Kirk Ferentz v Hayden Fry: Their Teams Who Made the Top 10

JonDMiller

JonDMiller

Publisher/Founder
Iowa has been ranked in the Top 10 in seven of Kirk Ferentz’s 17 seasons at Iowa, or 42% of his seasons as head coach.

2002: #3 on 12/8
2003: #8 final poll
2004: #8 final poll
2005: #8 on 9/6
2009: #4 BCS on 11/1
2010: #9 on 9/12
2015: #9 on 11/3 and #5 on 11/10

In 2009, Iowa actually dropped from 7 to 8 in the AP rankings following their 15-13 win at Michigan State

Hayden Fry coached at Iowa for 20 years and saw eight of his teams make it into the Top 10 in the rankings at some point, or 40% of his seasons as head coach. Here are the years and dates where Iowa peaked in the AP Poll

1981: #6 on 10/19
1983: #4 on 9/26
1984: #5 on 9/11
1985: #1 on 10/1, stayed there for five weeks, was in Top 10 the entire season
1986: #8 on 10/14
1988: #9 on 8/30
1990: #6 on 11/6
1991: #7 on 12/2

Iowa did not make it into the AP Top 10 in 1997; they got at high as 11th on 11/29

So in the last 35 years of Iowa football, the Hawkeyes have been ranked in the Top 10 in 15 of those seasons, or 43% of the seasons…nearly an every other year on the average. They have been also been ranked in the AP Top 25 in 27 of those 35 seasons.
 
Last edited:
ya was riding that high from that kickass article ya wrote ... well done sir as getting the attention of Homer Boy Herbie was classic
 
It is very interesting how much Hayden Fry and Kirk Ferentz have similar resumes' at Iowa. Kirk just needs a Rose Bowl, but I'd guess I'd take a Final Four playoff game. :rolleyes:
 
At first I thought this was another "who was better" thread. But actually reading the op it is an comparison of the 2 coaches and the consistency of the program the last 35 years.
 
JonDMiller said:
Iowa has been ranked in the Top 10 in seven of Kirk Ferentz’s 17 seasons at Iowa, or 42% of his seasons as head coach.

2002: #3 on 12/8
2003: #8 final poll
2004: #8 final poll
2005: #8 on 9/6
2009: #4 BCS on 11/1
2010: #9 on 9/12
2015: #9 on 11/3 and #5 on 11/10

In 2009, Iowa actually dropped from 7 to 8 in the AP rankings following their 15-13 win at Michigan State

Hayden Fry coached at Iowa for 20 years and saw eight of his teams make it into the Top 10 in the rankings at some point, or 40% of his seasons as head coach. Here are the years and dates where Iowa peaked in the AP Poll

1981: #6 on 10/19
1983: #4 on 9/26
1984: #5 on 9/11
1985: #1 on 10/1, stayed there for five weeks, was in Top 10 the entire season
1986: #8 on 10/14
1988: #9 on 8/30
1990: #6 on 11/6
1991: #7 on 12/2

Iowa did not make it into the AP Top 10 in 1997; they got at high as 11th on 11/29

So in the last 35 years of Iowa football, the Hawkeyes have been ranked in the Top 10 in 15 of those seasons, or 43% of the seasons…nearly an every other year on the average. They have been also been ranked in the AP Top 25 in 27 of those 35 seasons.
Click to expand...


Yeah, but how many top ten finishes?
 
ColumbusHawk said:
Yeah, but how many top ten finishes?
Click to expand...

Pretty sure Fry had two finish in Top 10, 1985 and 1991 teams.

KF has had 2002/2003/2004/2009 teams finish in Top 10.

To be fair, the landscape has definitely changed over that time, but it is hardly a discredit to either.
 
Great stuff. If you break it down a little bit further by the total number of times in the AP poll it looks like this:

AP Top25 Poll (1936-2015)
Total appearances: 303 (27.6%) - 25th all time
Top 10: 118 (10.7%) - 28th all time
Top 5: 51 (4.6%) - 27th all time
Ranked #1: 11 (1.0%) - 21st all time

AP Top25 Poll (1936-1978) - Before Fry/Ferentz era
Total appearances: 85 (17.2%) - 39th all time
Top 10: 54 (10.9%) - 32nd all time
Top 5: 30 (6.1%) - 26th all time
Ranked #1: 6 (1.2%) - 17th all time

AP Top25 Poll (1979-1998) - Hayden Fry
Total appearances: 133 (40.5%) - 25th all time
Top 10: 39 (11.9%) - 27th all time
Top 5: 17 (5.2%) - 23rd all time
Ranked #1: 5 (1.5%) - 17th all time

AP Top25 Poll (1999-2015) - Kirk Ferentz
Total appearances: 85 (30.8%) - 33rd all time
Top 10: 25 (9.1%) - 33rd all time
Top 5: 4 (1.4%) - 35th all time
Ranked #1: 0 (0.0%) - N/A

I think a couple points:

1. Iowa football, since the inception of the AP Top25 Poll, is a top 25 football program based on appearances. Fry and Ferentz have catapulted the Iowa program into that status since before they both arrived (1939-1978), Iowa was ranked 39th in Top25 appearances.

2. Fry was able to get Iowa football into the Top25 and to the pinnacle (Top10 or better) a little bit more consistently than Ferentz although some of the numbers will get better for Ferentz as 2015 rolls along.

3. In all, it is amazing how similar both Coach Fry and Coach Ferentz's numbers are and will get more similar if Iowa keeps winning this season.


My source if you want to check out other teams:
http://collegepollarchive.com/football/ap/app_total.cfm?sort=totapp&from=1936&to=2015#.VkTV37erSUk
 
DunderMifflinHk said:
It is very interesting how much Hayden Fry and Kirk Ferentz have similar resumes' at Iowa. Kirk just needs a Rose Bowl, but I'd guess I'd take a Final Four playoff game. :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

Kinda fun-house mirror images of each other. Iowa is very lucky to have so much stability over the last 36 years. Hayden to me is Obi-Wan. Kirk is Luke Skywalker. Two heroes.

























Oh, and Nebraska, you're still not relevant:cool:
 
hawkeyebob62 said:
Pretty sure Fry had two finish in Top 10, 1985 and 1991 teams.

KF has had 2002/2003/2004/2009 teams finish in Top 10.

To be fair, the landscape has definitely changed over that time, but it is hardly a discredit to either.
Click to expand...



You're correct that the landscape has changed. Much more parity in college football for KF than there was for HF.

The blue bloods of college football had many more advantages before the year 2000 or so.

They'll both go down as 2 of the best coaches Iowa has had. I was an Iowa fan as a kid before HF took over. Those were dark days. He'll always be my favorite over KF due to that fact.

They've both been 2 of the classiest coaches the game of football has seen, that cannot be disputed at this moment.
 
Given the inherent recruiting challenges of Iowa, we are truly blessed as a fanbase to have had HF and KF for the last 35 years. These 2 men have run programs with integrity and offered a level of stability that so many other schools have not had.

It's for this reason that Iowa needs to continue on with the same recipe for success in the future by hiring an "Iowa guy" to be the next coach. He has to love the university, the state, and the people.

Look what Nebraska has tried to do in hiring outsiders. It's been a disaster.
 
rchawkeye said:
Given the inherent recruiting challenges of Iowa, we are truly blessed as a fanbase to have had HF and KF for the last 35 years. These 2 men have run programs with integrity and offered a level of stability that so many other schools have not had.

It's for this reason that Iowa needs to continue on with the same recipe for success in the future by hiring an "Iowa guy" to be the next coach. He has to love the university, the state, and the people.

Look what Nebraska has tried to do in hiring outsiders. It's been a disaster.
Click to expand...





As for the next Iowa coach, I was skeptical when KF hired his son. For me it was only because I didn't know if he had the experience.

The last couple of years and especially this year, watching Brian Ferentz on the sideline has been great.

He he brings the knowledge of the game obviously, but the passion he shows is exactly what is needed to connect with the next generation of players coming up.

Hopefully he'll get a good look from the Hawks.
 
hawkeyebob62 said:
Pretty sure Fry had two finish in Top 10, 1985 and 1991 teams.

KF has had 2002/2003/2004/2009 teams finish in Top 10.

To be fair, the landscape has definitely changed over that time, but it is hardly a discredit to either.
Click to expand...


Hayden finished 10th in both '85 & '91. Also, the Hawks didn't win a bowl game either year.
 
If you're a child of the 80s like myself and JD, this is probably where our "high expectations" stem from - consistently a top 10 team from 1981 to 1991.
 
nationalchamps said:
If you're a child of the 80s like myself and JD, this is probably where our "high expectations" stem from - consistently a top 10 team from 1981 to 1991.
Click to expand...

Consistently a top ten team? Iowa finished 10th in '85 & '91. I wouldn't call that a consistent top ten team!
 
brhawks18 said:
You're correct that the landscape has changed. Much more parity in college football for KF than there was for HF.

The blue bloods of college football had many more advantages before the year 2000 or so.

They'll both go down as 2 of the best coaches Iowa has had. I was an Iowa fan as a kid before HF took over. Those were dark days. He'll always be my favorite over KF due to that fact.

They've both been 2 of the classiest coaches the game of football has seen, that cannot be disputed at this moment.
Click to expand...

And HF couldn't point to the trophies and twenty years of history KF could point to when recruiting. A foundation was thin or absent in 1979. Not true in 1999. HF made the job attractive enough that people like KF would want it.
 
alexzelada said:
And HF couldn't point to the trophies and twenty years of history KF could point to when recruiting. A foundation was thin or absent in 1979. Not true in 1999. HF made the job attractive enough that people like KF would want it.
Click to expand...

Hayden inherited a pretty good foundation. There was enough talent to compete with Nebraska & Oklahoma the first year. The Hawks were 4-4 in the conference Fry's first year. The majority of the starters on the '81 team were Commings recruits. All five captains on the '81 team were Commings recruits. They were Tracy Crocker, Pete Gales, Bruce Kittle, Andre Tippett & Brad Webb. Nine of the eleven starters on defense were Commings recruits. Plus, the leading rusher, Phil Blatcher, & the leading receiver, Jeff Brown, were Commings recruits. To say the foundation was thin or absent in 1979 is ludicrous. Bobby & Bernie had turned the corner in recruiting.

Hayden left the cupboard bare. Recruiting went down the toilet when Bernie left for Wisconsin after the '90 season. Heck, Iowa was a thirty point favorite over Moo U. in Hayden's last year & lost by eighteen. The Hawks were winless in the B1G Kirk's first year.
 
Last edited:
ColumbusHawk said:
Hayden inherited a pretty good foundation. There was enough talent to compete with Nebraska & Oklahoma the first year. The Hawks were 4-4 in the conference Fry's first year. The majority of the starters on the '81 team were Commings recruits. Hayden left the cupboard bare. Recruiting had gone down the toilet. The Hawks were winless in the B1G Kirk's first year.
Click to expand...

Hayden inherited 19 straight non-winning seasons.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Share this page

Top