BleedGopher
Well-known member
- Joined
- Nov 11, 2008
- Messages
- 62,985
- Reaction score
- 20,608
- Points
- 113
Per Scott:
For the better part of a half-decade, backhanded compliments have branded the Iowa football program as both a winner and a loser, none phrased better than the “Punting is Winning” T-shirts once sold by former All-America punter Tory Taylor.
Taylor and his predecessors regularly blessed the Hawkeyes’ defense with great field position. In 2023, Iowa’s defense led the nation in yards per play allowed for the second consecutive season and gave up only 14.8 points per game despite playing 970 snaps, fourth most in the country. The stifling combination of those two phases over the last decade helped the program to 89 wins since 2015, which ranks 11th among power conference programs in that span.
However, Iowa’s offense became a roadblock on the program’s path toward contending for a Big Ten title and College Football Playoff berth. In 2023, the Hawkeyes averaged 15.4 points and a Football Bowl Subdivision-worst 234.6 yards per game, the lowest yardage output by a Big Ten program in 39 years. Iowa won 10 games that year to claim the Big Ten West Division title, but the national fascination with the “Drive for 325 (points)” as laid out in offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz’s revised contract overshadowed the team’s success.
With the Big Ten expanding by four schools and scrapping divisions, the Hawkeyes needed to change on offense or they would fall further in the league hierarchy. Their first big move came last year, when head coach Kirk Ferentz hired Tim Lester to replace Brian Ferentz as offensive coordinator. The second took place in January, when the Hawkeyes landed FCS All-American quarterback Mark Gronowski in the transfer portal from South Dakota State.
Together, Lester and Gronowski are tasked with erasing a narrative, flipping Iowa’s offensive trajectory from punchline to punchy. This spring, the unit bore no resemblance to the 2023 group that attracted so much ridicule: Receivers got open with consistency, offensive linemen created holes for running backs to hit. And once Gronowski fully recovers from offseason shoulder surgery — he’s full-go beginning with June workouts — the Hawkeyes could turn their program’s biggest flaw into a potential strength.
“I’ve been hearing that a lot, that usually the defense has dominated practices and stuff,” wide receiver Jacob Gill said. “We’ve taken a different approach to it. We go out there with a chip on our shoulder that we’re here to dominate.”
www.nytimes.com
Go Gophers!!
For the better part of a half-decade, backhanded compliments have branded the Iowa football program as both a winner and a loser, none phrased better than the “Punting is Winning” T-shirts once sold by former All-America punter Tory Taylor.
Taylor and his predecessors regularly blessed the Hawkeyes’ defense with great field position. In 2023, Iowa’s defense led the nation in yards per play allowed for the second consecutive season and gave up only 14.8 points per game despite playing 970 snaps, fourth most in the country. The stifling combination of those two phases over the last decade helped the program to 89 wins since 2015, which ranks 11th among power conference programs in that span.
However, Iowa’s offense became a roadblock on the program’s path toward contending for a Big Ten title and College Football Playoff berth. In 2023, the Hawkeyes averaged 15.4 points and a Football Bowl Subdivision-worst 234.6 yards per game, the lowest yardage output by a Big Ten program in 39 years. Iowa won 10 games that year to claim the Big Ten West Division title, but the national fascination with the “Drive for 325 (points)” as laid out in offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz’s revised contract overshadowed the team’s success.
With the Big Ten expanding by four schools and scrapping divisions, the Hawkeyes needed to change on offense or they would fall further in the league hierarchy. Their first big move came last year, when head coach Kirk Ferentz hired Tim Lester to replace Brian Ferentz as offensive coordinator. The second took place in January, when the Hawkeyes landed FCS All-American quarterback Mark Gronowski in the transfer portal from South Dakota State.
Together, Lester and Gronowski are tasked with erasing a narrative, flipping Iowa’s offensive trajectory from punchline to punchy. This spring, the unit bore no resemblance to the 2023 group that attracted so much ridicule: Receivers got open with consistency, offensive linemen created holes for running backs to hit. And once Gronowski fully recovers from offseason shoulder surgery — he’s full-go beginning with June workouts — the Hawkeyes could turn their program’s biggest flaw into a potential strength.
“I’ve been hearing that a lot, that usually the defense has dominated practices and stuff,” wide receiver Jacob Gill said. “We’ve taken a different approach to it. We go out there with a chip on our shoulder that we’re here to dominate.”
Inside Iowa’s multimillion-dollar moves to end the jokes and start a new era on offense
The Hawkeyes needed to change or risk falling further in the league hierarchy. A new QB and a second-year OC hope to lead the charge.
www.nytimes.com
Go Gophers!!
