Really good game by Brian Ferentz

[okeefe4prez]

Let's consider the offense this year. The line looks marginally better than last year. That is a win. We have lost our starting QB, who has CFP experience and a Big Ten crown. We have lost two TEs who barring injury looked to me like they would be top 50 draft picks, worst case top 100. They are our only receiving threats. To be 6-1 with these injuries and road games at Happy Valley, Wal-Mart (Ames) and Camp Randall is pretty damned impressive.

I get it, people want more splash on offense, blah blah blah. But I seriously don't know what the hell people want to call with the talent we have on the field. You go to war with the army you have, not the army you want. This guy is getting the most out of the army we have. With the exception of two third down calls that went toward a player who I don't believe should have been an option in those situations (I don't throw individual guys under the bus) I thought that Brian called a near perfect game.

This is vintage Ferentz ball and reminds me of the masterful job O'Keefe did in 2004 when we were down to the 6th string tailback. You just claw everything you can and don't put the defense or special teams in a bind. That's it. This offense will get better.

For those clamoring for Brian's job, you need to go back and look at history. My guess is the Venn Diagram of people who want Brian fired is a 1:1 overlay of those who wanted O'Keefe gone. Well, O'Keefe left and it was the biggest loss our coaching staff has ever suffered because Ferentz hired Greg Davis, who made O'Keefe look like Chan Gailey or Don Coryell by comparison. What do you think he will do if forced to replace his son as OC? I honestly don't even want to consider it.

 

[InGoodCo]

Let's consider the offense this year. The line looks marginally better than last year. That is a win. We have lost our starting QB, who has CFP experience and a Big Ten crown. We have lost two TEs who barring injury looked to me like they would be top 50 draft picks, worst case top 100. They are our only receiving threats. To be 6-1 with these injuries and road games at Happy Valley, Wal-Mart (Ames) and Camp Randall is pretty damned impressive.

I get it, people want more splash on offense, blah blah blah. But I seriously don't know what the hell people want to call with the talent we have on the field. You go to war with the army you have, not the army you want. This guy is getting the most out of the army we have. With the exception of two third down calls that went toward a player who I don't believe should have been an option in those situations (I don't throw individual guys under the bus) I thought that Brian called a near perfect game.

This is vintage Ferentz ball and reminds me of the masterful job O'Keefe did in 2004 when we were down to the 6th string tailback. You just claw everything you can and don't put the defense or special teams in a bind. That's it. This offense will get better.

For those clamoring for Brian's job, you need to go back and look at history. My guess is the Venn Diagram of people who want Brian fired is a 1:1 overlay of those who wanted O'Keefe gone. Well, O'Keefe left and it was the biggest loss our coaching staff has ever suffered because Ferentz hired Greg Davis, who made O'Keefe look like Chan Gailey or Don Coryell by comparison. What do you think he will do if forced to replace his son as OC? I honestly don't even want to consider it.

He’d hire a puppet, at least with Brian, there’s someone who was born post 1980 in his ear.

 

[hawkinn3]

I didn’t have any issues with his play calling yesterday. He stuck with the run all day and mixed in some sweeps and stuff. That game was on Deacon to make some throws and this receivers to hold, they didn’t but we still won.

 

[okeefe4prez]

I didn’t have any issues with his play calling yesterday. He stuck with the run all day and mixed in some sweeps and stuff. That game was on Deacon to make some throws and this receivers to hold, they didn’t but we still won.

Deacon made a few big plays on key third downs. And that read option they ran confused the hell out of the Badgers. At this point I think he's just going to break out everything imaginable in misdirection run game. The running attack reminded me of how good it was in 2015 when Brian was run game coordinator.

 

[HaydenHawk56]

Here is the thing, Brian is highly likely not going anywhere. New AD....new boss...she can decide what she wants to with Brian moving forward....including a new contract.

 

[okeefe4prez]

Here is the thing, Brian is highly likely not going anywhere. New AD....new boss...she can decide what she wants to with Brian moving forward....including a new contract.

The rest of the schedule is so bad and with the weather beginning to turn ugly we could conceivably win the balance of our games without a single offensive touchdown. I mean, this offense could average 8.3 ppg from here on out and we could still finish 11-1 or 10-2. It's insane. But if we have double digit wins you can't do anything other than what Kurt demands because the guy obviously knows what he's doing.

Watching him absolutely befuddle Fickle yesterday was truly enjoyable. Fickle gets all this praise for his newfangled offense but when the cards are on the table from mid-October to the end of the year if you are gonna play football in the legacy Big Ten footprint you better be able to bottle up the run every damned play and you better be able to muster at least some semblance of a sustained drive no matter how bad the weather gets or what injuries you sustain. When everyone is out there trying to play grabass, Kirk Ferentz is playing just totally basic punch you in the mouth football. I freaking love it. You could see Wisconsin's surprise when they got punched in the mouth a few times very early in the game after playing nothing but spread teams for the first half of the season.

I'm telling ya, Ferentz needs to land 2 star TEs every year and just go 3 or 4 TEs on the field every play. You could see the schematic advantage yesterday, as more and more teams move to spread, if we can play legit power football we will be really hard to gameplan for during the regular season on one week of prep. Wisconsin is trying to adapt to the spread crap but it simply does not work in the Big Ten as the year goes on unless you have an absolutely ridiculous talent mismatch. I know Ohio State hated Tressel, but he understood this. He could go out and run spread with good teams and he could go out and out-Wisconsin Wisconsin when he needed to.

 

[MelroseHawkins]

Let's consider the offense this year. The line looks marginally better than last year. That is a win. We have lost our starting QB, who has CFP experience and a Big Ten crown. We have lost two TEs who barring injury looked to me like they would be top 50 draft picks, worst case top 100. They are our only receiving threats. To be 6-1 with these injuries and road games at Happy Valley, Wal-Mart (Ames) and Camp Randall is pretty damned impressive.

I get it, people want more splash on offense, blah blah blah. But I seriously don't know what the hell people want to call with the talent we have on the field. You go to war with the army you have, not the army you want. This guy is getting the most out of the army we have. With the exception of two third down calls that went toward a player who I don't believe should have been an option in those situations (I don't throw individual guys under the bus) I thought that Brian called a near perfect game.

This is vintage Ferentz ball and reminds me of the masterful job O'Keefe did in 2004 when we were down to the 6th string tailback. You just claw everything you can and don't put the defense or special teams in a bind. That's it. This offense will get better.

For those clamoring for Brian's job, you need to go back and look at history. My guess is the Venn Diagram of people who want Brian fired is a 1:1 overlay of those who wanted O'Keefe gone. Well, O'Keefe left and it was the biggest loss our coaching staff has ever suffered because Ferentz hired Greg Davis, who made O'Keefe look like Chan Gailey or Don Coryell by comparison. What do you think he will do if forced to replace his son as OC? I honestly don't even want to consider it.

I don't think he called a perfect game by any means, but he did the best with the cards in his hand. I question not kicking the FG early to get points on the board. I don't put any blame on Brian or KF at this point. As you point out, this team just gets hit more and more with the injury bug, TO ABSOLUTE KEY POSITIONS, and they still compete and give them a chance to win.

It's almost like a bad accident this point, it's intriguing to watch how the hell they can keep it up and people are tuning into watch Iowa because of how the defense and special teams can pull a team in this day in age in college football. This is unheard of when looking at the stat lines, as no team should be able to even be competitive. I almost welcome this now as it is entertaining and very intriguing to see how this is going to work out. In a couple of games if Iowa continues to win, it is going to be the spotlight of national coverage because they are going question what the hell happens if Iowa continues to win, and what would the playoff committee do with this Iowa team if they would happen (low odds) to win the BIG championship.

It really is entertaining, people! BUCKLE UP!!!!!

 

[MelroseHawkins]

Deacon made a few big plays on key third downs. And that read option they ran confused the hell out of the Badgers. At this point I think he's just going to break out everything imaginable in misdirection run game. The running attack reminded me of how good it was in 2015 when Brian was run game coordinator.

They've gone to the counter run I think more and Rusty Feth is really run blocking well. His line play can't be overlooked and I think Large should play an even bigger role going forward. He was in and blocking for William's 82yd TD run.

It seems Large has been in contributing on most their long runs this season. I think he was in on Johnson's long TD run against Purdont as well.

I also think they need to incorporate some FB pass plays to Large as another option now. I think Hill would be fine competing them if he took a little off the ball a bit. They need some one read quick hitters for Deacon I think going forward. Like West Coast offense plays just to move the ball and not rely on the line holding for long routes where timing is much more of an issue.

 

[okeefe4prez]

They've gone to the counter run I think more and Rusty Feth is really run blocking well. His line play can't be overlooked and I think Large should play an even bigger role going forward. He was in and blocking for William's 82yd TD run.

It seems Large has been in contributing on most their long runs this season. I think he was in on Johnson's long TD run against Purdont as well.

I also think they need to incorporate some FB pass plays to Large as another option now. I think Hill would be fine competing them if he took a little off the ball a bit. They need some one read quick hitters for Deacon I think going forward. Like West Coast offense plays just to move the ball and not rely on the line holding for long routes where timing is much more of an issue.

Feth is starting to look like a grown ass man out there. And the tailbacks are as well. I think Large is going to hit on a huge wheel route after he gets lost coming out of the backfield on a play action.

 

[MelroseHawkins]

The rest of the schedule is so bad and with the weather beginning to turn ugly we could conceivably win the balance of our games without a single offensive touchdown. I mean, this offense could average 8.3 ppg from here on out and we could still finish 11-1 or 10-2. It's insane. But if we have double digit wins you can't do anything other than what Kurt demands because the guy obviously knows what he's doing.

Watching him absolutely befuddle Fickle yesterday was truly enjoyable. Fickle gets all this praise for his newfangled offense but when the cards are on the table from mid-October to the end of the year if you are gonna play football in the legacy Big Ten footprint you better be able to bottle up the run every damned play and you better be able to muster at least some semblance of a sustained drive no matter how bad the weather gets or what injuries you sustain. When everyone is out there trying to play grabass, Kirk Ferentz is playing just totally basic punch you in the mouth football. I freaking love it. You could see Wisconsin's surprise when they got punched in the mouth a few times very early in the game after playing nothing but spread teams for the first half of the season.

I'm telling ya, Ferentz needs to land 2 star TEs every year and just go 3 or 4 TEs on the field every play. You could see the schematic advantage yesterday, as more and more teams move to spread, if we can play legit power football we will be really hard to gameplan for during the regular season on one week of prep. Wisconsin is trying to adapt to the spread crap but it simply does not work in the Big Ten as the year goes on unless you have an absolutely ridiculous talent mismatch. I know Ohio State hated Tressel, but he understood this. He could go out and run spread with good teams and he could go out and out-Wisconsin Wisconsin when he needed to.

And Iowa undoubtedly still had success with the box loaded which is a good sign and only adds into the enjoyment of watching KF make Fickle his bitch.

I'd be pizzed if Iowa was an opposing team's fan and my team couldn't completely defend Iowa's offense with a backup QB and their top two receivers out. That would be frustrating.

In addition, Wisky was kind of like Iowa as I didn't see much difference at all with their backup QB. I would actually go on to say he might have looked a bit more effective but they had the halftime to gameplan the change a bit.

 

[okeefe4prez]

I don't think he called a perfect game by any means, but he did the best with the cards in his hand. I question not kicking the FG early to get points on the board. I don't put any blame on Brian or KF at this point. As you point out, this team just gets hit more and more with the injury bug, TO ABSOLUTE KEY POSITIONS, and they still compete and give them a chance to win.

It's almost like a bad accident this point, it's intriguing to watch how the hell they can keep it up and people are tuning into watch Iowa because of how the defense and special teams can pull a team in this day in age in college football. This is unheard of when looking at the stat lines, as no team should be able to even be competitive. I almost welcome this now as it is entertaining and very intriguing to see how this is going to work out. In a couple of games if Iowa continues to win, it is going to be the spotlight of national coverage because they are going question what the hell happens if Iowa continues to win, and what would the playoff committee do with this Iowa team if they would happen (low odds) to win the BIG championship.

It really is entertaining, people! BUCKLE UP!!!!!

I don't think it was perfect, but there were only like four or five calls where I was in vehement disagreement with the call. I would rate the game as a solid 9.2/10. He did great, IMHO.

 

[okeefe4prez]

And Iowa undoubtedly still had success with the box loaded which is a good sign and only adds into the enjoyment of watching KF make Fickle his bitch.

I'd be pizzed if Iowa was an opposing team's fan and my team couldn't completely defend Iowa's offense with a backup QB and their top two receivers out. That would be frustrating.

In addition, Wisky was kind of like Iowa as I didn't see much difference at all with their backup QB. I would actually go on to say he might have looked a bit more effective but they had the halftime to gameplan the change a bit.

The 82 yard run was made possible by tape. The development of the play froze the two guys who could have made a play because they were both watching the edge, then bam. Bye bye. I really do think Iowa does a great job of getting just the most random shit on tape to toy with defenses and we finally have a cadre of tailbacks who can break one when we catch the defense off balance. If we can just get one of the remaining TEs to blossom a bit we are gonna get a lot better.

 

[trj]

Feth is starting to look like a grown ass man out there. And the tailbacks are as well. I think Large is going to hit on a huge wheel route after he gets lost coming out of the backfield on a play action.

It was looking pretty rough out there for Feth for most of the season. It does look like the light bulb is coming on…he had an excellent game yesterday.

 

[MelroseHawkins]

Feth is starting to look like a grown ass man out there. And the tailbacks are as well. I think Large is going to hit on a huge wheel route after he gets lost coming out of the backfield on a play action.

This is what I've been pleading for all season. The guy caught a lot of balls at Dort and was effective. USE HIM. Iowa needs another option in the offense and he is there with his skills. They need that other option and are now depleted at the TE position. I've almost given up on the WR unit.

It's gotta be power football and defense going forward now. There really is no other option. Use the WR's to spread the defense and power play teams to death. This Iowa team isn't going to finesse anybody at this point.

 

[trj]

The 82 yard run was made possible by tape. The development of the play froze the two guys who could have made a play because they were both watching the edge, then bam. Bye bye. I really do think Iowa does a great job of getting just the most random shit on tape to toy with defenses and we finally have a cadre of tailbacks who can break one when we catch the defense off balance. If we can just get one of the remaining TEs to blossom a bit we are gonna get a lot better.

I believe Ostrenga is back next week and Patterson will be back to help in the run game.

 

[MelroseHawkins]

The 82 yard run was made possible by tape. The development of the play froze the two guys who could have made a play because they were both watching the edge, then bam. Bye bye. I really do think Iowa does a great job of getting just the most random shit on tape to toy with defenses and we finally have a cadre of tailbacks who can break one when we catch the defense off balance. If we can just get one of the remaining TEs to blossom a bit we are gonna get a lot better.

I was thinking, what the hell happened or where was Stilianos. Injured or just passed up on the depth chart. No confidence in him???

 

[okeefe4prez]

This is what I've been pleading for all season. The guy caught a lot of balls at Dort and was effective. USE HIM. Iowa needs another option in the offense and he is there with his skills. They need that other option and are now depleted at the TE position. I've almost given up on the WR unit.

It's gotta be power football and defense going forward now. There really is no other option. Use the WR's to spread the defense and power play teams to death. This Iowa team isn't going to finesse anybody at this point.

Look, I know that I may have thrown around the phrase "next week's game is the most important game in the history of the program" quite a few times, perhaps to the point it is losing meaning, but this time I will limit it and I really mean it - next week's game is the most important game of Brian Ferentz's tenure. He ain't getting 325 and anyone who is still holding up that metric is going to be disappointed, but he has carte blanche to completely revamp the running game and to add as many wrinkles as possible to whatever piss poor passing attack we can compile. I think he will shine, at least shine as defined by the massively low expectations I have come to hold for Iowa offense.

Hayden Large catching a 42 yarder on a wheel route would change our fortunes on offense for the next 5 weeks. The defense having to keep an eye on him is one more set of eyes off the tailback.

 

[okeefe4prez]

It was looking pretty rough out there for Feth for most of the season. It does look like the light bulb is coming on…he had an excellent game yesterday.

I don't want to jinx us, but it is starting to look like the line is hitting the requisite experience necessary to be solid. This ain't the 2002 line by any stretch of the imagination, but unlike last year's line, there is a glimmer of hope.

 

[haydensly]

Let's consider the offense this year. The line looks marginally better than last year. That is a win. We have lost our starting QB, who has CFP experience and a Big Ten crown. We have lost two TEs who barring injury looked to me like they would be top 50 draft picks, worst case top 100. They are our only receiving threats. To be 6-1 with these injuries and road games at Happy Valley, Wal-Mart (Ames) and Camp Randall is pretty damned impressive.

I get it, people want more splash on offense, blah blah blah. But I seriously don't know what the hell people want to call with the talent we have on the field. You go to war with the army you have, not the army you want. This guy is getting the most out of the army we have. With the exception of two third down calls that went toward a player who I don't believe should have been an option in those situations (I don't throw individual guys under the bus) I thought that Brian called a near perfect game.

This is vintage Ferentz ball and reminds me of the masterful job O'Keefe did in 2004 when we were down to the 6th string tailback. You just claw everything you can and don't put the defense or special teams in a bind. That's it. This offense will get better.

For those clamoring for Brian's job, you need to go back and look at history. My guess is the Venn Diagram of people who want Brian fired is a 1:1 overlay of those who wanted O'Keefe gone. Well, O'Keefe left and it was the biggest loss our coaching staff has ever suffered because Ferentz hired Greg Davis, who made O'Keefe look like Chan Gailey or Don Coryell by comparison. What do you think he will do if forced to replace his son as OC? I honestly don't even want to consider it.

Excellent post.

 

[MelroseHawkins]

Look, I know that I may have thrown around the phrase "next week's game is the most important game in the history of the program" quite a few times, perhaps to the point it is losing meaning, but this time I will limit it and I really mean it - next week's game is the most important game of Brian Ferentz's tenure. He ain't getting 325 and anyone who is still holding up that metric is going to be disappointed, but he has carte blanche to completely revamp the running game and to add as many wrinkles as possible to whatever piss poor passing attack we can compile. I think he will shine, at least shine as defined by the massively low expectations I have come to hold for Iowa offense.

Hayden Large catching a 42 yarder on a wheel route would change our fortunes on offense for the next 5 weeks. The defense having to keep an eye on him is one more set of eyes off the tailback.

Exactly. The role of the OC is to keep defenses guessing. Large would be another aspect opposing teams would have to spend time scheming for. One long wheel route as u state would achieve that, ala Marshall Faulk straddling the sideline.