Mike Farrell Sports

College Football Recruiting, Opinion, and Analysis

No Offense, But the 2023 Iowa Hawkeyes Should Have Been More – Much More

The 2023 Iowa Hawkeyes will go down as a memorable but lamentable team.

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Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz and Iowa offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz walk on the sideline during a Big Ten Conference NCAA football game on Friday
Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz and Iowa offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz walk on the sideline during a Big Ten Conference NCAA football game on Friday

By Rock Westfall 

The 2023 Iowa Hawkeyes will go down as a memorable but lamentable team. An inexcusably inferior offense undermined championship-level defense and kicking teams. The result was that duplicity manufactured by nepotism was mercifully ended.

25 Points Per Game – A Mediocre Ask 

At the onset of the 2023 season, offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz had his contract reworked. His salary was cut by $50,000 and included the requirement that his offense score an average of 25 points per game.

These days, 25 points per game is a mediocre offense. To illuminate, Old Dominion was right on the button for 25 points per game this past season. That put the Monarchs at 71st in the country out of 133 Division 1 teams.

While the new terms for Brian Ferentz were necessary, they became the source of ridicule. National radio hosts would give weekly updates, and social media had weekly charts with memes.

But for a serious contender, 25 points per game epitomizes mediocrity. The painful irony is that mediocrity on offense, paired with Iowa’s elite defense and kicking teams, could have been enough to make the College Football Playoff.

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An Ambiguous Start for Brian Ferentz 

The Iowa Hawkeyes began the 2023 season with three wins. They defeated Utah State 24-14 in the season opener. Next came the important Cy Hawk Trophy matchup at Iowa State. The Hawkeyes prevailed 20-13 to improve to 2-0. While the Ferentz average was below par, there were theories he would survive if Iowa kept winning. A 41-10 win over Western Michigan put the Ferentz average over the top, and college football fans were eager for a prime-time showdown at Penn State.

Fraud Alert on Mount Nittany  

Iowa entered Happy Valley, ranked 24th in the nation, while Nittany Lions were ranked 7th. A competitive game was expected. And a 10-0 Penn State lead at halftime would have been surmountable for a decent offense. Instead, it was not, and Iowa never had a chance. With no offense to give its defense some breathing room, the dam burst in the second half, and Iowa lost embarrassingly 31-0.

Iowa was outgained 397-76 and was exposed as a pretender. The Hawkeyes committed four turnovers. Michigan transfer QB Cade McNamara was a putrid 5-14 for 42 yards and was sacked twice. McNamara learned that fateful night that he would not have the luxury of being protected by his old and reliable Michigan offensive line.

The loss at Beaver Stadium was the first warning that Brian Ferentz’s offense was not all there. And that Iowa had no chance against college football’s best.

Plodding Along to Nowhere 

Following the Penn State debacle, the Hawkeyes barely beat a horrible Michigan State team 26-16 that had already checked out for 2023. McNamara was lost for the season against MSU with a left leg injury.

The loss of McNamara meant that the inexperienced Deacon Hill would take over as the starter. The Hawkeyes nearly lost, needing a 70-yard TD punt return by Cooper DeJean with 3:45 to play to break a 16-all tie. Alarmingly, Michigan State outgained Iowa 349-222. At this point, it was accepted Brian Ferentz never had a prayer to reach 25 points per game.

Iowa beat Purdue 20-14 and then won at Wisconsin 15-6. Despite having minimal offense, the Hawkeyes were 6-1. A case was continuing to be made that Brian Ferentz may survive because of the winning. But then it all blew up.

The Brian Ferentz Era Gets Flagged 

On October 21, Iowa hosted a struggling Minnesota team also suffering from no offensive production and a defense far below program standards. The Golden Gophers were vulnerable. A team with a below-average offense would figure to score on them. Yet Iowa could not take advantage.

The Hawkeyes needed a 54-yard TD punt return by Cooper DeJean to take the lead with 1:21 left to play. But DeJean was ruled to have made a fair-catch signal when he did not. Iowa lost 12-10 and produced only 12 yards in the second half. 

Ironically, had that play stood, Brian Ferentz may have survived, absurd as that would have been. But the defeat could not be spun or explained away. It was indefensible. And the end of Brian Ferentz’s Iowa career.  

Bye-Bye Week Followed By Best of the Worst Finish 

The Minnesota debacle was followed by a bye week. The timing gave athletic director Beth Goetz the opportunity to give what Iowa fans were praying for. It was announced that Brian Ferentz would be fired effective at season’s end.

Iowa went on to win its final four regular season games, starting at Northwestern (10-7). That was followed by wins over Rutgers (22-0), Illinois (15-13), and finally at Nebraska (13-10). Only defense and kicking teams saved Iowa. 

The failed, entitled son of nepotism privilege refused to wear team gear in those final games, instead opting for a plain black hoodie seemingly purchased at Dollar General. This unprofessional spitefulness did not go unnoticed.

Iowa won the Big Ten West Division “championship” as the best team of a rancid group of pedestrian programs. Only Northwestern (7-5) and Wisconsin (7-5) joined Iowa with winning records in the West.

Firing Blanks – What Could Have Been  

Against quality opposition, Iowa was curb-stomped 26-0 in the Big Ten championship game by eventual national champion Michigan. That was followed by a mortifying 35-0 loss to Tennessee in the Citrus Bowl. It was the closing argument that Iowa had zero business being on the field against college football’s elite. Thus, the Brian Ferentz Era had a perfectly apropos ending.

The sad fact is that with any kind of offense at all, Iowa could have been a serious threat to win the Big Ten championship and make the College Football Playoff. Its defense and kicking teams were of national championship quality.

But an offense that often played to set up its Ray Guy Award-winning punter Tory Taylor undermined the potential of a historic campaign. When your punter is considered your best offensive weapon and your play-calling is often focused on ensuring his success, you have a problem. Not to mention a head coach and offensive coordinator operating in the 1950s.  

For the 2023 Iowa Hawkeyes, it will always be about what could have been. 

Tim Lester is the man now tasked with getting Iowa updated to the 1980s. And that may be all Iowa needs to make its move towards true contender status.  

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