3 and Out

1. Uniform as symbol and standard

- I've been on the butt end of a lot of Kirk Ferentz sarcasm over the years. You're going to have that when your job is, basically, the dude who sweeps up after the parade. There was that time in 2006 . . . Ah never mind, this isn't that.

This is alternative uniforms, which, if they could've manifested in human form and sat at a table for Tuesday's news conference with Ferentz, would've shrunk to atomic size.

Ferentz is a reader and extremely sharp-witted. I was kind of surprised with the open disdain for the idea of alternative uniforms. We've known all along that this wasn't Ferentz's idea. This is not his thing. Yet, the Hawkeyes will run out onto the Kinnick Stadium field Saturday night in a 'blackout” uniform that won't be the traditionals.

The deeper question here, is this just capitulation to shut up everyone? Or is this a 60-year-old coach, who thinks 'bling” is someone who played point guard for the Pistons in the 1970s, realizing the wisdom in letting the kids be kids?

Probably a little of both. Either way, whatever works.

Let's touch on how deeply embedded Iowa's traditional uniform might actually be for Ferentz. Born in Michigan in 1955 and shortly thereafter moving to Pittsburgh, a 26-year-old Ferentz was hired as Hayden Fry's offensive line coach in 1981. In 1979, Fry positioned himself as the ultimate agent of change for a football program that had endured 19 consecutive losing seasons. (Remember when I wrote about the 'In Heaven there is no Beer” polka earlier this year and how the Hawkeye Marching Band only plays it after victories? Before Fry, the band played it for first downs.)

Part of change was, of course, uniforms. Fry contacted the Pittsburgh Steelers and asked for permission to copy. The legend goes that not only did the Steelers say yes, they sent a Terry Bradshaw uniform. When the Hawkeyes jogged out of the lockerroom in 1979 for a game against Indiana, they looked like the Steelers.

Ferentz is a Steelers fan, of course. But I don't think that's it. You get this far as a doer in football, the fan in you is deeply buried. You're a fan of the team you coach and that's about all the energy you have (especially when you're a doer in football with five kids).

I think what it is for Ferentz is the 1981 Hawkeyes. Ferentz was a wide-eyed rookie assistant coach for a team that rumbled its way to the program's first Rose Bowl since 1959. Roses were falling out of the sky at Kinnick as news of a Michigan (I believe it was Michigan) loss trickled in during the Hawkeyes' 36-7 victory over Michigan State.

The uniform then had little to do with how the team played. Same will go Saturday. But let the context sink in for a second. The 26-year-old O-line coach probably had a lot of symbols burned into his hard drive that day. Don't underestimate the power of that moment and the symbols that Ferentz might've internalized.

At some point the symbol became a standard. They've been intertwined for Ferentz maybe since 1981 and maybe in the Hawkeyes look.

Iowa's uniform jumped around in the late 1990s. The school signed an apparel contract with Reebok in 1996 after Apex - the company that introduced the jerseys with the thick, horizontal stripes across the shoulder pads (wings) - was purchased and dissolved by Converse.

Reebok toned down the jersey, with 'Iowa” in block letters across the front. Then in his first season in 1999, Ferentz reintroduced the Pittsburgh Steeler-styled uniforms. It might've been one of his first moves as Iowa's head coach.

'Chances are we wouldn't change them again,” said Bob Bowlsby, then-Iowa athletics director. 'Kirk likes the Steelers look, and I'm guessing the uniforms would stay the same. Maybe there will be some latitude for changes.”

Iowa signed on with Nike in 2002. The uniforms stayed the same. Nearly 17 seasons later, outside of a handful of throwback days and one Veterans Day uniform, the uniforms have stayed the same.

So, perhaps this explains why on Tuesday that Ferentz oozed with sarcasm when talking alternative uniforms. I think he showed self-control. I think he would've peeled the paint if he said what he really thought (part of being a big-time coach is performance art).

'My sense is the fans are excited about it, which, [bleep, I think it was bleep], if we can make them more excited without playing a snap on Saturday, that's a good thing,” Ferentz said.

And I think he showed some bigger picture transformation by saying 'yes” to the alt unis. Hey, I'm a graybeard. I want my coffee in a particular cup at a particular time. But I'm saying yes to my kids on things I never would've dreamed of.

You want what pierced? My car? Date? Curfew? Wait, I thought that was my beer?

Let the kids be kids. Of course, if the Hawkeyes spontaneously combust, then none of this ever happened.

2. Along those lines

- Ferentz had nice things to say about former Gophers coach Jerry Kill, who was forced to retire on Oct. 28 due to health reasons.

Ferentz said he first noticed Kill at Southern Illinois. He said he hoped no one in the Big Ten would notice him. Kill made it to Northern Illinois and Minnesota noticed. It was a culture fit (the most important factor in college football head coaching hires is culture fit, it just is, few can overcome a bad culture fit).

Kill established a workaholic culture and the Gophers are starting to become an established territory conqueror in the Big Ten West. This is why Tracy Claeys, who signed on as Minnesota's head coach for the next three years on Wednesday, makes a lot of sense. He was with Kill for 21 seasons as an assistant. He is 'of” the Kill culture. The Gophers should see a seamless exchange and remain strong and viable.

'He's just a great, great guy, and I think he's been great for college football,” Ferentz said. 'He's great for young people. As the world moves faster and football gets a little bit more visible and all that, sometimes I think we lose sight what this is all about, and it's about the players and the kind of experience they have while they're at our schools, whether you're a high school coach or a college coach, that's what it's all about.

'The NFL is a whole different deal, but when you're coaching in college and high school, that's when - it's all about the experience for the players. That's to me the most important thing that happens.”

And, so, yes maybe, that's also why you have alternative uniforms. College football players, who generally come in the 18-to-23 year old demographic, dig them.

3. Big Ten Nerd game of the week

- I'm not doing this to troll Nebraska. I know how it'll look and I know how social media and author's intent work. The Huskers came off their biggest win of the season last week over Michigan State. It's a really big deal and I totally commend Nebraska for it. (The call? I think the rules to take some thinking away from the officials. If a player steps out of bounds for any reason, pushed or accidentally, that player should be deemed out and if he catches the ball, it should be an illegal touching. Take subjectivity out of the game.)

The Huskers are 4-6 (2-4) in the Big Ten and need victories in their final two games for bowl eligibility. They travel to Rutgers this weekend. The Scarlet Knights are 3-6 (1-5 Big Ten). I think their coach Kyle Flood might be an involuntary interim coach (I think he's probably going to get fired).

Nebraska should snag this one (2:30 kick on Big Ten Network). It'll go into a bye week and then play host to Iowa on Black Friday. That could be a pretty interesting game.

l Comments: (319) 398-8256; marc.morehouse@thegazette.com