The Brian Ferentz farewell tour has officially reached its final stop.
It was a final performance rivaling the greatest farewell concerts from musical artists, on par with the final performance by Elton John this year and more cinematic than The Last Waltz by The Band. Ferentz was at his peak powers for one last go-around, never missing a single step in his last dance.
His offense cycled through all of the greatest hits to ring in the new year. The vaunted rushing attack was outmatched by the stacked boxes they were facing. The run game was almost completely negated by the Tennessee defense who didn’t have to worry about the Hawkeyes’ passing attack.
And then Deacon Hill… sweet, sweet Deacon Hill. This was like watching Freddie Mercury in his prime, a young Jimi Hendrix on the guitar, Neil Peart on his 360 drum kit. Hill was truly magical, with a regular interception, a fumble near his own goal line that resulted in a touchdown, and a pick-six to cap it all off in the fourth quarter.
It was the third game THIS SEASON in which the Hawkeyes were shut out. I don’t know if I have to say more than that. A truly unprecedented feat by Brian Ferentz, whose offense just barely squeaked over 170 total yards. Would it shock anybody that new quarterback Marco Lainez provided a little spark at the end of the game just to add a little extra frustration?
Drink it in Hawkeye fans, performances like this only happen every so often. Here are the final, frustrating social media reactions for the 2023 Iowa football season.