Iowa HC Wants Reliable Offense

The hallmark of Iowa football (3-1) (1-0) has always been its strong, stubborn defense. After all, one of the most famous adages, “offense wins games, defense wins championships,” backs up that point. And while head coach Kirk Ferentz has never been able to quite lead the Hawkeyes to a national championship there, that expectation feels a tad unfair.

Yet, after an authoritative 38-28 win over Rutgers (3-1) (0-1), which saw a neat 346 combined yards between the air and the ground, pushed Ferentz’s team to 1-0 in Big Ten play. The longtime head coach wants to set a new narrative after being asked by the media about the Hawkeyes’ offensive pride after Rutgers.

“…But I’ll go back a couple years ago, we won four straight there at the end of the season two seasons ago to put our 10th win up. We were more of a defensive-oriented team…But that’s the way that team was built. But I would also suggest or argue the offense did what they had to do to be successful.” Quoted Ferentz.

How can Iowa's offense pick up more steam? — Sep 13, 2025; Iowa City, Iowa, USA; Iowa Hawkeyes head coach Kirk Ferentz looks on before the game against the Massachusetts Minutemen at Kinnick Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images | Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images

“I remember hitting a big inside play, Leshon Williams against Nebraska, and I think we ran a counter against Illinois to put the ball in position to get a winning field goal. So you do what you’ve got to do to win games, and that’s really how we were wired. But I think we have a chance now to hopefully be a team that can score a little bit more than we have the last couple years.”

This is an Iowa offense that has come across its fair share of critics, thanks to a largely disappointing effort in a heated 16-13 Cy-Hawk loss to Iowa State (4-0) (1-0). Iowa’s largely “vanilla” game plan has been sniffed out by upcoming opponent Curt Cignetti and the Indiana Hoosiers (4-0) (1-0).

Combine that with the fact that the Hawkeyes will be reshuffling their running back core against Cignetti’s team, and the task gets more challenging by the day.

However, Ferentz is not asking for an elite offense, just one that moves the chains well enough to back up what is a dominant defense. Under offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Tim Lester, there can be a lot of promise in how they were able to find success in Piscataway, N.J.

Thus far this season, the Hawkeyes have 80 first downs, which ranks tied-59th in the nation. With 45 on the ground, 28 through the air, under transfer quarterback Mark Gronowski, and the final seven wrapped up in penalty yards.

As the season pushes forward, it will be interesting to see if the Big Ten school pushes more towards Gronowski’s with a running back core that is banged-up.

The next chance to see Iowa take the field is this Saturday at 3:30 in Kinnick against a Hoosiers’ team that is pushing for its second consecutive College Football Playoff spot.

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