Big Ten Daily (Aug. 28): 'Business as Usual' for Iowa Even Without Kirk Ferentz

Kirk Ferentz will miss Iowa's opener against Illinois State on Saturday. The 26-year veteran said it's still essentially "business as usual" for the Hawkeyes.

Dustin Schutte | Aug 28, 2024

Iowa Hawkeyes head coach Kirk Ferentz looks on during a game / Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports

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This might be the most unique week of Kirk Ferentz's length coaching career. On Saturday, Iowa will be without its coach for the first time since taking over the program in 1999. An alleged recruiting violation will keep the 26-year veteran out of Kinnick Stadium for the Hawkeyes' opener against Illinois State.

Iowa will certainly be at a disadvantage without Ferentz on the sidelines on Saturday. However, he said nothing really changes in the team's preparation for Saturday's contest.

"It's going to be pretty much business as usual," Ferentz said on Tuesday. "Tim (Lester) would be the guy I go to (to get his thoughts) on offense, Phil (Parker) (on defense), LeVar (Woods) (on special teams). (Interim coach) Seth (Wallace) will do the same thing. We talk about things on Thursdays — what we'd do on fourth down, four-down territory, all those kinds of things.

"The only missing part is, when you get into a game, sometimes there's a feel that flies in the face of what you decided on Thursday. Sometimes, you've just got to make the call and go with your instinct."

Like most college football coaches, Ferentz treats every opponent equally. So, there's really no "good" time to be suspended from a game. But, in Iowa's case, missing its leader for a matchup with an FCS opponent is about as ideal as ideal gets in ths situation.

Ferentz did think of another positive regarding his one-game suspension.

"I did think about one good thing out of all of this, at least I can blame — you know, if something happens Saturday, I can say, 'I don't why they did that, that was stupid,'" he said jokingly. "Maybe there is a positive in this whole deal."

Rhule confident in Nebraska's running backs

The phrase "Run the damn ball," is essentially a state slogan in Nebraska. So, when coach Matt Rhule spoke about the Huskers' running back situation entering Week 1, everyone's ears perked up.

Nebraska is as deep as it's been at the running back position in some time. The Huskers enter the year with four quality backs — Gabe Ervin Jr., Rahmir Johnson, Emmett Johnson and Dante Dowdell. Each will get the chance to show what they can do in Saturday's game against UTEP.

"I think we're going to play them all," Rhule said of the four backs. "We have different roles for all of them. Big Ten play is four weeks away, so, I was hoping we'd be a little more dialed in on where they are, but I feel like they've all competed enough that we're going to give them all a chance. We'll make some decisions three weeks down the line ... they're all doing really good things."

Statistically, Nebraska had a sound rushing attack in 2023, averaging 176.8 yards per game and ranking second in the Big Ten. But quarterback Heinrich Haarberg was the team's top rusher with 477 yards and five touchdowns a season ago.

The Huskers would like to have more success with their actual running backs this season. All four will get the chance to prove they can carry the workload in Saturday's opener.

New-look Indiana is "old IU"

Indiana is going to look awfully different in 2024, but that doesn't mean the Hoosiers don't have experiecne. In his weekly press conference, new coach Curt Cignetti said that plenty of veterans will be on the field for the team's season opener against FIU.

"The best guys play, really. We're a veteran team, even though we got a lot of new guys, we got a lot of seniors on the football team," Cignetti said. "So I wouldn't anticipate seeing any freshmen out there. It doesn’t mean you might not see one or two, but it's all based on who can help us be successful and who can play great, winning football.

"So then things change every week. Right now, going into the first game, I don't see many freshmen in very significant roles."

Because of the roster turnover from last season, there's an inclination to believe Indiana will be a younger team. But Cignetti brought in 31 transfer players to accompany a solid group of returning players in Bloomington.

So, yes, this is a new-look Indiana team. By no stretch are the Hoosiers a "young" squad, though.

Rhule confident in Nebraska's running backs

New-look Indiana is "old IU"

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