Kirk Ferentz wishes he ‘kept everybody healthy,’ but Iowa’s recent offensive woes go beyond injuries

IOWA CITY — About halfway through a news conference that functioned as an awkward epilogue to the Brian Ferentz-as-offensive-coordinator experiment, a reporter asked Kirk Ferentz if there was anything he would have done differently.

Kirk Ferentz, Iowa’s 25th-year head football coach, did not point to the team’s offensive schematics or anything else coaches can realistically control for that matter.

“Yeah, kept everybody healthy,” Kirk Ferentz answered in his first news conference since interim athletics director Beth Goetz’s decision to not retain his eldest son as offensive coordinator beyond the 2023 season’s bowl game.

Iowa undoubtedly is worse off offensively because of a few key injuries — quarterback Cade McNamara and tight ends Luke Lachey and Erick All quickly come to mind — but the team’s recent offensive woes are a result of more than this year’s bad injury luck.

In Iowa’s 35 games since the start of the 2021 season, the Hawkeyes have averaged an FBS-worst 4.4 yards per play despite having their offensive playmakers available for the bulk of those games.

Iowa’s No. 1 quarterback — Spencer Petras in 2021 and 2022 and McNamara in 2023 — appeared in 28 of 35 games. Iowa’s No. 1 receiver — Lachey this year and Sam LaPorta in the previous two seasons — also appeared in 28 of 35 games.

The gap between Iowa and the rest of the pack in the statistic is considerable. The FBS average was 5.8 yards per play during that span. Even in the offensively-anemic Big Ten West, the only other team to average fewer than 5.0 yards per play was Northwestern at 4.6.

Specifically in 2023, the passing game has been a major source of Iowa’s offensive woes. The Hawkeyes rank last among Power Five teams in completion percentage (44.1), passing yards per attempt (4.76) and passer rating (89.9).

It is hardly a surprise considering the aforementioned injuries at quarterback and tight end. But even when McNamara and the tight ends were healthy — or at least as healthy as McNamara could be after the August quad injury — the results were not great.

Through Week 3 — the last time McNamara, All and Lachey all played — Iowa’s offense was 114th or worse nationally in completion percentage, passer rating and passing yards per attempt.

The passing production has taken an obvious step back in McNamara’s absence.

Fellow transfer portal addition Deacon Hill has completed just 37.8 percent of his passes. His five turnovers — three interceptions thrown and two fumbles lost — outnumber his two passing touchdowns and one rushing touchdown.

Ferentz reiterated on Tuesday, despite backup Joe Labas’ better career statistics, Iowa still has a “a clear 1, 2, 3” at quarterback. (The No. 3 guy is true freshman Marco Lainez.)

“We'll keep an open mind as we move forward,” Kirk Ferentz said.

Opportunity ahead

As Iowa prepares for its next four games — and final four regular-season games of a Brian Ferentz-led Iowa offense — there is plenty of opportunity.

The Hawkeyes are 6-2 overall and in a four-way tie for first place in the Big Ten West. ESPN’s Football Power Index gives Iowa a 40.9 percent chance of winning the division.

When looking game-by-game, ESPN Analytics gives Iowa a 78 percent chance of beating Northwestern, a 63.9 percent chance of beating Rutgers, a 72.6 percent chance of beating Illinois and a 59.9 percent chance of beating Nebraska.

A 4-0 finish by Iowa, coupled with a Minnesota loss to Ohio State later this month, would be enough to send Iowa to Indianapolis. If Iowa goes 3-1, it would need some help from its neighbors in Minneapolis and Madison, but a division title still would not be insurmountable.

“We have an opportunity to do some really good things right now,” Kirk Ferentz said. “I think we're all excited about that.”

If Iowa wins four more games — whether that be in the regular season, a possible Big Ten title game or the bowl game — it would be just the 11th 10-win season in program history.

“We have an opportunity for that and potentially beyond that too, which would be historic,” Kirk Ferentz said.

Comments: john.steppe@thegazette.com