B1G 5: Kirk Ferentz beat cancel culture. Now Iowa might be the team to beat

1. The B1G story

Let me reintroduce you to a story that has defied the odds, one that in this age of cancel culture and mob rules should have zero chance of survival.

Yet somehow it has – for all the right reasons. Well, that and the longest current winning streak in the Big Ten might have something to do with it.

“It’s a matter of working through things,” Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said. “Figuring out what we need to do, how we can improve. Just like you do when you lose a football game.”

Only this was no game. This was real life.

When allegations of racial strife, bullying and discrimination engulfed the program last summer, when those allegations cost jobs – most notably, longtime strength coach Chris Doyle – and led to 8 former players suing the university and demanding Ferentz be fired (trial is set for 2023), inevitable change is around the corner.

People and jobs and even longstanding traditions don’t survive in this day and age when those allegations are thrown around. The NFL, the biggest, baddest sports brand on the planet, took less than 24 hours to rid itself from Doyle’s hiring by the Jaguars.

Just how hopeless did it look last year at Iowa? After losing to Purdue and Northwestern to begin the season, I wrote that Iowa would have to win out for Ferentz to save his job.

And sonofgun, if the Hawkeyes didn’t pull it off.

Winning, everyone, is the ultimate salve. That’s not to say a jury won’t eventually side with the 8 players, or state that Ferentz and the program are guilty of anything.

What is true is Ferentz saw an opportunity to change – whether by force or intuition or both – and made it work. He instituted a leadership council for players to give constant feedback, and listened and changed on a daily basis.

He gave players more input within the program, an investment that strengthened working relationships and team chemistry. He streamlined the process of going straight to him when there’s a problem, with the idea of eliminating any sort of simmering issue.

It’s not like Ferentz had been running roughshod over Iowa players for two decades. He has always been considered a player’s coach and has a sterling reputation within the coaching community.

But when allegations surface, the very last thing you can do in this age of cancel culture is ignore them. You take corrective measures – and then win games if you can.

After last week’s thumping of Big Ten darling Indiana, Iowa has won 7 straight games since losing 2 in a row to begin the 2020 season and igniting the Kirk Must Go crowd.

They run the ball with power and purpose. They throw with just enough efficiency to keep defenses from crowding the run game.

And man, do they play defense.

In this age of pass-happy offense, the Iowa defense hasn’t given up more than 24 points in 23 straight games. That’s unheard of in a time where offenses get more than 24 in one half.

This team that couldn’t play the final regular-season game against Michigan because of Covid issues within the Michigan program, and opted out of a bowl game, is one of the hottest teams in college football.

That brings us to this weekend’s heavyweight game against bitter rival Iowa State. Maybe, just maybe, the biggest game in the series in forever.

Iowa State is a legitimate threat to win the Big 12 and get to the College Football Playoff. And if you haven’t noticed yet, this season – and the 6 games from 2020 – are starting to look a whole lot like 2015, when unbeaten Iowa needed to beat Michigan to reach the CFP and lost by 3 points.

That Iowa team won with defense and a strong running game, and just enough from QB CJ Beathard. This Iowa team looks eerily similar, but with one significant difference: It faced down adversity a year ago.

They saved their coach’s job and beat back cancel culture. Two things that are nearly unheard of in this day and age.

2. Cade in control

Ladies and gentlemen, Jim Harbaugh has a quarterback at Michigan. No really, he does.

We know this because after a solid start to his career last year in the COVID-shortened season, Cade McNamara followed that up with a rousing performance last week against Western Michigan.

Go ahead, find something negative to say about a guy who completed 81% of his passes and threw 2 TDs against 0 INTs, and averaged 12.4 yards per attempt.

But we’ve gone down this road before, where Michigan has found a quarterback and the big games arrives, and said quarterback is nowhere to be found. It began with Iowa transfer Jake Rudock, who got Michigan to its zenith under Harbaugh: the Citrus Bowl win over Florida.

And while that’s not saying much, check out the remainder of the stellar group acquired by the QB guru:

— Wilton Speight (tough overachiever, finished career at UCLA).

— Houston transfer John O’Korn (UM career: 2 TD, 4 INT).

— Brandon Peters (transferred to Illinois).

— Ole Miss transfer Shea Patterson (the best of Harbaugh’s QBs; 45 TDs in 2 seasons).

— Dylan McCaffrey (transferred to Northern Colorado).

— Joe Milton (transferred to Tennessee).

So here we are with McNamara, who has yet to throw an interception in 82 career passes. He throws an accurate, catchable ball and has enough velocity to make every throw.

What that means for games at Wisconsin, at Penn State and, of course, hosting Ohio State, is anyone’s guess at this point – especially considering Michigan’s track record in those rivalry games (Harbaugh is 5-11).

Maybe it’s best if we begin with Washington this week. Baby steps, everyone.

Washington lost to FCS Montana last week, but that means nothing to Harbaugh, who says he’s excited about the quarterbacks and that it was good to get freshman backup JJ McCarthy time against Western Michigan.

“I have a good idea that Washington has been preparing for us for a long time,” Harbaugh said. “It’s an important game for both teams, so I think that makes the first game irrelevant.”

3. Big Green meritocracy

Mel Tucker calls it culture change, and for the most part, it’s not much different than most.

Push yourself to where you’re uncomfortable, then push more. That’s where you learn and grow.

And if you don’t, they find someone else.

Tucker didn’t like what he had in his running back room at Michigan State, so he went out and signed Kenneth Walker III from the transfer portal. Walker never really got a consistent opportunity to be the No. 1 tailback at Wake Forest. He found a home with Tucker’s mantra of play fast and play hard.

In Week 1 on the road against a solid Northwestern defense, Walker had 264 yards and 4 TDs on just 23 carries. Tucker harped all offseason about the need for more chunk plays on offense.

Check out these chunk plays from Walker: runs of 50, 30, 23, 16 and 14 yards. When you’re averaging 11.5 yards per carry, it helps QB Payton Thorne play nearly flawlessly after a 2020 season where he played so uneven, Tucker brought in a portal player (Anthony Russo, Temple) for that job, too.

Only this time, Thorne beat out Russo and kept the job. For now, anyway.

It’s all fluid with Tucker. He’s not mincing words, and he’s not making promises.

It’s a meritocracy at Michigan State, and if you’re not comfortable with being uncomfortable, he’s moving on.

“We’ve got to get this thing going,” Tucker has said over and over since spring football when preaching about a change in culture. “You can’t hope to get better. You have to get better, period.”

Or he’ll find someone who will.

4. Powered Up

This week’s Power Poll, and one big thing: Week 1 reality check.

1. Ohio State: Maybe it’s not plug and play at the most important position on the field after all. I’m not filing CJ Stroud away, but he must get better for Ohio State to be elite.

2. Penn State: The offensive line can’t play like it did against Wisconsin and win the Big Ten. Given time, QB Sean Clifford will have a big season.

3. Iowa: There’s no other way to say it: QB Spencer Petras has to play better. Completing 48% of your passes will eventually catch up to you. Maybe even this week.

4. Wisconsin: Don’t bail on QB Graham Mertz just yet. By the end of the season, you’ll see a different player – and understand just how good the Penn State defense really is.

5. Minnesota: Star TB Mo Ibrahim is done for the season. It’s a long drop to backup Treyson Potts. Worse: the QB Tanner Morgan regression from 2020 continued in Week 1.

6. Indiana: The Hoosiers aren’t a 1-season flash; they ran into a strong Iowa team that’s the team to beat in the West Division.

7. Michigan: You don’t want to start talking about must-win scenarios 2 weeks into the season, but if UM loses to Washington, which just lost to FCS Montana, well, it’s going to get ugly.

8. Michigan State: Sparty looks to have 2 of 3 critical components (run game, defense). Unfortunately, the most important of all (quarterback) is still a big question.

9. Purdue: Getting QB Jack Plummer back and healthy and performing at a high level is huge for a program that took a big step backward in 2020.

10. Northwestern: The defense, the DNA of Northwestern under coach Pat Fitzgerald, looked overmatched against Michigan State. New coordinator, new players, big questions.

11. Maryland: Remember the Taulia isn’t Tua talk? The younger Tagovailoa is primed for a huge season. If only the Maryland D can keep up.

12. Rutgers: Rutgers begins the season with bad (Temple), worse (Syracuse) and FCS Delaware. We know nothing about this team until late September.

13. Illinois: Just when you thought it was safe to believe in Illinois, along comes UTSA. That’s right, I said UTSA. It’s a process, and Bret Bielema must play with the guys he has.

14. Nebraska: I hate to be the wet blanket here, but Buffalo is a strong MAC team. Huskers better put in work to avoid a loss before a rivalry game with Oklahoma.

5. The Weekly Five

Five games against the spread.

• Illinois at Virginia -10
• Oregon at Ohio State -14
• Buffalo +13 at Nebraska
• Iowa +4.5 at Iowa State
• Washington +6 at Michigan

Last week: 3-2

Season: 3-2