Iowa Coach Gets Painfully Honest On UCLA Loss

Iowa Hawkeyes head coach Kirk Ferentz doesn't want to hear any excuses concerning his team's loss to the UCLA Bruins.

Nov 8, 2024; Pasadena, California, USA; Iowa Hawkeyes head coach Kirk Ferentz leads his team on to the field for the game against the UCLA Bruins at the Rose Bowl. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images / Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

The Iowa Hawkeyes suffered a crushing loss to the UCLA Bruins last Friday, and head coach Kirk Ferentz doesn't want to hear any excuses.

When asked about whether or not the time change had a negative effect on Iowa, Ferentz would have none of it.

“No, it’s got nothing to do with the field," Ferentz said, via Josh Helmer of USA Today. "We just didn’t play well. Nothing about the trip. The trip wasn’t that hard and we’ve played in whatever, four night games and we’ve got another one coming. There are no excuses at all. We just didn’t play well enough."

The Hawkeyes actually opened up a 10-0 lead in the first quarter, but it was short-lived in what ended up being a 20-17 loss.

Iowa managed just 265 yards of total offense compared to 415 for UCLA, and to make matters even worse, the Bruins thoroughly gashed the Hawkeyes on the ground, racking up 211 rushing yards.

Meanwhile, Kaleb Johnson—the Big Ten's leading rusher—totaled just 49 yards on 18 carries.

On top of that, Iowa committed three turnovers and watched quarterback Brendan Sullivan—who had usurped Cade McNamara as the starter two weeks prior—struggle with a pair of interceptions before exiting with a sprained ankle.

Additionally, the Hawkeyes ran just 46 plays while the Bruins ran 73.

Iowa is now just 6-4 on the year and sports a couple of particularly ugly losses on its resume. The Hawkeyes have two games remaining on their schedule. They will face Maryland this coming Saturday before closing out the regular season against Nebraska on Nov. 29.