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What Kirk Ferentz said following crushing Heartland Trophy loss vs. Wisconsin
By Paul Harvey
Published:
Things can change in a hurry. Just ask Iowa.
The 6-0 start to the season suddenly feels light-years away for the Hawkeyes. The team has lost back-to-back conference games as a top-10 team, getting outscored 51-14 by Purdue and Wisconsin.
In Week 9, it was the Badgers in the battle for the Heartland Trophy that upset the No. 9 Hawkeyes. Wisconsin rushed for 166 behind a strong game from Braelon Allen with 3 total touchdowns from QB Graham Mertz, but it was a dominant defensive effort that was the key.
Iowa rushed for 24 yards and managed just 156 total yards of offense in Madison. That included Spencer Petras going just 9-for-19 through the air. The Hawkeyes also lost the turnover battle -3 with 3 costly fumbles.
After the game, head coach Kirk Ferentz discussed the skid and what he’s looking for from his team moving forward:
“We struggled offensively today. That was pretty obvious.”
Kirk Ferentz
— Pat Harty (@PatHarty) October 30, 2021
Kirk asked by @ChadLeistikow about the heat Brian Ferentz has been taking: “I have total confidence in our staff.”
Adds that the entire staff will have to assess where things are at and come up with some new things to drive the offense.
— David Eickholt (@DavidEickholt) October 30, 2021
Kirk Ferentz: “Nobody in our camp is ready to pack it in. We’re going to play it out. We can’t afford to be reactionary. You’ve just got to play it out – good, bad or indifferent.”
— Chad Leistikow🆑 (@ChadLeistikow) October 30, 2021
Kirk Ferentz believes that the fullback dive on 4th and 1 was the best call. He added that he felt like the game was over after Wisconsin got the stop.
Said like any bad call— he wishes he could have that one back.
— David Eickholt (@DavidEickholt) October 30, 2021
Paul is a lifelong fan and student of all things college football. He has been covering college football since 2017 and the B1G since 2018.