Brian Ferentz Not Panicking After Week 1

Iowa Offensive Coordinator Says Everyone Must Do Better Job

Iowa coach offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz (center) stands on the sideline during a game against Purdue on Oct. 16, 2021 at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City, Iowa. (Rob Howe/HawkeyeNation.com)

One week into the season, Iowa offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz was meeting with the media.

Nothing special, he said on Wednesday’s video conference, it was just his turn.

But Ferentz knew he would be answering questions about the Hawkeyes’ offensive struggles after last Saturday’s 7-3 win over South Dakota State.

The Hawkeyes had just 166 yards of offense, with all of their points coming from the defense (two safeties) and special teams (one field goal).

That kind of production brought plenty of criticism and skepticism, but Ferentz is just trying to fix what ails the Hawkeyes, knowing there are plenty of games left in the season.

“I think the gut reaction is to panic,” Ferentz said. “But what you can't do is that. You have to look at it and say, this is a 12-game season. What we need to do is find a way to improve from week one to two.”

Ferentz echoed his father Kirk’s statement during the head coach’s press conference on Tuesday — Iowa’s offensive struggles were a group effort, not just on one person.

“I think a solution is very simple — we all need to do our job better at the end of the day, and that's really what we're focused on right now,” Brian Ferentz said.

Quarterback Spencer Petras completed just 11 of 25 passes for 102 yards. He was sacked twice and threw an interception. Petras had put in a lot of offseason work, but still had his share of fundamental issues, Ferentz said.

Ferentz said he wants consistency from Petras.

“Let's make sure that some of those fundamental things that we had corrected, that we'd worked through in the offseason, we can go ahead and push those through into a game environment,” Ferentz said. “And the reality is, when (Petras’) feet were set, and he was delivered a ball the way he should, there weren't any issues. When the fundamentals weren't quite there, there were issues.”

Iowa was working with a new-look offensive line that had protection issues, but Ferentz said that can’t be an excuse.

“I felt like after watching the tape, the majority of that game, we had ample opportunity in the pocket to deliver the ball and do what we needed to do as far as making the read and getting the ball out to the correct guy on time,” Ferentz said. “So is the protection perfect? No, but if you're waiting around for perfect protection, you're not going to be happy with it ever.”

Petras is listed as the starter for Saturday’s game against Iowa State. Asked what could happen hypothetically to prompt a change to backup Alex Padilla, Ferentz said, “I don't want to get into hypotheticals. The goal every week is very simple. We're trying to win the football game. And so the decisions that we make throughout the course of the game throughout the course of a week throughout the course of the season, they simply come down to what we feel gives us the best chance to win.

“And the reality is, we've seen both quarterbacks play. Both guys have played well. Both guys probably have had times in their career they wish they had back — with Spencer we can look as recently as a few days ago. But the reality is they both demonstrated that they can do it. And what we need to do is find consistency at that position. I can just assure you that what we're going to do is we're going to continue to go with the guy, whomever that is, whenever that is, that's going to give us the best chance to win football games.”

It’s a question of time, Ferentz said, and he thinks the Hawkeyes have time to fix their problems.

“What you're trying to do is understand that it's a 12-game season, and you're running a long race here,” he said. “It's a marathon, it is not a sprint. So what can we take a look at? wWhat can we fix right now, make incremental progress with, to get back to point, at the level that we need to play with?”