March 28, 2024

Column: Hawks lay another egg

Another January bowl game, another blowout loss for the Iowa football team.

For whatever reason, the Hawkeyes can’t solve the month between Black Friday and the bowl game.

It’s hard to say what exactly is the issue. On the surface, it looks like the lack of playmaking ability at wideout is glaring. There are no down field threats on this roster. The proof is clear when only one pass was completed to a wide receiver on the day.

Riley McCarron had the only catch, and it was the only target to a wideout, too.

Akrum Wadley did his thing, LeShun Daniels Jr. had a few sparks, but the offense has been stale most of the season. It ranks 121st in the nation in total offense after the loss to Florida.

Fans are upset. They want change at offensive coordinator. Greg Davis, who is nearing the point of retirement, is not a popular face among the fans.

Davis dropped to 0-4 in bowl games as Iowa’s offensive coordinator. That doesn’t include his first season when Iowa did not play in a bowl game. In the last four games, Iowa has been outscored 94-10 in the first halves of those games.

The Hawkeye staff had more than a month to prepare a gameplan in all four games, and the gameplan resulted in 10 total points. That’s unacceptable.

Unfortunately for Davis, he is a scapegoat by the fans. I didn’t think Kirk Ferentz and Davis were a good match from the start. They are different guys pushing the pile the same way.

The first step to improve the offense is for Ferentz to sit down with Davis and think of a way for him to retire from football. Ferentz doesn’t fire anyone, but the two parties can agree to mutually part ways in a cordial way.

Then, Ferentz needs to be open to changing his philosophy. If the wide receivers are going to struggle to get open downfield, the offense needs to shift toward something that puts the receivers in a better place to succeed.

The offense can be predictable. They line up and hope to power through the defensive line and run for 150 yards a game.

That is much harder though against teams like Florida, which has around five pro prospects on its defense.

What is wrong with lining up three wideouts on one side of the field and then running the ball to the other side. Do something that the other team isn’t ready for.

Iowa can bring in another offensive coordinator. That might work. But that coordinator is still going to be doing what Ferentz wants him to do.

The only guy that can maybe convince Ferentz to change a little bit is Brian Ferentz, Kirk’s son who is currently the offensive line coach. Brian may be able to tell his Dad to stick it and go against him without much push back.

Brian is a fiery guy who worked under Bill Belichik in the National Football League. He’s a new-school version of his father who still would put value in the running game.

Iowa can be a run-first team. That’s not the issue. But right now, the Hawkeyes have zero potency in the passing game, and that needs to be addressed this offseason.

Matt VandenBerg’s return will help. Hopefully for Iowa’s sake, Jerminic Smith and Jay Scheel can improve to a level that allows them to be a threat downfield.

There are a few freshmen from this year who could emerge next year. But until the coaching staff makes adjustments to the route schemes and offensive mindset, the passing game will look exactly the same under a new coordinator.

And that look is anemic.

Contact Troy Hyde
at thyde@newtondailynews.com