Iowa's Ferentz Compares MSU's Smith's Rough Start to His Own
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No coach in the FBS has been at their current stop longer than Kirk Ferentz has been at Iowa. He's in the middle of his 27th season at the helm of the Hawkeyes, and his 211 victories are the most in Big Ten history.
Even though his job status is not in question, he can sympathize with the position second-year Michigan State head coach Jonathan Smith is in. The Spartans are 3-8 overall and 0-8 in Big Ten play this season, and a large portion of the fanbase desires a change.
Ferentz went 4-19 over his first two seasons at Iowa with a 3-13 conference record. His very first Big Ten game was a 49-3 loss to MSU in 1999, in fact.
After Ferentz's Hawkeyes stormed back to defeat Smith's Spartans 20-17 on Saturday, the long-time Iowa head coach came to Smith's defense and leaned to the side of caution.
What Ferentz Said
"You look at a team right there that's... they were 0-5 a couple weeks ago in Big Ten play, and it's clear their team made a choice," Ferentz said after Saturday's game. "Their team made a choice on how they're going to finish the season out.
"Go up to Minnesota, out-gain Minnesota by, like, 160 yards, and lose in overtime. And then last week against Penn State, who we've got a lot of respect for and had to play them, it's a four-point game with [five] minutes left.
"So, the average fan looking at the score says, 'OK, it was an easy game.' And you watch the tape and you see a team that's playing hard and competing, and I think that speaks volumes about the job that their coaches are doing and their players are doing."
For all the faults that Smith has --- believe me, there are still some from this game --- it is still admirable that his team hasn't seemed to have quit on anything. The effort has been there the entire season. Smith has always been willing to acknowledge that, at the end of the day, it's about the scoreboard, but when he says he sees his vision for the future of his program taking root a little bit, that's what he probably means.
Moral victories get old real quick in a season that will end at either 3-9 or 4-8, but that could be a sign of a quality culture, like the one Iowa appears to have, being built.
"These guys had every reason just to kind of pack it up," Ferentz said about MSU. "And believe me, there's a lot of people who don't mind doing that sometimes. It was clear they made a decision, their players --- and I assume that starts with the coaching staff --- made a decision that they're going to keep playing and keep playing competitively.
"I just look at what they did up at Minnesota and what they did a week ago against a really talented Penn State team. It shows you they're doing things right, and most importantly, the players are doing things right, which means they're getting good guidance from their coaches."
Two years is still such a short amount of time for a head coach, no matter if it seems to be working out or not. If Smith is let go at the end of the year, he would be the shortest-serving permanent head coach in East Lansing since Harry Kipke, who only coached the 1928 season before taking the Michigan job --- that's 97 years ago.
Iowa gave Ferentz the time he needed in the early 2000s, and the Hawkeyes are still reaping the benefits to this day. While it is true college football was much different then than it is now, the principle is still there.
"I felt very similar," Ferentz said when comparing the start of his tenure at Iowa to Smith's at Michigan State. "I think to me, where they're at, that's where we were in 2000... It's part of the process. Sometimes you've got to fail to succeed, and if you're doing it right, you'll learn from your failure. That's what I see across the way."
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A 2025 graduate from Michigan State University, Cotsonika brings a wealth of experience covering the Spartans from Rivals and On3 to his role as Michigan State Spartans Beat Writer on SI. At Michigan State, he was also a member of the world-renowned Spartan marching band for two seasons.
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