How The West Was Won

Iowa Football Bests Illinois Saturday, Hawkeyes Headed Back to Indy

Iowa OL Nick DeJong (56) and Rusty Feth (60) celebrate a touchdown during a game against Illinois on Nov. 18, 2023 at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City, Iowa. (Rob Howe/HN)

Kirk Ferentz, squinting through his tears, found his son, Brian, and hugged the on-his-way-out offensive coordinator.

The next embrace was for defensive coordinator Phil Parker, who has been by his side for his 25 years as Iowa’s head coach. More tears.

Of course. Iowa was the Big Ten West Division champion.

Yes, that Iowa. The one with the worst-ranked offense in NCAA Division I play. The one that had its starting quarterback go down with a season injury, and then its two best tight ends were gone and then, just days before a chance to clinch the division, the All-American defensive back/punt returner was out with his season-ending injury.

But here the Hawkeyes are, one game remaining in the regular season and a trip already booked to the Big Ten championship game on December 2 in Indianapolis.

Saturday’s 15-13 win over Illinois at Kinnick Stadium secured that crown, tightening the trophy that commemorated a season that could have come apart at any moment.

And so Ferentz, who isn’t going to conceal his emotions — certainly not in a moment like this — was going to embrace every second of what his team had accomplished.

“Sorry to keep you waiting,” Ferentz said, later than usual to his post-game press conference, “but I wanted to savor every bit of this with the coaches and players.”

It was a moment to enjoy how these Hawkeyes (9-2 overall, 6-2 Big Ten) got to this point.

Few, if any, of Iowa’s wins this season were works of art. The two losses — the 31-0 whacking at Penn State, the 12-10 misery against Minnesota — felt a lot more devastating at the time than they actually turned out to be.

“I said (after the Penn State game) that all of our goals were still out there in front of us and we could still be Big Ten West champs, we could still be Big Ten champs,” defensive end Joe Evans said. “I'm not sure how well that went with some people — I'm sure they laughed at us.

“But look at us now.”

Look at them, indeed.

They have won with a backup quarterback, Deacon Hill, who at this time last year was throwing passes in a gym at Wisconsin after entering the NCAA’s transfer portal. They’ve won with an offensive line that prides itself on its moving parts that always seem to find a way to connect. They’ve won through injuries and controversy, and the vocal storms of a social media world.

They’ve always had an answer — the Hawkeyes have won three consecutive games since that loss to Minnesota on October 21, just like they won three in a row after the loss at Penn State.

“We just tried to stay focused,” linebacker Jay Higgins said. “When you face so many obstacles like that, it’s hard not to feel sorry for yourself.

“You can really rally a team who wants to win.”

Ferentz wasn’t about to give up. Not when Iowa interim athletics director Beth Goetz announced after the off-week following the Minnesota loss that Brian Ferentz would be out of his job at the end of the season. Not when quarterback Cade McNamara, tight ends Luke Lachey and Erick All, and defensive back/punt returner/all-around magician Cooper DeJean all exited with their injuries.

No. Ferentz, like his players, kept working. Go back to Evans’ comment — the team’s goals were still ahead, and Ferentz knew that.

“This group is really … they've endured a lot,” Ferentz said. “Coming out of (Penn State), things weren't looking too good for us. And then going into our bye week, things weren't looking too good. But the guys don't buy that narrative. They don't buy into all the stuff out there.

“And that's really what it gets back to, when you work with quality people that are looking forward, not backwards, and you've got a chance.”

“This group,” defensive lineman Logan Lee said, “has suffered together.”

This was a next-man-up masterpiece by Ferentz and the Hawkeyes.

“There's things that come up in sports that are tough in life,” Ferentz said. “But what keeps you going are the people you're with every day. That's what I enjoy, being on the practice field, where there's no stuff going on — it's just about football and trying to teach and get better and watch guys improve.

“And so that's the beauty of this. That's the purest thing about coaching is being with your players in the meeting room or out there on the field or doing stuff with them just like off away from football but being with them. It's not like coaching an English class where they have to show up. For football, they come because they want to.”

You never know who is going to do what when, Ferentz said, and this is a season of who-what-when-where-why-and-how.

This win was no different. The Hawkeyes were down 13-9 in the fourth quarter and going nowhere fast when Kaleb Johnson raced 30 yards on a counter play for a touchdown that made Kinnick rock.

Johnson had become almost the forgotten man of Iowa’s backfield — he didn’t have a carry two weeks ago in the 10-7 win at Northwestern, and in this game had just four carries for six yards before he went racing through a hole that lit his eyes.

“I just saw green grass, so I ran,” Johnson said. “That's my thing — when I see green grass, I run.”

Four minutes and 43 seconds remained in the game, but really, it was over. And when Illinois (5-6, 3-5) was held to a four-and-out, the Hawkeyes devoured the final moments on the clock and the celebration of a title secured began.

“I felt like this team has been through so much,” Higgins said. “It’s a testament to how well we’ve stayed together in the locker room. There were countless opportunities when guys could have started separating. But we stayed together.”

In the post-game locker room party, Ferentz got the game ball from Parker, but it took a little bit of a scramble.

“So, we couldn’t find the ball,” said Hill, who threw for 167 yards but was sacked four times as his sometimes-painful education as a starter continues. It took us like five minutes to get one. Then we finally gave it to him. Coach Parker gave it to him, and they had a big hug. Everybody was cheering, water was flying, it was just an awesome moment for him”

Those moments lingered into the night.

That 24-hour rule to celebrate wins or mourn losses was going to be extended, Ferentz said.

“Any time you can be a champion, if you can say ‘champion,’ that's a good thing,” he said. “There's more goals out there to be had.

“Nothing will be easy.”