Kirk Ferentz has seen plenty throughout his 25 years as head coach of the Iowa Hawkeyes.
Ferentz has seen Iowa teams come together and achieve more than what the national consensus thought they could, and he’s been a part of seasons that went the other direction for the Hawkeyes.
That’s why Ferentz just won’t get altogether caught up in any set of preseason college football rankings out there.
Still, that didn’t stop Ferentz from fielding a question at Iowa Media Day asking him what he thought of the Hawkeyes’ preseason ranking of No. 25 in the initial US LBM Coaches Poll.
“I have no idea. I’m pretty sure Ohio State is really good. Pretty sure Georgia is. I haven’t seen the Georgia film in how many years. But outside of that, that’s what’s great about college football. Nobody really knows,” Ferentz said.
Most would agree with Ferentz that Ohio State and Georgia are solid Sharpie picks to be in the mix for the College Football Playoff.
The Hawkeyes’ longtime head coach likes how his team has worked so far, though.
“I just know this: I like the way our team is working. I think we have potential. Ultimately what it all boils down to is what’s going to happen in the 12 games that we’re guaranteed; are we going to show up and are we going to compete and not beat ourselves. Those three things are really important.
“That stuff is under our control. None of us knows who’s going to be across the line of scrimmage whenever September, October, November come, and we’re not sure who’s going to be playing for us, either. It’s just how you handle all those variables. Right now it’s just worrying about what we can do and hopefully having a good practice tomorrow,” Ferentz said.
Iowa will get its first chance to validate its ranking on Aug. 31 when it kicks off the season from Kinnick Stadium versus Illinois State.
Iowa was also ranked No. 25 in the preseason Associated Press top 25 poll released on Monday.
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