SwayBlog

IOWA CITY, Iowa — Iowa’s offensive numbers have added intense heat along with the spotlight on offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz and his “Drive to 325” contract.

As the world knows, if the team doesn’t reach an average of 25 points per game, Brian Ferentz’s contract expires and his direct supervisor doesn’t have to pay a severance to let him go. When the changes to Ferentz’s contract were made, Gary Barta was the athletics director. Now, Beth Goetz is the interim AD.

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Past midway through the season, Iowa is nowhere near 25 points per game at 20.9. That number likely will decrease with starting quarterback Cade McNamara and top tight ends Luke Lachey and Erick All out for the season with injuries. But Brian Ferentz’s revision doesn’t mean Iowa must fire him, either. Goetz, who supervises Brian Ferentz because of university nepotism rules, has yet to tip her hand with how she will handle Brian Ferentz’s situation and prefers to look to the team first.

“I think we’re excited about where we can still continue to go,” Goetz said. “We still have a lot of our big goals in front of us in terms of the championship and obviously (the team) suffered some injuries and things like that. But we evaluate game-to-game.

“We certainly know that we’d like to have more offensive production and understand the frustration when we don’t. But we’re excited about what we’ve done to this point and we’re going to continue to evaluate the team and support them, week in and week out.”

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It’s awkward for University of Iowa President Barbara Wilson to put Goetz in this situation. Kirk Ferentz ranks third in Big Ten football history in league victories. Goetz needs some administrative backing if she wants to nudge out Brian Ferentz or keep him. With other athletics departments considering Goetz for their top role, Wilson needs to decide fairly soon or risks losing her.

The good news for Goetz is she has that backing from the coaching staff and athletics department. From side conversations to public statements, many have offered glowing praise for Goetz. That’s from football assistants to multiple Olympic sports head coaches and several department employees.

Unprompted, men’s wrestling coach Tom Brands told the Presidential Committee on Athletics earlier this month, “I had the pleasure of introducing our athletic director at an event and I just made a decision. And it was kind of presidential in nature. Even though I’m way below the president, I just said we’re just gonna get rid of the interim tag. That’s how much we love her.”

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The Crossover at Kinnick exhibition on Sunday led to a record crowd for a women’s basketball game. Goetz was at the forefront of making it happen, and women’s basketball coach Lisa Bluder offered her the strongest endorsement and called her “a special leader.”

“It’s hard to get every coach to agree on something,” Bluder said. “Every coach is behind her 100 percent. She’s an unbelievable team builder. She’s a great leader. She’s not scared to get her hands dirty. She’s a great communicator, a great listener as well. I just think that if we don’t hire her, that would be one of the really, really not very smart things to do. She’s terrific.”

When Goetz held her initial news conference in August, the women’s basketball staff was in attendance. What made that significant was that the team arrived in the middle of the night after a summer tour of Croatia and Italy.

“How do you show that this is our person?” associate women’s basketball coach Jan Jensen asked. “When you show up. It wasn’t even a question.”

Iowa has experienced unprecedented longevity among athletics directors. Bump Elliott was hired in 1970 and remained in place until 1991. His successor was Bob Bowlsby left Iowa in 2006. Barta retired in August after 17 years. Christine Grant was the women’s athletics director from 1973 through 2000 and hired Bluder. To many people, hiring a woman as athletics director would be a huge step for the athletics department. Jensen sees it differently, which is why she emphatically supports Goetz.

“Female, male, I’m indifferent,” Jensen said. “She’s good. Her track record is good. The way she interacts, the way she wants us all to succeed and there’s a way to do that. You’ve got to tell people no, right? But you always know and believe that whatever sport you are, she’s on your bench.”

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Passing time

On the season’s first passing attempt, McNamara hit receiver Seth Anderson for a 36-yard touchdown pass. And that was pretty much the highlight for the passing offense through seven games.

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With season-ending injuries to McNamara (ACL), Lachey (broken leg) and All (ACL), the asthmatic passing game seemingly gasps for every breath. McNamara’s replacement, Deacon Hill, has completed 27-for-70 passes (38.6 percent) for 311 yards. All and Lachey (who hasn’t played since the first quarter of Week 3) remain 1-2 in yards and catches while senior receiver Nico Ragaini is the only other pass catcher with more than seven receptions.

Anderson, a sophomore, arrived at Iowa as a transfer from Charleston Southern, where he was named the Big South Freshman of the Year. He has five catches on 15 targets for 79 yards this season.

“It’s not really frustrating,” Anderson said. “Of course, you’re going to want the ball as a receiver every play, but sometimes it’s not how it works out.”

The Hawkeyes have given Anderson the ball on handoffs three times this year, including on an end-around last week at Wisconsin. Anderson picked up 16 yards but he believes he could have done more.

“I’ve got to score,” he said. “I’m getting the ball once. I mean, I’ve got to make the most of it. You feel me?”

Hill unquestionably is Iowa’s starter; Kirk Ferentz made that clear on Tuesday. Sophomore Joe Labas, who started the Music City Bowl last year, is the backup with Marco Lainez III as the No. 3 quarterback.

“I hate to say this in a negative way, but I think we all saw, when (Spencer) Petras got knocked out, we saw maybe why we were playing Petras, and went through that discussion last year,” Ferentz said, referring to Petras’ injury in the season finale against Nebraska. “Right now it’s clear we have a 1, 2 and a 3.”

Iowa’s risk-averse offensive system has permeated into the weekly game plan. Hill’s struggles with accuracy have narrowed his focus.

“I think it’s just trusting the game plan,” Hill said. “Trusting what we’ve seen on tape and not trying to force any opportunities. The opportunities will present themselves and when they’re there, take advantage of them. But if they’re not there, don’t try and force anything, whether it’s getting the ball to the check-down or getting the ball to wherever it’s supposed to go. Just don’t take any risks that aren’t necessary.”

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“We’re just trying to focus on his improvement,” Ferentz said. “A little bit better tempo, this that. Footwork, whatever it may be.

“But first things first: Don’t get us in trouble. Don’t make bad decisions. Don’t press. All the things that you lose games real quickly if you start doing some things. So taking care of that. And just the offensive stuff, it will come when it comes and we’re working at it just as we would in a good statistical year.”

Status checkups

All officially is out for the season after making a catch over the middle and absorbing a hit at his knee from Wisconsin linebacker C.J. Goetz. The team’s third tight end, Addison Ostrenga, is back partially at practice after missing the last two weeks of action but is at best questionable for Saturday.

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Ferentz said defensive tackle Yahya Black’s status for Saturday is “wait and see” after suffering a shoulder injury on a holding call against the Badgers.

Second-team cornerbacks T.J. Hall and Deshaun Lee missed last week’s game, although Ferentz said Lee is “day-to-day.” Hall won’t play.

Iowa is finally healthy at running back with Kaleb Johnson returning two weeks ago from a high-ankle sprain and Jaziun Patterson playing one snap Saturday after a soft-tissue pull.

Iowa defensive tackle Noah Shannon has practiced for more than a week and awaits news from the NCAA on vacating his gambling-related season-long suspension.

“He looks good in pads and he practices well,” Ferentz said. “That hasn’t changed. He’s got fresh legs, too. But we’re just waiting on the NCAA.

“Time’s ticking. He’s getting older. All of us are getting older. Hopefully, it’s sooner than later they make a decision. I say it jokingly; it’s really not funny at all.”

Shannon started 28 games before he was suspended for wagering on the Hawkeyes’ women’s basketball’s Final Four trip. The NCAA upheld his season-long suspension in September, so Shannon worked with the team as a student assistant. Earlier this month, the NCAA Division I Council recommended reinstating any athlete suspended for gambling on a team other than their own. The NCAA Committee on Student-Athlete Reinstatement will finalize recommendations this month and a final Council Coordination Committee vote takes place in the next two weeks.

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“If they wanted to call tomorrow, it would be outstanding,” Ferentz said. “We’ll have them out there Saturday if they do.”

Floyd of Rosedale

Iowa and Minnesota compete for one of college football’s most historic traveling trophies, the 98-pound Floyd of Rosedale. After a major situation erupted between the two programs in 1935, Minnesota Gov. Floyd Olson bet Iowa counterpart Clyde Herring a champion hog on the game’s result.

The Gophers won the game 13-6, and a 200-pound porker from Rosedale Farms was shipped to Olson’s St. Paul office a few days later. The next year, Olson and Minnesota’s booster club commissioned a bronze pig as a traveling trophy between the programs. The Hawkeyes have won Floyd eight consecutive years and lead the trophy part of the rivalry 44-42-2. Minnesota leads overall 62-52-2 in a series that began in 1891.

Anderson was unaware of the rivalry or the pig itself; a presentation takes place on Wednesdays. Hill is still learning about it, but he can recognize the intensity between the ancient foes.

“The energy is there,” Hill said. “You could definitely tell it’s a rivalry week. Even if you’re just a random person who walks in the locker room, you can tell that this game means a lot.”

Iowa cornerback Cooper DeJean took in an Iowa-Minnesota game in Minneapolis when he was a youngster and said he immediately was turned off by the Minnesota announcer’s first down call. As for the “Who Hates Iowa? We Hate Iowa,” chant that Gophers fans shout during all sporting events, DeJean noticed while watching the Minnesota-Nebraska season opener on television.

“Last year when we were up there, I heard a few times,” DeJean said. “When we’re winning, I think it’s kind of funny.”

More than football

Although the rivalry between the programs is fierce, it doesn’t apply to non-sporting events. Both Kirk Ferentz and Minnesota counterpart P.J. Fleck have experienced tragedies with children; Ferentz’s premature granddaughter, Savvy Elizabeth (Brian’s daughter), died after birth in 2014. Fleck’s son, Colt, died shortly after birth from a heart defect in 2011.

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Both coaches are enthusiastic supporters of children’s medical causes. Ferentz donated $1 million to the UI Children’s Hospital in Savvy’s name and has made multiple six-figure donations for research. Their former Ladies Football Academy raised more than $2 million in research for the children’s hospital. Fleck was the first opposing coach to thoroughly embrace “The Wave” in 2017 and have his team participate, which is something all visiting teams now do.

This week, Iowa’s Kid Captain is 12-year-old Bentley Erickson from Brainerd, Minn. A longtime patient at the UI Children’s Hospital, Erickson has endured 20 surgeries in his lifetime.

“When it comes to the kids hospital, there really is no boundary on that,” Ferentz said. “Everybody is supportive.”

(Top photo: Tork Mason / USA Today)

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