The path for Iowa doesn’t get any easier to start out of the bye week. The Hawkeyes travel to take on No. 2 Ohio State.
Iowa owns the nation’s worst total offense and the Hawkeyes score just 14.7 points per game. Meanwhile, Ohio State boasts the nation’s No. 5 total defense, surrendering just 253.5 yards per game. Iowa’s offense averages less total offense per game than Ohio State’s defense gives up. The Buckeyes are No. 10 nationally in scoring defense, allowing just 15.67 points per game.
Suffice it to say that there’s no path to victory for the Hawkeyes that doesn’t include offensive improvement. During Iowa’s bye week, Iowa offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Brian Ferentz was asked how he evaluates himself as an offensive play caller.
“How do I evaluate myself as a play caller? It’s pretty simple. Are we doing the three things that I mentioned at the beginning. Are we possessing, advancing, and scoring the football? I don’t think we’re doing any of those things very consistently right now, so how I would evaluate myself is I need to improve. I need to work on ways to get better. How do I help the guys do those things?
“How do I put us in positions to be successful and to advance the football without taking unnecessary risk, and then certainly we get down in the low red area, we need to score. We need to score touchdowns. We’re looking to score touchdowns. Certainly field goals are preferable to the alternative, but touchdowns are the goal. My evaluation, I need to do better. How do I find ways to make us more successful and improve as we move into the next six games?” Ferentz said.
Ferentz was also asked what tangible differences the offense can show out of the bye week and beyond. The reality is Iowa is looking at all options from a play call standpoint.
“Look, if the run game is not effective, if we are not being able to move the ball on early downs with the run game, can we find a way to do it with the passing game? Or are there ways to manufacture yards on early downs whether it’s quick game, whether it’s emptying the formation out, whatever it is? Can we create more space and then put the ball in space? Can we do that?
“Are we asking the proper things in the run game out of the right guys? Can we do a better job of having certain backs run certain plays? Are we asking the guys up front to do things that they cannot do? I don’t know. We have to look at that right now. That’s what we’re in the process of doing. Can we find better ways to create some of that success on early down?” Ferentz said.
He admitted that, even if it doesn’t involve the quarterback, some form of changes have to be on the table.
“I don’t have great answers right now. We’re in the process of going through those things, but the reality is, yeah, we have to look at doing things differently and changing some things moving forward here,” Ferentz said.
In a Big Ten that has already seen head coaches at both Nebraska and Wisconsin and Indiana offensive line coach Darren Hiller and Rutgers offensive coordinator Sean Green fired for underwhelming results, Ferentz was asked how he views his job status and if he’s considered stepping down.
“There’s two options in life in any situation. You can surrender, and if you surrender, then I think the results are pretty much guaranteed. Or you can dig in, you can continue to fight, and you can try to improve and do things better,” Ferentz said.
As Iowa enters the second half of its season, the magnifying glass on Ferentz and the offense’s performance, or lack thereof, could only get more pronounced.
[lawrence-related id=11558]
[lawrence-related id=11413]
[lawrence-related id=11526]
[listicle id=11547]
[listicle id=11540]
[listicle id=11516]
Contact/Follow us @HawkeyesWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Iowa news, notes, and opinions.
Follow Josh on Twitter: @JoshOnREF
Let us know your thoughts, comment on this story below. Join the conversation today.