Did Ferentz take a dive?

Submitted by jbibiza on

I know it sounds absurd, and I'm only half serious,  but how else can you explain the last 5 minutes of that game?  

Business Time

November 23rd, 2012 at 4:02 PM ^

Does this game give anyone else an overwhelming morbid curiosity to see what a GERG Davis/Robinson team would be like? Preferably after getting hired together at MSU or something.

Wolverine Devotee

November 23rd, 2012 at 4:12 PM ^

Thanks for nothing. northwestern, state, penn state and iowa. You are all useless and you shall get pounded next season by Michigan. 

MGoBlue96

November 23rd, 2012 at 8:59 PM ^

a freshman qb who wasn't ready to play yet is the QB for much of the game. I have no doubt that Michigan would of have won with either Denard or Devin at QB. Basically Nebraska lucked their way into the Big Ten title game, with the help of key injuries, the officials, and an incompetent Iowa coaching staff along the way.

bronxblue

November 23rd, 2012 at 4:35 PM ^

The fact that Nebraska survived MSU, Wiscy, NW, PSU, and UM by the collective skin of their teeth is what drives me crazy - a crappy Iowa team shouldn't have decided the Legends division anyway.  The fact the refs blew at least 2 games with calls that benefitted Nebraska (MSU and PSU), that's what helped them win the division.  Oh yeah, and Denard going down.

Roy G. Biv

November 23rd, 2012 at 4:42 PM ^

I agree, it's much in the vein of ND's undefeated season.  While I do curse fortune and those two awful calls against MSU and PSU that saved Nebraska's bacon, I first have to look at our own program for not being in the B1G championship.  M's utter lack of prepardness for Denard going down is IMO the reason Nebraska wins the division.

Roy G. Biv

November 23rd, 2012 at 4:38 PM ^

Nebraska was absolutely turrible today. Offensively, Iowa was beyond turrible. Iowa's D stood up.  Unfortunately the play calling and clock management were hideous.  To an outsider (me), that looked like sub-HS caliber coaching.

allintime23

November 23rd, 2012 at 4:40 PM ^

I actually hope douche-tastic Wisconsin wins next week. Nebraska has gotten every break. Every call. For them to show up and play like garbage today was the last draw.

Perkis-Size Me

November 23rd, 2012 at 6:59 PM ^

Whether or not they win next week, they will get exposed in their bowl game, whether its the Rose Bowl or the Capital One Bowl. They have a shitty defense and an offense that can be good but consistently shoots itself in the foot. Oregon/Stanford or Florida/Georgia/Texas A&M would annihilate Nebraska.



I know it doesn't mean much, but I can go to bed at night knowing that overall, Michigan has a better team.

BILG

November 23rd, 2012 at 5:58 PM ^

 

Kirk Ferentz is the personification of everything that has been competitively wrong with Big Ten Football in the last decade.  He is a content mediocre midwest loser.  As slimey as Urban Meyer is, at least he goes for wins, not the consolation prize of being a good guy or getting a pat on the back for playing hard.  Watching Ferentz jog off the field stoicly, as if he accomplished something because his team managed to not get blown out, made me sick

What am I thankful for this Thanksgiving?  That Michigan didn't hire that football dinosaur who makes Lloyd Carr look like Chip Kelly.  To punt from midfield on 4th down when your un-bowl-bound team has absolutely nothing to lose is an insult to common sense.  To run a base offense with two minutes left in the game and take 25 seconds to get the play calls in is beyond incompetence.

While obviously I had a vested interest in an Iowa victory and am annoyed that Ferentz derped away a golden upset opportunity, watching the game helped me realize why the Big Ten hasn't been able to compete with the big boys.  That sad ass conservative dinosaur mentality, from this idea of a gentleman's handshake in recruiting to punting on 4th down inside your opponent 40 yard line, the Big Ten has become home to the least innovative and most stagnant and uninspiring coaching staffs in the country.

BILG

November 23rd, 2012 at 9:10 PM ^

This is a blog...if I can't rant here about a lame conservative coach blowing a golden opportunity for an upset that would give my team the chance to play for a conference championship, where can I?  Get over yourself.  There's two other posts basically saying the same thing about how Ferentz sucks and is the least interesting man in the world.  So they deleted mine and I still felt the need to post my angry rant...big deal.  Let me bitch.  Nobody is getting hurt and it makes me feel a tiny bit better to complain about how shitty a coach Kirk Ferentz is.

I promise to follow the delithium, taco pants, muppets, kittens chorus going forward. 

SFBlue

November 23rd, 2012 at 6:19 PM ^

Agree with criticism of late game clock management and play calling, but Iowa's defense played very well, especially after the first five minutes of the game. Credit Ferenz for being competitive.

Perkis-Size Me

November 24th, 2012 at 12:21 AM ^

I will never credit Ferentz for having the mediocre year that he did. For the kind of money he's getting paid, he's putting out garbage teams. He also hired a shitty OC that allowed his, IMO, severely underrated QB to plummet to a 7 TD season. If I were an Iowa fan, I'd be furious.



I will grant him, though, that he has had more bad luck with injuries at RB than most teams get in years. And that position happens to be their bread and butter. But still, this was a pathetic year for him. I wouldn't fire him, as I know he's capable of fielding a great team, but something there has to change.

MichiganTeacher

November 23rd, 2012 at 9:55 PM ^

His buyout is ridiculous. I believe he's contracted to be paid between $3 and $4 miillion a year until 2021 or so, and the buyout is like $20 million.

My opinion, for what it's worth, is that injuries + Ferentz getting too comfortable have killed the Hawkeyes. I'd say more of the latter than the former.