Iowa's offensive line waits on the field for a timeout to end during a game against Illinois on Nov. 18, 2023 at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City, Iowa. (Rob Howe/HN)
Iowa Football '23 Documentary Worthy
Folks call for ESPN 30-for-30 documentaries for sports stories not half as interesting as this one. Tales of the 2023 Iowa Football season require plenty of popcorn.
The Hawkeyes won the Big Ten West Division Saturday for the second time in three years, besting Illinois, 15-13. They improved to 9-2 overall and 6-2 in the Big Ten. They've now won 18 of their last 19 November games.
All of that and more happened through hard work and perseverance. Adversity lived in the Iowa Football facility this season.
The top storyline happened off of the field. Be honest, that was more interesting, right? It took up more of your time when talking Hawkeyes than the rash of key injuries the team suffered.
That's OK. Don't feel bad. The world soaks up drama on social media and other channels like never before. Sports are not immune to that desire.
As of today, Brian Ferentz has been discussed more than any other topic in Hawkeye Nation this year. Heck, it's been that way for three seasons running.
Ferentz, the son of Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz, has coordinated one of the worst-ranking offenses in the country since '21 kicked off. Last season, people in the Kinnick Stadium stands were wearing paper bags over their heads with "Fire Brian" written on them. The student section chanted it this fall.
Brian is going to take up a big chunk of the documentary. It's how we're going to market this puppy. They'll eat it up.
Here's the open: What if I told you the most disliked assistant of Iowa's all-time winningest coach was his oldest son? He was fired midseason but allowed to finish it out. Then, the squad went to the chip...
Of course, this thing could get juicier. Nobody will give Iowa a snowball's chance in h-e-double hockey sticks to beat the West Division winner. If it does, what's a little awkward now becomes the Jay-Z GIF.
A win in Dec. 2's Big Ten Championship game could mean a trip to a New Year's Six Bowl. How weird would things get with a win there?
It's already a bit uncomfortable for the UI Athletics power brokers. That began when outgoing AD Gary Barta amended Brian's contract before the season. In part, Iowa needed to average 25 points per game.
That gave us "The Drive for 325." It went national.
That's gone now with Brian being let go by interim AD Beth Goetz, who, of course, had the support of big boosters. You don't make this move on his father without it. You could tell by Kirk's public reaction after it happened that he did not see it coming and felt it was wrong.
After Saturday's win, the emotion on the Iowa sideline poured out. Kirk and Brian hugged each other and then everybody else within reach. Brian received the Gatorade Shower.
You don't normally drench the offensive coordinator after winning the division title. That's particularly true when you score 13 points on offense.
It's clear Iowa is on a mission, whatever the motivation. The drama isn't taking away the Hawkeyes' focus.
We'll dive into how that all unfolded in the doc, of course. There will be stories of guys who stepped up after the team lost its starting quarterback (Cade McNamara), two top offensive weapons (Luke Lachey, Erick All Jr.) and its best player (Cooper DeJean).
Noah Shannon's suspension for gambling will be covered as will Iowa fans filling up Wrigley Field. Oh, and the "invalid" fair catch gets dissected. Other nuggets will pop up along the way.
And, as mentioned earlier, we're not done yet. We've got something here, folks. If ESPN passes, we storm the BTN offices in Chicago.
