Kirk Ferentz has spent a majority of 2022 looking hopelessly out of touch. But now it looks like he’s about to have the last laugh.

The Hawkeyes are back in first place in the Big Ten West, and they may be there to stay — which is a statement that would have seemed absurd as recently as 3 weeks ago.

To the dismay of nearly everyone this offseason, Ferentz made son Brian Iowa’s quarterbacks coach on top of his duties as a largely unsuccessful offensive coordinator. Brian’s expertise is in offensive line play, making the choice all the more curious.

Senior wide receiver Charlie Jones, pretty clearly frustrated by the state of Iowa’s offense, surprisingly bolted the program after spring practice to play with pee-wee teammate Aidan O’Connell at Purdue.

The archaic state of Iowa’s offense was on display for all to see for the first half of the season. Through its first 4 Big Ten games, Iowa had the exact same number of touchdowns on offense and defense — 3 apiece.

A 9-6 loss at Illinois marked the 6th time the Hawkeyes had scored 7 points or fewer since last October. Questions were reasonably asked whether it was time to consider a change in offensive play-calling.

His response bordered on indignant.

“Making the change? No, no, no, no,” Ferentz said. “I mean, we won 10 games last year. I don’t know if you’re aware of that, but … so, I look at that, and we’ve won a lot of games since 2015.”

The criticism of Iowa’s offense reached its nadir following a 54-10 loss at Ohio State. Following the defeat, Iowa was last in the country in total offense, 130th in yards per play and 128th in scoring.

Ferentz did not take kindly to his Q&A with a critical Cleveland columnist following that performance, going out of his way to rip the reporter a few days later.

“It dawned on me coming home,” Ferentz said. “As bad as today was, it could have been worse, because I could have been that guy.”

For all the world, it felt like the bottom was falling out on Iowa football. Even Iowans, not prone to rudeness, had pitchforks ready for Brian Ferentz.

Joke was on us.

Improbably, the Hawkeyes are clear-cut favorites to repeat as Big Ten West champions.

On a crucial Saturday, the Hawks do their thing

Fans at Kinnick Stadium knew that fate was smiling on the Hawkeyes shortly after kickoff. Purdue downed Illinois, meaning the winner of the Wisconsin-Iowa game would find itself in a 4-way tie for first place in the West.

The Hawkeyes took control of their destiny in the usual fashion — with special teams and defense.

Deontae Craig blocked a Wisconsin punt, setting up the offense at the Badgers 17-yard line. Earlier this year, Iowa probably would have turned that into a field goal, but this time needed just 2 plays to take a 7-3 lead.

Like clockwork, Phil Parker’s defense provided the next touchdown. Cooper DeJean picked off Graham Mertz, then returned it 32 yards for a touchdown that provided an insurmountable 14-3 lead. Insurmountable even though there was still a half left to play.

With Iowa nursing a 14-10 lead late in the third quarter, DeJean was yet again the difference-maker. His 41-yard punt return set up the Hawkeyes inside the Wisconsin 20 to open the fourth quarter. The offense again capitalized with a 5-play touchdown drive that definitely put the game out of reach.

Textbook Iowa football. It is not aesthetically pleasing. But it has won 69 games and counting since 2015. Ohio State, Michigan and Wisconsin are the only Big Ten programs to win more games in that timeframe.

Why Iowa is the favorite to get back to Indy

Technically speaking, Illinois remains in the driver’s seat among Big Ten West contenders. But the Illini have a major problem brewing in the form of No. 3 Michigan next week.

That would have been a challenge under any circumstance. But there’s a possibility Illinois will need to win that game without star running back Chase Brown, or with a severely limited version of Brown.

He left very late in the Purdue game with a nasty-looking ankle/lower leg injury that moved his twin brother Sydney to tears. And if what they say about twins feeling each other’s pain is true, that cannot be a good sign.

Brown is the Illinois offense. There might not be a team in the country more reliant on an individual player than the Illini are on Brown. Without him, Illinois cannot beat Michigan. Period.

And if that’s the scenario, the West is in Iowa’s hands. All the Hawkeyes need to do is exactly what they’ve done every year since 2014 — beat Minnesota and Nebraska. Wins in those games combined with an Illinois loss would send Iowa to Indianapolis for the second straight season.

That, of course, means a rematch with Ohio State or Michigan. You can bet America isn’t exactly champing at the bit for a second helping of either matchup.

But that’s the thing about Iowa. Kirk Ferentz doesn’t care what we think. He’s just going to go about his business his way, and somehow do what he always does — win.