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B1G Monday morning: Brian Ferentz is this year’s Scott Frost

Alex Hickey

By Alex Hickey

Published:

Deep down, we all knew how it would end for Scott Frost at Nebraska last year. Nothing about how 2021 played out indicated a different outcome for 2022.

But because of Frost’s ties to the program, the Cornhuskers engaged in magical, wishful thinking. Athletic director Trev Alberts, a former Nebraska player himself, restructured Frost’s contract in a manner that would lessen the buyout and incentivize winning.

The idea was inspired by Michigan, which made similar tweaks to Jim Harbaugh’s contract the year before and hit the jackpot with its first-ever College Football Playoff appearance. And that may prove to be the only instance where this type of thing pans out.

We are seeing it in the B1G for a third straight season, this time in the form of Iowa offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz. He should have been fired after 2 straight years of offensive ineptitude. The Hawkeyes were 99th or worse nationally in scoring each season.

But because of Ferentz’s ties to the program — his dad is the head coach — the Hawkeyes engaged in magical, wishful thinking this offseason.

Given that Kirk Ferentz is the person who actually wields the clout in the athletic department, then-AD Gary Barta made the best of the situation that he could. Brian’s contract would only be renewed for 2024 if Iowa finishes 7-5 or better and averages at least 25 points per game.

Seems simple enough. That equates to 85th in the country by last season’s standards. And defensive and special teams touchdowns even count toward the total.

Rather than tying a hand behind Brian’s back, Iowa was providing him with a third hand to use.

But it appears failsons are gonna fail, no matter how much you attempt to prop them up.

An offseason of promise …

Kirk Ferentz sold us on the promise that Iowa didn’t need to change the man calling the offensive plays this season — just the players executing those plays, even though that includes far more moving parts.

Former Michigan quarterback Cade McNamara would ride in from Ann Arbor and save the day. McNamara even brought a much bigger version of Robin along with him in the form of tight end Erick All. Behind an offensive line that had matured through 2 years of growing pains, the Hawks had everything they needed.

This offense was gonna cook with gas!

It took less than a minute into the opener for that promise to be kept. Iowa needed only 2 plays to find the end zone — a 36-yard completion from McNamara to Seth Anderson. It was — and this stat is real — Iowa’s first season-opening drive to culminate with a touchdown pass since 1991.

The Hawkeyes hit paydirt on their second drive as well, a beautiful, methodical 11-play, 75-yard march that ended with a 3-yard All touchdown from McNamara.

Forget reaching the mandated total of 325 points for the season. Iowa was on pace to score 1,260 points this year!

And then as quickly as it arrived, Iowa’s illusion of offensive competence left. The Hawkeyes gained 145 yards and scored 10 points in the final 3 quarters combined.

… And a return to reality

There was ugliness to be found everywhere around.

McNamara was pedestrian at best following the hot start.

He completed 56.7% of his attempts — third-worst among B1G starters in Week 1. The only 2 quarterbacks to do worse, Minnesota’s Athan Kaliakmanis and Indiana’s Brandon Sorsby, actually faced Big Ten defenses in their season openers.

Of McNamara’s 17 completions, only 3 were to wide receivers. T-H-R-E-E.

McNamara averaged 6.4 yards per attempt, which rated 8th in the B1G. With the exception of Wisconsin’s Tanner Mordecai, every quarterback who rated below McNamara faced a Big Ten defense.

Utah State is not a Big Ten defense. The Aggies were 75th nationally in scoring defense last year.

That more mature Iowa offensive line? Paved the way for Hawkeye running backs to average 2.4 yards per carry while allowing a disturbing 9 tackles for loss.

Even Northwestern, which was completely overwhelmed against Rutgers, gave up only 8 TFL in its opener. The Hawks are 113th nationally in TFL allowed after Week 1.

Iowa finds itself in the same spot Nebraska did after last year’s season-opening embarrassment against Northwestern. With plenty of egg on its face and facing a season-long staredown with the inevitable.

But unlike Nebraska and Frost, there won’t be any pulling the plug 3 weeks into the season for Iowa. This root canal will be painful until Thanksgiving weekend.

Is there a chance that time reveals Utah State has a very fine defense and things get better from here? Sure. But right now, we can only trust the eye test. And the eyes of Iowa have seen more than enough of Brian Ferentz as a play caller.

Around the B1G horn

Couldn’t watch every game? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered.

No. 2 Michigan 30, East Carolina 3

The thing that will stand out to most people about this game is the Wolverines paying tribute to suspended coach Jim Harbaugh by coming out of the “train formation” to start their second offensive possession and holding up 4 fingers to symbolize his old number.

Sure, it’s a great sign of team unity and it plays the hits for the home audience. But what a ridiculously overwrought and self-indulgent demonstration.

Harbaugh is not on his deathbed. Or in his casket. He’s watching the game at home because there’s enough evidence indicating he lied about cheating — even if it was the equivalent of rolling through a stop sign — that Michigan felt compelled to suspend him.

He’s not a martyr. He’s the only person who had the power to prevent this outcome, and he failed to do so. It’s simultaneously possible for both that to be true and for the NCAA to be a tad overbearing in this case.

No. 3 Ohio State 23, Indiana 3

Ohio State fans are in an understandable panic after a flat performance against the Hoosiers, but the offense got off to a similarly sluggish start in last year’s 21-10 season-opening win over Notre Dame.

Want to be a glass half-full Buckeye? The defense limited Indiana to 2.2 yards per play, which is Ohio State’s best showing since a 76-5 win over Miami (Ohio) in 2019. That’s pretty good.

Want to be a glass half-full Hoosier despite those offensive woes? Indiana limited Heisman hopeful and perhaps future Colt Marvin Harrison Jr. to a career-low 2 catches for 18 yards. That’s pretty good.

No. 7 Penn State 38, West Virginia 15

Anyone who didn’t have money on this game — or backed the Nittany Lions — surely let out a cackle when Penn State scored with 6 seconds left to cover the 21-point spread. And anyone who bet West Virginia needs a new TV after throwing the remote through it.

Outside of Michigan, Penn State was the Big Ten’s most well-rounded team in Week 1. There are a few quibbles — a kicker controversy looms, and Penn State was 3-for-9 on third down. But nothing stood out as a glaring weakness for the Nittany Lions.

No. 19 Wisconsin 38, Buffalo 17

For all the offseason talk of a revamped passing game, Tanner Mordecai’s line looked a whole lot like we’ve come to expect of a Wisconsin quarterback: a touchdown, 2 interceptions and an average of 5.8 yards per pass attempt.

And the backfield looked a whole lot like what we’ve come to expect of a Wisconsin backfield: 2 guys almost equally combining for 298 rushing yards and 4 touchdowns.

It’ll be interesting to see how the experiment progresses in a tough test at Washington State next week.

Fresno State 39, Purdue 35

This may seem an odd thing to say about a team that scored 35 points, but poor situational play-calling from new offensive coordinator Graham Harrell really stood out. The Boilermakers had 5 plays where they needed 2 yards or less to convert a first down or score a touchdown and failed each time.

Purdue finished 3-of-12 on third down and 2-of-4 on fourth down. If not for the explosiveness of receiver Deion Burks — 4 receptions for 152 yards and 2 touchdowns — this would have been a disastrous day for the offense.

Maryland 38, Towson 6

You knew Mike Locksley wasn’t going to pour it on against his alma mater, so it’s difficult to read too much into anything that happened here. But it certainly would have been nice to see the defense force a turnover. There’s too much speed on that side of the ball for this to be accepted as a regularly occurring theme.

Illinois 30, Toledo 28

A bit close for comfort, but the Rockets demonstrated that they were quite capable of running the table this season had they escaped Memorial Stadium with a win. It took a nearly impossible fourth down pitch-and-catch from Luke Altmyer and Casey Washington for Illinois to avoid the upset.

Kicker Caleb Griffin capped the drive with a game-winning 29-yard field goal in the final 10 seconds.

From start to finish, this was the best Week 1 game in the B1G. And Illinois may hold that distinction again after this week’s game at Kansas.

Rutgers 24, Northwestern 7

The Wildcats scored a touchdown with 19 seconds left to dash Rutgers’ hopes of securing its first-ever shutout of a Big Ten opponent. And in a game that featured zero drama, the last-ditch goal line stand from the Scarlet Knights was wildly entertaining to watch, as was Northwestern’s will to get the bagel off the board.

It was one of those moments that makes you remember, “Oh yeah, college football is the best.” Even when the game stinks.

Michigan State 31, Central Michigan 7 (Friday)

Central Michigan took a 7-3 lead with 1:51 remaining in the first half, at which point Mel Tucker’s contract looked like the worst investment since (name a Tigers free agent).

But quarterback Noah Kim rebounded from a dreadful beginning to his first start, quickly bringing Michigan State downfield for the lead before halftime. From that point forward, it was nothing but encouraging signs for the Spartans on both sides of the ball.

The defense, which finished last in country with 2 interceptions last season, even picked off a pass!

Minnesota 13, Nebraska 10 (Thursday)

Matt Rhule is now winless in his coaching debut at all 4 stops of his career. But don’t fret, Huskers fans — the track record shows it always gets better from here. And in this case, it has to get better. Right? Maybe?

It will.

For the Gophers, the improbable late comeback may prove most useful in getting to 6 wins by the end of the season. This is not a vintage-model Minnesota offensive line. The Gophers averaged 2.2 yards per carry and allowed 3 sacks.

Week 1 MVPs

1. QB Drew Allar, Penn State

Will Allar be the Big Ten’s best quarterback by the end of the year? Is he already there?!?

For a slight tap of the brakes: never forget that Wisconsin’s Graham Mertz looked unstoppable in his first career start. We’re going to need a bigger sample size.

But boy, were the early returns promising for Allar. He looked like he’d been starting as many seasons as the guy he’s replacing — 4-year starter Sean Clifford.

2. WR Roman Wilson, Michigan

There aren’t many questions about the Wolverines this season. But there was a mild concern over how Michigan would replace Ronnie Bell, who had 30 more catches than any other Wolverine last year.

How about Roman Wilson? JJ McCarthy targeted him 9 times, and Wilson responded with 6 catches for 78 yards and 3 touchdowns.

3. QB JJ McCarthy, Michigan

Why waste time on words when you have graphics?

McCarthy’s lone blemish, a lost fumble in the shadow of the goal line as Michigan was driving for another score, keeps him from the top of the list.

4. S Tyler Nubin, Minnesota

Nubin picked off Nebraska quarterback Jeff Sims twice, with the second breaking the Cornhuskers and setting up Minnesota’s game-winning field goal drive.

5. RB Chez Mellusi, Wisconsin

Mellusi gets the nod over Purdue’s Burks and Indiana linebacker Aaron Casey (11 tackles, 9 solo) because his team actually won. This is what happens when you let me make the rules.

Mellusi had 157 yards and 2 touchdowns on just 13 carries, including an 89-yard jaunt.

Top 3 plays of the week

You’ve been waiting for football since January — maybe longer depending on your team. Who am I to limit Week 1 to a singular play of the week?

1. Daniel Jackson’s toe-tap

The stakes if Jackson doesn’t make this catch? Game over, Minnesota loses. Remarkable.

2. Ian Strong’s first career catch

Rutgers wide receiver Ian Strong’s first career reception was so unbelievable that it was ruled an incompletion on the field. But upon replay review, it was clear that he got his toe down in the same manner as Minnesota’s Jackson on Thursday night.

3. Deion Burks’ 84-yard TD reception

All Burks does here is make a catch 5 yards from the line of scrimmage, then break anywhere from 4-6 tackles on the ensuing 79-yard sprint to the end zone. This is Jerry Rice-type stuff.

Alex Hickey

Alex Hickey is an award-winning writer who has watched Big Ten sports since it was a numerically accurate description of league membership. Alex has covered college football and basketball since 2008, with stops on the McNeese State, LSU and West Virginia beats before being hired as Saturday Tradition's Big Ten columnist in 2021. He is an Illinois native and 2004 Indiana University graduate.