Iowa’s home B1G games fill with interim foes

IOWA CITY — Inside the Hyatt Regency McCormick Place last July, a chill gripped media and coaches alike. The hotel temperature dipped to around 60 degrees for the annual Big Ten football media days, which left many escaping the facility for the warmth of the Chicago air.

Little did anyone know in that room that three coaches wouldn't make it to the natural frost of November football. In a terse back-and-forth, Illinois Coach Tim Beckman sidestepped questions at the podium about alleged mistreatment of his players. By late August he was fired with cause.

Maryland Coach Randy Edsall spoke with optimism about his program's second year entering the Big Ten. The Terrapins won seven games in 2014 with victories against Michigan, Penn State and Iowa. By midseason, saddled with a 2-4 record, Edsall was let go.

Perhaps most shocking of all, Minnesota Coach Jerry Kill — the consensus Big Ten coach of the year in 2014 — stepped down Wednesday because of health issues. Kill, 54, was enthusiastic about his team in Chicago and rightly so. The Gophers nearly captured the Big Ten West Division title in 2014 and many people considered his team a strong contender this fall.

Three teams, three 2014 bowl squads, three major upheavals. All three were scheduled for road games at Iowa this fall. Perhaps it's another stroke of fortune for the No. 10 Hawkeyes (7-0, 3-0 Big Ten) or it's merely coincidence. Only one of the Hawkeyes' home league opponents — Purdue — is scheduled to play at Kinnick Stadium with its original head coach in place.

In Illinois' case, the move appears to have solidified the program. In replacing Beckman, Illinois interim coach Bill Cubit has built a rapport with his players. That in turn has led to confident performances. Illinois (4-3, 1-2 Big Ten) beat Nebraska in the Big Ten opener and lost competitive games by nine at Iowa and by 11 to Wisconsin. Cubit, the team's 62-year-old former offensive coordinator, previously was head coach Western Michigan from 2005-12.

'Just the way he carries himself, the confidence that he brings to the table as a head coach,' Illinois quarterback Wes Lunt said before playing Iowa. 'As a head coach he knows the ins and outs of it. We have full confidence in him and also how close our team is. We spend all of our time together around the office together with each other, and it shows. The team chemistry really, I think, made us not fall apart.'

It's too early to tell with Maryland. Maryland dropped three consecutive games by a combined score of 122-34, and athletics director Kevin Anderson dismissed Edsall on Oct. 11. Offensive coordinator Mike Locksley, who was 2-26 as head coach at New Mexico in 2009-10, replaced Edsall and has tried to keep his players focused but loose.

'You don't want to try to do too much,' said Locksley, 45. 'As a staff, we've tried to focus on the mind-set of the team. These guys are still young men and we've really worked on the mind-set that sometimes life throws you curveballs and you have to keep pressing forward. We've tried to emphasize 'go out and have fun.' We have the underdog mentality.'

Maryland appeared motivated in a 31-30 loss against border rival Penn State. The lead changed hands six times before the Nittany Lions pulled it out.

Kill's longtime defensive coordinator, Tracy Claeys, 46, will assume interim responsibilities for the remainder of this season. Claeys served as interim coach in 2013 when Kill stepped aside to concentrate on his health and the Gophers were 4-3 under his guidance.

Despite the circumstances, some teams respond to interim coaches and even appear motivated.

'It seems like it,' Iowa Coach Kirk Ferentz said. 'I can only base it off two firsthand exposures. Illinois certainly was a much better football team when we played. I'm not saying that was the reason, but we played them late in the season last year and they had a lot of the same guys, and they played really well, as we all saw a couple of Saturdays ago. And I can only base this thing off of what I saw Saturday, Maryland playing against Penn State. It was a heck of a football game. Maryland ran up 460-some yards of offense and really played aggressively on defense.'

Iowa will get its second crack at an interim coach Saturday against Maryland and again on Nov. 14 against Minnesota. The home finale is slated for Nov. 21 against Purdue and coach Darrell Hazell, who is 5-26 and 1-18 in Big Ten play since taking over in 2013.

l Comments: (319) 339-3169; scott.dochterman@thegazette.com