Football Notebook: Iowa Examines Offense During Bye Week

Items From Tuesday's Iowa Football Media Availability

The bye week is over, which meant Iowa got back to work this week.

And, for coach Kirk Ferentz, it was back to answering questions about the offensive struggles.

Having last week off, Ferentz said, allowed the Hawkeyes for some self-reflection. What they came up, Ferentz didn’t go into specifics.

“The big thing we do in the bye week, typically, is look at our system,” Ferentz said. “And then the bigger thing is look at personnel, talk about that, make sure we're all kind of on the same page. We're continuing to develop and evolve, if you will, and the whole thing is about us getting better and executing better.”

Even with the week off, the Hawkeyes’ spot in the national statistical rankings didn’t change. They’re still 131st out of 131 teams in total offense, 127th in scoring offense and rushing offense and 120th passing offense.

The solution, Ferentz said, isn’t magical.

“Practice,” he said, when asked how the Hawkeyes can get better. “There's no pixie dust. And it's the two things I just mentioned. You try to create your schemes to fit what your personnel can do the best. And hopefully, we know more about our guys now than we did six weeks ago. That's a transitional thing too because you have guys with injury situations, et cetera. So it's never the same.

“You know more about your football team so you try to be a little bit more intelligent about your planning. And then we got to execute better. That's focus, concentration, repetition. And part of it is us, and part of it is level of competition, too. So it's a complex equation, but there's no way I know of, at least, to get better other than just working at it.”

Ferentz said after the 9-6 loss to Illinois heading into the bye week that he thought Iowa’s offense had taken a step back. With Saturday’s game at No. 2 Ohio State looming, improvement has to come.

“There's nothing much I can tell the guys, and they knew that,” Ferentz said. “They can feel that. Just like, as crazy as it may sound, we lost against Michigan, but I think the guys that I was referring to, I think they felt like they took a step forward and gained a little confidence. But we got knocked back a little bit last time out. Now the challenge is can we get back on our feet and compete better. Again, (Ohio State has a) talented group of guys. They play eight, ten guys. I've lost count how many guys play on the defensive line. They're all good, go hard, pretty athletic and stout.

“It's a new challenge, a different kind of challenge than we faced at Illinois. Halfway through, Illinois has proved to be a pretty good defensive football team. So are these guys. So it's a different challenge. Let's see how we handle this challenge. Our eyes (are) forward right now.”

Ferentz on other subjects:

EVALUATING PETRAS: Asked to evaluate quarterback Spencer Petras, Ferentz said, “He's done a good job handling the circumstances. That's really going back to the evaluation question. That's how we do it. We try to be realistic about what the picture looks like and then make a fair assessment. He's done a lot of good things. I think he's improved, gained confidence, as crazy as that may sound. I think he's doing a lot of good things out there. We just need to get better collectively on the offensel. That's my encouragement.”

INJURIES: Ferentz said the Hawkeyes might get wide receiver Diante Vines back, but Keagan Johnson still won’t be available.

“I think Diante has a chance,” Ferentz said. “Keagan, when he's ready, I'll let you know. He's still trying to get back.”

Defensive lineman Yahya Black, out since playing in the season opener against South Dakota State, could return.

“Hopefully he'll be back, but we'll see,” Ferentz said. “We'll see. Hopefully he'll be back. He's closer than he was. Sure would help. All hands on deck.”

Cornerback Terry Roberts isn’t expected to play because of a lower leg injury.