All these injuries are making Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz pessimistic.

First it was Jewel Hampton’s season-ending knee injury that shot down any chance of the sophomore running back replacing Shonn Greene. Next it was Bryan Bulaga’s mysterious illness, which has kept the offensive tackle out of the Hawkeyes’ last two contests.

Then, finally, it was wide receiver Derrell Johnson-Koulianos’ hamstring and tight end Tony Moeaki’s ankle that caused the two to miss last weekend’s game against Arizona.

Ferentz listed all three — Bulaga, Johnson-Koulianos, and Moeaki — as “day-to-day” on Tuesday but expressed a hefty amount of skepticism regarding the trio’s availability for Iowa’s game at Penn State Saturday night.

“I don’t know how optimistic I am, quite frankly,” the 11-year head coach said. “I’ve given up being optimistic. I’m normally an optimistic guy, but I’ll be optimistic after I see them playing.”

Ferentz mentioned the three players “did some stuff [in practice], but not at full speed” on Sunday, and it was more of the same on Tuesday.

Ferentz said Bulaga, a preseason second-team All-American, still hasn’t been cleared by doctors and his workload has been limited to lifting and light amounts of running and riding a stationary bike.

“If he was cleared, he’d be playing. But he hasn’t been cleared,” Ferentz said. “Once he’s cleared, he’ll be back out there, but we’re not there. … And the only thing I’d say in addition — it’s just unfortunate this didn’t happen in February. It’d be a nonissue.”

Redshirt freshman Riley Reiff has looked more than competent since filling in for Bulaga, holding Arizona’s Brooks Reed, an All-Pac 10 honorable mention in 2008, to only one tackle and no sacks.

The same could be said for tight end Allen Reisner and wide receiver Colin Sandeman, who combined for eight catches and 87 yards against the Wildcats.

But while the play of Reiff, Reisner, and Sandeman has been promising, Ferentz would much rather have his squad at full-strength — something he’s conceding, at least for now, as a long shot.

“We haven’t had any Christmas presents yet this year,” he said. “So we’ll just kind of play it like they’re not going to be with us. I’d like to be pleasantly surprised, but I’m beyond that point.”

Stanzi rolls with the criticism

For the second-consecutive week, junior quarterback Ricky Stanzi’s first-half performance came into question at Ferentz’s Tuesday meeting with the local media. Against Arizona, the second-year starter was 6-for-15 to start the game, including an interception returned for a touchdown.

Stanzi, though, rebounded by completing 14-of-17.

“He’s not a bad player,” Ferentz said. “We’re all kind of focused on his hiccups right now, but I think his overall production is something we’d all take.”

Ferentz made a point to bring up Stanzi’s much-discussed first-quarter incompletion to Reisner, who was apparently wide open down the seam. The head coach said he was tempted to hold up a sign that read, “It wasn’t [Stanzi’s] fault,” and noted that a poorly run route was the reason for the glaring incompletion.

On Tuesday, Stanzi said he isn’t concerned with the public’s perception of his play.

“I don’t really think about that,” he said. “No one in the stands knows the game plan or where receivers are supposed to be. If they think they do, maybe they should try to be a coach. I doubt they’d be successful. So I’m not really worried about what a fan is worried about with my performance. I really could care less.”