Hawks were in the upper echelon of college football.

It could be said that my timing was just right to get on the Iowa bandwagon, but that wasn't it.

I appreciated the way Ferentz ran his team. His philosophy was simple and reflected the state that his program represented. The focus wasn't on flash and dash or the emergent spread schemes. His team played smart football.

Everybody had his role, whether it was the quarterback, right guard, strong-side linebacker or a blocker on the punt team.

Defensive players were solid, fundamental tacklers, receivers didn't drop passes, linemen on both sides of the ball knew their assignments and there were never special teams breakdowns.

Moreover, player development was key. Iowa couldn't—and can't—get the top recruits. In effect, juniors and seniors that had spent time in the system and in the weight room made the greatest contributions.

Most importantly, the team progressed as the year went on. The squad that suited up in November was palpably better than the one that took the field in early September.

My connection to the Hawkeyes was intellectual—an appreciation for the way Ferentz ran his football team—and that intellectual connection led to an emotional connection.

Wins weren't the issue, but according to Ferentz's philosophy, if the little things were taken care of, the big things would take care of themselves. Thus, by being sound and smart football players that were committed entirely to the team, the wins would, and did, come.

With this in mind, fast forward to 2012, or more specifically, 2012 after Iowa lost to Indiana and fell to sub-.500 for the first time since 2007.

The past three years have seen the Hawkeyes slide from a program that played consistently smart football—and because of that could reasonably be considered one of the top 25 programs in the country—to a team that regularly shoots itself in the foot and seems ill-prepared for almost every situation in which they are involved.

Players don't seem to know their roles. For evidence of this, see the Central Michigan onside-kick fiasco.

Defensive players regularly forget how to tackle. See the final minutes of the first half of the Indiana game for corroboration.

Receivers drop balls. A lot of them. Pick virtually any game during the 2012 football season.

Special teams breakdowns? Going back to 2010, there is the Wisconsin fake punt, the 2010 Minnesota onside kick, the 2011 Minnesota onside kick and the 2012 Northwestern blocked punt, to name a few.

Meanwhile, this season, there has been scant evidence of the most important element—player development.

In some fairness, Iowa is one of the youngest teams in the Big Ten, but those young players haven't shown much improvement as the year has worn on.

Even worse, the 2008 and 2009 recruiting classes—the ones that should be leading the team this year—have experienced severe attrition or have failed to make major contributions (as recently detailed by Hawkeyenation).

Furthermore, the few upperclassmen that have been major contributors this season have, by and large, regressed or stagnated from where they were last year.

Complicating all of these matters is Kirk Ferentz himself.

I understand conservatism. I am as conservative as they come. I despise change, I double-knot my shoelaces and all of the bills in my wallet face the same direction, ones on the outside and higher denominations on the inside.

However, Ferentz's issue is not conservatism. He is risk-aversive to the point of having his head in a cloud.

Down by three and punting the ball on 4th-and-inches with 4:43 to go in the fourth quarter, thereby putting the game in the hands of a defense that had been unable to stop its opponent—that is not conservative.

More than anything else, that is not smart football.

As such, it is difficult to understand where Ferentz is going or if he's lost his way.

It is understood that college football ebbs and flows much more than the professional version, and this is especially true at a non-blue blood program like Iowa.

The problem is the program's current trajectory does not seem to be a matter of ebbing and flowing or even wins and losses.

It is sloppy football. It is ugly football. It is unpleasant-to-watch football. It is young players that are failing to develop. It is coaches that seem intent on fitting square pegs in round holes.

It is boring football.

It is losing football, but the wins and losses aren't the issue.

I still believe the style of football that Kirk Ferentz ran in 2002 could work in 2012, despite the hyper-offensive age that college football has now entered.

The problem is the only thing that remains from the 2002 version of Iowa football are the schemes. The attitude and philosophy seem to be gone.

There is nothing about the 2012 Iowa Hawkeyes that resembles the smart football that drew me in, and that makes it difficult to maintain the emotional connection that has kept me waiting and hoping for a turnaround.

Because the fact of the matter is this football team is stupid, boring and almost impossible to watch.

"I don't recall seeing anyone take a delay-of-game penalty in a two-minute offense situation."

ESPN analyst, 15-year NFL veteran and former Ohio State receiver Joey Galloway said these words after the Iowa Hawkeyes took just such a delay-of-game penalty while running its two-minute offense in Saturday's 17-28 loss to the Northwestern Wildcats.

One is left to wonder if in taking such a penalty, the Hawkeyes went "out of book," which in chess means the game moved away from the known history of recorded moves and did something that has never been done before.

Of course, with chess, going "out of book" is generally a good thing. With Iowa, it was awful.

While the penalty itself might have been unique, the Hawkeyes' ineptitude in running the two-minute offense was par for the course. It is something Iowa fans used to blame on former offensive coordinator (OC) Ken O'Keefe, but a new OC has led to the same old problems. This logically leads said fans to look beyond the OC for the source of the problem.

And the only person beyond the OC is the head man himself, Kirk Ferentz.

Against the Wildcats, Iowa took three delay-of-game penalties, all of them inexcusable and two of which cost the Hawks potential scoring opportunities. The one that didn't directly cost them a scoring opportunity came on the fourth play of the game—i.e., the scripted part of the game.

Moreover, all of them were with an experienced senior quarterback and a head coach that is allowed to call timeouts.

These delays were three of many mental mistakes and questionable decisions that cost Iowa against Northwestern and have cost them on the season.

Coming into 2012, Hawkeye fans knew they had a young team, and that this would be a rebuilding year. Most came into the season expecting an eight-win-at-best team, and certainly not a team that would compete for the division title.

However, it is not the youth or even the losses that are upsetting the Iowa faithful. It is a home loss to 3-5 MAC bottom-feeder Central Michigan, not to mention a failure to compete against Penn State and NU.

All three of those games included a team that didn't look prepared, whether it was a blown onside-kick recovery, a defense that seemed surprised by NU quarterback Kain Colter's rushing ability or an abortive two-minute offense.

This unpreparedness further manifested itself in the Northwestern game via the Iowa run defense's worst performance since 2004 Minnesota, and in the PSU game via its worst home loss since 1999 Michigan State.

Even more problematic is that while the Hawkeyes are young, when looking at many of the self-perpetuating problems that are plaguing them, one consistently notices upperclassmen failing to execute.

The problem isn't the young players. The problem is the juniors and seniors who are playing sloppy, unprepared, poorly coached football.

That is the antithesis of what Kirk Ferentz built his program on. Ferentz has always stressed the importance of older players' growth and contributions. He won games by taking care of the little details.

This is exactly what isn't happening in year 14 of Ferentz's tenure as head coach in Iowa City. It is also exactly what should be happening in the 14th year of any given coach's regime.

It is as if Ferentz is going in reverse.

Looking at the remainder of the schedule, it is difficult to see this Iowa team having anything more than a puncher's chance against three of its four final opponents. The exception is Purdue, which is a home game and features a Boilermaker squad that is reeling worse than Iowa.

If Iowa does finish the season 1-3, that will leave the Hawkeyes at 5-7, bowl-less, with their worst record since year two of the Ferentz era.

That will also be three underachieving seasons in a row, and with that on the resume, it is difficult to see this season as anything but a further indication that these problems aren't a blip on the map; the program itself is in utter turmoil.