COLUMBUS, Ohio — For Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz, there’s no “magic formula” to beating highly-ranked opponents, but no matter how complex or nuanced the answer may be, his Hawkeyes remain out of reach of both the Big Ten’s and the nation’s top competition.
Saturday’s 35-7 drubbing at the hands of No. 3 Ohio State marked the first time Iowa had scored against a ranked foe – albeit in garbage time – since Oct. 22, 2022, also against Ohio State on the road. These two contests featured similarities – such as backbreaking turnovers and a nearly unstoppable Buckeye offense – and spanning between the two games, Iowa’s gap between Ohio State, Penn State, Michigan, and other premier teams remains both evident and vast.
Including their last two contests against the Buckeyes, the Hawkeyes have been outscored, 181-17, against top-25 foes, putting up only one offensive touchdown – that being Kaleb Johnson’s 28-yard dash in the fourth quarter. Yet while that may seem encouraging compared to the four consecutive goose eggs Iowa laid previously, the Hawkeye defense hit unfamiliar territory on Saturday, conceding more than 400 yards of offense for the first time since in 32 games.
“The biggest message I can give the team is, ‘It’s a tough loss,’ Ferentz said in his postgame press conference. “Certainly we own it. There are absolutely no excuses. We own it.”
With question marks on both sides of the ball, Ferentz and the Hawkeyes look inwards, and what they’ve found is progress, but not necessarily a change from the status quo. New offensive coordinator Tim Lester may have brought some noticeable differences, but based on Ferentz’s postgame comments, it sounds as if the Hawkeyes won’t be making any major adjustments.
Even though backup quarterback Brendan Sullivan saw the most snaps he’s seen in a Hawkeye uniform, impressing the scarce crowd with a 30-yard scramble in the fourth quarter, Ferentz insisted the Northwestern transfer wouldn’t be vying for a starting spot in the immediate future.
“I was glad to see Brendan run, he can do that,” Ferentz said. “He’s done such a good job in practice, but we’re not ready to think of a controversy at that point at that position.”
The head coach gave an endorsement of starter Cade McNamara despite the quarterback’s interception, two lost fumbles, and less than 100 yards passing for the third time this season. Ferentz framed the turnovers as somewhat out of the quarterback’s control such as poor protection from the offensive line and receivers not getting open in time.
“You got to be really careful not to get too emotional when evaluating things like this,” Ferentz said. “Because when you get in a game like this, things usually seem a lot worse than they are.”
For the season, McNamara has only completed at least 20 passes once. His longest completion is 33 yards. The former Michigan Wolverine flashed momentarily in the first half, evading defenders and making tight throws to wideouts Jacob Gill and Reece Vander Zee. Yet accompanying the success were missed opportunities. On third down early in the first, McNamara’s offering to an open Kaden Wetjen fell short, eliminating a potential big gain that would’ve put the Hawkeyes in field goal range on their opening drive.
“In the first half we kept it how we wanted to,” McNamara said. “We were moving the ball, we had a couple hiccups, you know, there’s some missed opportunities there.”
In the Hawkeyes’ previous game against Minnesota, McNamara had a nearly identical play to Wetjen in the first half. The quarterback’s pass was more accurate but still sailed just past the receiver’s fingertips. Lester said McNamara had his best game of the season against the Gophers in terms of his footwork, and Ferentz said the quarterback is only getting more comfortable in the coordinator’s system.
“He’s more decisive and quicker getting the ball out,” Ferentz said of McNamara. “He was doing a really good job of that in the first half. [Ohio State’s] pass rush was pretty well. We just got to improve collectively.”
Indeed, the Hawkeyes had their worst rushing performance of the season with 116 yards as Johnson was held under the century mark. On the defensive side of the ball, big plays continued to haunt Iowa, as Ohio State quarterback Will Howard threaded 3 passes of 20 yards or more while running backs Quidson Judkins and TreyVeyon Henderson rattled off eight runs of at least 10 yards.
“I’m not disappointed,” Ferentz said, noting that the Hawkeyes have improved offensively as the team has become more experienced. “Obviously we wanted more yards and more points, but I’m optimistic we’ll get better.”
“We have to play in these games to see that level of competition,” McNamara added. “I think, you know, games like this are really good for our team. Obviously, it’s unfortunate that we lost, but we don’t want to measure ourselves against lower competition. We’re striving to be the best in the Big Ten.”
Compared to last season’s dire struggles under Brian Ferentz, this year’s Iowa’s team is a night-and-day different. Heading into Saturday, the Hawkeyes were averaging more than 30 points per game, and while that number was certainly driven down into the turf at Ohio Stadium, a more concerning figure remains – zero. And until that number changes when Iowa performs for four quarters and comes out on the winning side against a ranked team, then the Hawkeyes will remain in learning mode as a playoff spot sits out of reach.