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B1G 5: Kirk Ferentz beat cancel culture. Now Iowa might be the team to beat
Iowa was swept up in turmoil, people calling for Kirk Ferentz's job. He changed. And survived. On Iowa's turnaround, Michigan's QB and a B1G power ranking.
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B1G 5: Kirk Ferentz beat cancel culture. Now Iowa might be the team to beat
Matt Hayes |1. The B1G story
Let me reintroduce you to a story that has defied the odds, one that in this age of cancel culture and mob rules should have zero chance of survival.
Yet somehow it has – for all the right reasons. Well, that and the longest current winning streak in the Big Ten might have something to do with it.
“It’s a matter of working through things,” Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said. “Figuring out what we need to do, how we can improve. Just like you do when you lose a football game.”
Only this was no game. This was real life.
When allegations of racial strife, bullying and discrimination engulfed the program last summer, when those allegations cost jobs – most notably, longtime strength coach Chris Doyle – and led to 8 former players suing the university and demanding Ferentz be fired (trial is set for 2023), inevitable change is around the corner.
People and jobs and even longstanding traditions don’t survive in this day and age when those allegations are thrown around. The NFL, the biggest, baddest sports brand on the planet, took less than 24 hours to rid itself from Doyle’s hiring by the Jaguars.
Just how hopeless did it look last year at Iowa? After losing to Purdue and Northwestern to begin the season, I wrote that Iowa would have to win out for Ferentz to save his job.
And sonofgun, if the Hawkeyes didn’t pull it off.
Winning, everyone, is the ultimate salve. That’s not to say a jury won’t eventually side with the 8 players, or state that Ferentz and the program are guilty of anything.
What is true is Ferentz saw an opportunity to change – whether by force or intuition or both – and made it work. He instituted a leadership council for players to give constant feedback, and listened and changed on a daily basis.
He gave players more input within the program, an investment that strengthened working relationships and team chemistry. He streamlined the process of going straight to him when there’s a problem, with the idea of eliminating any sort of simmering issue.
It’s not like Ferentz had been running roughshod over Iowa players for two decades. He has always been considered a player’s coach and has a sterling reputation within the coaching community.
But when allegations surface, the very last thing you can do in this age of cancel culture is ignore them. You take corrective measures – and then win games if you can.
After last week’s thumping of Big Ten darling Indiana, Iowa has won 7 straight games since losing 2 in a row to begin the 2020 season and igniting the Kirk Must Go crowd.
They run the ball with power and purpose. They throw with just enough efficiency to keep defenses from crowding the run game.
And man, do they play defense.
In this age of pass-happy offense, the Iowa defense hasn’t given up more than 24 points in 23 straight games. That’s unheard of in a time where offenses get more than 24 in one half.
This team that couldn’t play the final regular-season game against Michigan because of Covid issues within the Michigan program, and opted out of a bowl game, is one of the hottest teams in college football.
That brings us to this weekend’s heavyweight game against bitter rival Iowa State. Maybe, just maybe, the biggest game in the series in forever.
Iowa State is a legitimate threat to win the Big 12 and get to the College Football Playoff. And if you haven’t noticed yet, this season – and the 6 games from 2020 – are starting to look a whole lot like 2015, when unbeaten Iowa needed to beat Michigan to reach the CFP and lost by 3 points.
That Iowa team won with defense and a strong running game, and just enough from QB CJ Beathard. This Iowa team looks eerily similar, but with one significant difference: It faced down adversity a year ago.
They saved their coach’s job and beat back cancel culture. Two things that are nearly unheard of in this day and age.
