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?  

JimBobTressel

November 23rd, 2012 at 3:19 PM ^

That was the single most conservative game of football I have ever seen in my life, and I've watched old YouTubve videos of midwestern schools going up against each other in 1970. If Kirk Ferentz has the ability to be employed as a football head coach in America, it explains the USA's economic decline.

Iowa clearly needs a lesson in cutthroat captialism. Too much money to have fossils driving at the wheel

JimBobTressel

November 23rd, 2012 at 3:24 PM ^

He's def part of the equation. Why the hell would anyone ever hire him? To drink with him? Their offense has regressed BADLY. Insanely. Throwing 5 yard outs after 30 secs roll off the clock...with 2 minutes left in the game? WTF

LSAClassOf2000

November 23rd, 2012 at 4:40 PM ^

By the numbers, this is  where the deficit over last year is apparent. The final line for Iowa last year in the passing game was 240/412 for  3,052 yards, good for 7.41 yard per attempt and 14.4 yards per completion. Their final line for this year will be 222/389 for 1,460 yards, or 3.75 yards per attempt and 6.57 yards per completion. That's...significant, and that's two OCs at work. Vandenberg is a serviceable pocket passer, so there's a lot of coaching in this, I suspect. 

I will also add here that they fell off in rushing totals over last year, but not quite to the above scale. 

French West Indian

November 23rd, 2012 at 4:11 PM ^

I don't know but that M-OSU game in 2007(?) when Henne had the bad arm was pretty damn conservative.  Carr vs. Tressel with OSU basically just running out the clock in the second half.

Medic

November 23rd, 2012 at 6:44 PM ^

was nearly unbearable to watch. Iowa posessions:

 

Plays      Result

6               Int

3               Punt

6               Punt

3               Punt

3               Punt

3               Int

 

Yeeeeeeesh.

 

MGoCombs

November 23rd, 2012 at 3:20 PM ^

This is crazy. It's senior day, at home, a chance to beat a fake rival. The answer should be "GOD NO!" But after seeing that... Damn. I think a better explanation is Iowa is just a tire fire.

IPFW_Wolverines

November 23rd, 2012 at 3:21 PM ^

He's a terrible coach but lets not get carried away. Iowa is terrible and they have been all year.

jbibiza

November 23rd, 2012 at 3:37 PM ^

That doesn't explain the play calling and tempo at the end of the game.  I don't really think he took a dive but the only other expalnation is that he is an idiot but that is not the case - puntasaurus yes - idiot no.   Really hard to understand. 

CompleteLunacy

November 23rd, 2012 at 3:40 PM ^

that "terrible coaching" and "terrible players" are independent things. They are not. Iowa is terrible partially because their coaching has been terrible. Ferentz is a puntosaur, and Greg fricking Davis is one of the most incompetent OCs I have ever seen. I think they attempted one throw of greater than 10 yards in teh 4th quarter. When they were losing by a touchdown and had the wind at their backs. Meanwhile, on a 3rd and 4 he decided on an utterly obvious run that went for 1 yard...and from there Ferentz took over by punting on a 4th and 3 from midfield with just 7 minutes left. I mean...come on, man. 

The Vandenberg interception was lol bad after that (again on another called completely unsurprising short pass), but they lost the game on the two-play sequence to end thier next-to-last drive of the game.

Yeoman

November 23rd, 2012 at 5:13 PM ^

Did either side complete a pass thrown more than ten yards downfield at any point in the game? I'm having trouble remembering one. Martinez hit the one over the middle to Cotton, I guess, and Vandenberg might have completed one in the first quarter. The success rate was low, though.

A gusting and swirling 30 mph wind isn't conducive to a downfield passing game whether you're going with the wind or against it.

johngrdn82

November 23rd, 2012 at 3:23 PM ^

Trust me he did not take a dive, this team has look like this all year. That QB is terrible and should have been benched a long time ago. I’m not sure what Iowa has on their bench but it has to better than this.

B-Nut-GoBlue

November 23rd, 2012 at 3:28 PM ^

Yea, it's all Vandenberg.  What's on their bench is a true freshman who nobody knows anything about; probably not better. This offensive scheme is the culprit this season, not James Vandenberg.  He went from being a pretty decent QB the past few years under KOK to what we just witnessed.  Some blame belongs to him, sure, as he does make mistakes.  Much of what has occured this year, though, is a product of a terrible offensive sheme that didn't click what-so-ever amonst the whole offense, the whole season.

Bodogblog

November 23rd, 2012 at 4:05 PM ^

I think it's both. The OC is spectacularly incompetent, but Vandenberg looks like he's getting ready for a nap on each offensive series. No spark, no leadership. You can see why the team identity became Weisman as soon as he did anything remotely positive.

Was he hurt? If his arm is jelly it may explain some of the conservatism earlier in the year. But not today.

B-Nut-GoBlue

November 23rd, 2012 at 3:23 PM ^

It was a pretty shi**y performance.  The real problem may be the OC Greg Davis.  WTF kind of offense is he trying to run?  He may be the one taking a dive and corrupting the Iowa program.  That offense is/was straight sh*t  I live in Iowa near Iowa City, I saw it every week.  James vandenberg went from a decent to good QB the past few years, under Ken O'Keefe for Christ sakes, and was turned into what we all just watched.  That was actually a better game he's played this year.

ESNY

November 23rd, 2012 at 3:37 PM ^

It is beyond me how anyone can call Ferentz a good coach.   That was one of the worst coached game I have seen.  

Punting at the Neb 31

Getting an illegal substitution penalty out of a timeout

Not loading the box when you know Nebraska is running the ball. 

Showing zero sense of urgency down by 6 with 3 minutes left.  Routinely letting the play clock run down with the clock running.   Calling the same play over and over agin when everyone knows its coming.   A senior QB having zero idea how to run a 2 minute offense...

I know he has an obscenely overpriced contract (how he got that is beyond me) and a huge buyout but how is this man still not fired?   And the fact that this team has four wins and is playing at home, and he's playing the game like he's up 14 and trying to run the clock out.... unreal

turtleboy

November 23rd, 2012 at 3:56 PM ^

I know the whole "they're professional coaches and I'm not" thing matters, but seriously. I can't call that a conservative gameplan, because that would imply someone on the coaching staff had a plan at all. Maybe Ferentz and co. are good at developing talent behind the scenes, but when it comes to game time they don't just look bad, they look inept. You didn't outline anything rare, or difficult that they can't do, you outlined basic fundamental things just about every high school coach in America can do in their sleep, yet this B1G coach gets paid millions of dollars to continuously struggle with. Iowa should not only clean house and bring one of the Stoops brothers back home, they should ask Ferentz for their money back.

True Blue Grit

November 23rd, 2012 at 3:36 PM ^

for the players after the incredibly incompetent play calling and slow offense at the end of the game.  His huge contract buyout notwithstanding, it's time for Ferentz to go.  Iowa football has become embarassing.