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Kirk Ferentz believes umpire got in the way of Iowa’s critical two-point attempt against Wisconsin
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Iowa was 6-2 overall and 3-2 in the Big Ten going into the matchup against Wisconsin. The Hawkeyes ended up losing the game 24-22 and were trying to play catch-up for most of the contest.
RELATED: Wisconsin ends two-game skid thanks to Jonathan Taylor, Iowa’s failed two-point attempt
Near the end, the Hawkeyes trailed by two points after scoring a touchdown. The team then went for two to try and tie it.
It appeared as though Iowa called a quarterback draw. With draw plays, the goal is to sell the pass first. Iowa apparently did it too well on that two-point attempt, as coach Kirk Ferentz said that it not only got the umpire on the field to step up, anticipating a pass, but the umpire also ended up getting in the way:
Ferentz says umpire got in way of Iowa's two-point attempt because he thought it was a pass play and stepped up. Not blaming him. But he does like the NFL model better where the umpire is stationed on the end line on goal-line plays
— MarkEmmert (@MarkEmmert) November 12, 2019
Ferentz makes a point here. If the umpire is over on the end line when the playing field gets shrunk, it can get one loss human being out of the way.
On that two-point attempt, Ferentz believes it absolutely hurt the Hawkeyes’ chances of converting. He may not blame the umpire, but, that’s just what happened.
Ferentz also talked on Tuesday about the Minnesota matchup looming:
Ferentz says Minnesota rivalry was not healthy when he arrived in 1980s. "There was a lot of hostility."
— MarkEmmert (@MarkEmmert) November 12, 2019
Ferentz on Minnesota: "They've improved every week. They left no doubt Saturday. That was not a fluke."
— MarkEmmert (@MarkEmmert) November 12, 2019
Ferentz on Tanner Morgan: "Not only is he being productive but he's being smart. He's a young player, but he's not playing like a young player."
— MarkEmmert (@MarkEmmert) November 12, 2019
Minnesota’s good. Its win over Penn State wasn’t a fluke. Ferentz knows it.
He also brought up how the offense got better against Wisconsin once the Hawkeyes had to score. Once time was waning, Iowa picked up the pace:
Ferentz on offense: "I just felt like we really needed to push the envelope a little bit" when they went with tempo late against Wisconsin
— MarkEmmert (@MarkEmmert) November 12, 2019
We’ll see what Iowa’s offense looks like at 4 p.m. ET on FOX when the Hawkeyes host undefeated Minnesota.
Kevin covers Big Ten football for Saturday Tradition.