Iowa football focused on carrying ‘complimentary football’ from Wisconsin over to Penn State

IOWA CITY — Complimentary football — any coach’s favorite phrase.

When all three sides of the ball click together and blend to create a seamless product on the field that grips onto a game’s momentum without relinquishing it.

It’s the kind of game plan every coach wants to see, but it’s not always there.

It was there when Iowa beat Wisconsin on Saturday, and now the Hawkeyes are searching for it to reappear against Penn State.

“It's always good to win, to win a rivalry game, certainly get a trophy, and a shutout is an extra bonus,” Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz said. “The biggest thing is to go on the road in the conference and play well, and to get a victory is always a good thing.”

The Hawkeyes found flaws in their shutout win over the Badgers, but it’s a confidence builder to stand on before facing the Nittany Lions. The defense forced three turnovers, the offense was a perfect 5-for-5 in the red zone and the special teams unit helped boost kicker Drew Stevens into second in all-time made field goals at Iowa.

It also wasn’t just all three phases doing their jobs on the field, but the lead up from the bye week. It was getting running back Xavier Williams healthy, getting linebacker Jayden Montgomery prepared for his first career start, wide receiving Reece Vander Zee seeing the field the first time this season, getting quarterback Mark Gronowski rehabbed in two weeks time and having the rest of the QB room get the reps in practice.

“It's always tough, because you got to just take the time and take the effort to really be in the training room, and take time out of your day from doing things you maybe want to or maybe spending time watching film while you're doing treatments,” Gronowski said about getting himself ready to play. “It's just kind of doing as much things as you can to get yourself back, but I want to be on the field playing with the guys as much as I can.”

Though it’s not part of the stats book after a Saturday night, nor does it show up on tape during a Sunday film session, those things also were part of creating that complimentary football.

Now it’s about carrying the momentum from then to now.

“You're trying to do it all the time, but that doesn't always materialize,” Ferentz said. “That's the challenge. Again, the opponents have a lot to do with that.“

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Montgomery, in his first career start, wore the green dot on Saturday, communicating with the defensive coaches sitting up in the press box. Only one player on the field has the ability to talk with coaches through the headset in-game, and Montgomery then had to spread the word after knowing what the next play call would be.

Ferentz said Montgomery will stay at the starting MIKE position against Penn State, adding his maturity handling the role helped keep the defense working well in his first career start.

“I thought he did a really good job, and not minimizing his role, because he's in a communication position, a leadership position. I thought he handled it really well,” Ferentz said. “You're always wondering how a guy is going to play, obviously. It's his first time in that role, and I thought he did a really nice job.”

In facing Penn State, Iowa knows there’s a plethora of eyes on the Nittany Lions — eyes from all across the country. The whirlwind of an interim head coach and a new starting quarterback is hoisting the Hawkeyes’ foe right underneath the spotlight.

Ferentz made one thing clear though: even with the scrutiny Penn State is dealing with, it’s still Penn State.

“All you have to do is look at the tape, any segment,” he said. “You've got to respect that these guys have really good players.”

The opponent is often the biggest challenge in maintaining complimentary football beyond just 60 minutes. It’s still a Big Ten matchup, and it’s still a roster full of players ready to squash the Hawkeyes’ momentum in a split second.

It’s another test, just like every week before, but it’s a test that could help snowball Iowa’s momentum in a positive direction halfway through the season.

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