Howe: Iowa's Comeback Kids Still Rolling

Resilient Hawkeyes Soaring Toward Finish Line Again

Nov 19, 2022; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Iowa Hawkeyes players celebrate with the Floyd of Rosedale after defeating the Minnesota Golden Gophers at Huntington Bank Stadium. (Matt Krohn-USA TODAY Sports)

On Oct. 23, a day after being embarrassed by Ohio State, I woke up thinking about how this season would end for Iowa Football. The Hawkeyes sat at 3-4 overall, 1-3 in the Big Ten. 

The outlook was bleak. Analysts across the country were shredding the Hawkeyes, particularly for their anemic offense. 

Having been around this program for 26 seasons, I considered what might be going on inside the facility walls. And how would that manifest itself. Fortunately, I had some history to fall back on. 

More often than not since Kirk Ferentz became head coach in late 1998, Iowa responded. He's won the most games in program history and just tied Amos Alonzo Stagg for the third most victories in Big Ten annals. Shoot, we've witnessed these surges during the last three regular seasons. 

The Hawkeyes have won 14 consecutive games in November, the last setback coming on Nov. 9, 2019 at Wisconsin. If they hadn't dropped that 24-22 decision, the streak would be at 17 right now. 

Oh yeah, No. 14 came Saturday, a 13-10 victory at rival Minnesota, their eighth in a row against the Gophers. Floyd lives in Iowa City. Saturday synopsis: Jack Campbell and Riley Moss teamed up for huge play. Iowa closed. 

My friend and colleague John Bohnenkamp provides more detail. 

I'm not going to bore you again with talk of complementary football. I'll just say that what you're seeing is complementary football. Trust me. 

The offense isn't great. Nobody is saying that. It has some, how shall we say, work to do. But it's contributing now. It's scoring when the defense and special teams help it. That's new. And it's enough against this competition. 

Look, the Big Ten West is not great. OK, it's average. Below average? Whatever. It is what it is. 

This division is not as good as the other one. I know, breaking news. But the teams play hard and great defense. And Iowa has the best one of those. 

The Hawkeyes also boast excellent special teams. Kicker Drew Stevens is a revelation. Tory Taylor punts with consistent excellence. I think there's more than one Cooper DeJean on the coverage teams. There has to be. 

And there's quarterback Spencer Petras. I'm responsible for calling on backup Alex Padilla after the Buckeye beatdown. Guilty as charged. 

The kid from California has proven me wrong. And I couldn't be happier for him. Everything I know about him screams great human. 

How about Ferentz's legacy? The end is yet to be told. However, he's done it again. And that's a huge part of it. 

Sorry. I'm not dredging up the Brian Ferentz discussion. They'll be time for that later. He's the OC this season. 

Ok. I know what you're thinking: You're going to jinx the band, Howe. I'm not superstitious. You shouldn't be either. 

I'll tell you what. If Iowa loses to Nebraska Friday, I'll...sorry, I don't make those bets. 

Who deserves credit? Everybody in the building. The coaches for continuing to coach, the players for continuing to work on improvement and both of them for coming together towards a common goal.

Ok, that last part is a bit overstated. They've always been together. That's the main reason they're here, against the odds. 

So, what conclusion did I come to last month when the chips were down, me lost in thought? Again, I considered the evidence. This team was not doomed even though it was about to repeat history.