Iowa HC Gets Real About Other Teams Skipping Bowl Games

The Iowa Hawkeyes will officially play in the ReliaQuest Bowl against the Vanderbilt Commodores on Dec. 31, but not every team in the NCAA will be playing along as college football's bowl season gets rolling.

Specifically, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish will officially opt out of their bowl game, shocked to learn that they had been snubbed by the College Football Playoffs.

When asked for his thoughts on other teams skipping out on their bowl games, Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz shared an utter lack of surprise. For him, given the trajectory of college football in recent years, these upsets are inevitable.

"Big-picture-wise, some of my vantage points on college football changed the day we got a phone call [...] we learned that UCLA and USC were joining the Big Ten, and you could argue that Maryland and Rutgers maybe was the real start of it, but my only point is — good bad or indifferent, I’m not making a judgement of that," Ferentz said.

Iowa Hawkeyes head coach Kirk Ferentz talks to Oregon Ducks head coach Dan Lanning Nov. 8, 2025 before a Big Ten Football game at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City, Iowa. | Julia Hansen/Iowa City Press-Citizen / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

"Two things were clear: geography really doesn’t matter anymore and tradition doesn’t matter – cause you know, we’ve thrown that thing upside down. And then right along with that this year fits right in with that with all the firings that took place during the season. That was unprecedented, and I think this is more fallout of the world that we’ve entered into."

What Did You Expect?

Ferentz, who remains the longest-tenured current head coach in the NCAA, recently revealed that he plans to stay at the helm for next season, and shows no signs of slowing down. He has certainly seen his fair share of shakeups since taking the role in 1999, and he sees the missed games as an inevitable side effect of the league's choices.

"I’ll take it a step further, I know, or at least I read that both teams are going to be fined — I believe by their conferences? [...] I would say that’s something that ought to be petitioned — this is really just one more unintended consequence of the path that we’ve chosen to take," Ferentz said.

"I don’t know all the particulars but I’d guess they’re having a hard time being able to guarantee they’re gonna have a healthy roster, kind of like the pandemic, I’m assuming that’s why the cancellations have taken place."

"But, what did you think was going to happen, with the world that we’ve created? There’s going to be more of it unfortunately in the future, I’m guessing. "

Notre Dame's move to opt out is being panned by fans and critics, branding the Irish "sore losers" and describing it as a bad sign for college football. Weighing in on their own decision, Notre Dame's front office spoke out for the players, who were disappointed that they were snubbed for a better game.

“There is no explanation that could possibly be given to explain the outcome,” Notre Dame athletic director Pete Bevacqua said of the snub, via the AP. “As I said to Marcus, one thing is for sure: Any rankings or show prior to this last one is an absolute joke and a waste of time."

“We feel like the playoff was stolen from our student-athletes.”

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