Iowa football coach Kirk Ferentz picks up huge bonus with Minnesota win

Iowa football coach Kirk Ferentz has more than just a win to celebrate Saturday night. The longtime Hawkeyes head man is swimming in cash after earning a $500,000 bonus for his eighth win of the season, which he achieved against Minnesota over the weekend.

Ferentz in in his 23rd season with Iowa, having accumulated a 175-108 record in that span. Impressively, he has suffered only four losing seasons.

Iowa trailed 13-10 at halftime on Saturday, but strung together a comeback in the second half. Quarterback Alex Padilla threw for both of his touchdown passes in the second half, while running in another in the first. He finished 11-of-24 for 206 yards passing.

The Hawkeyes are currently tied for first place in the Big Ten West with Wisconsin. Both teams have a record of 5-2, but the Badgers won the head-to-head matchup in Week 9. Iowa needs to win out and hope the Badgers lose to either Nebraska or Minnesota to make the conference title game.

Iowa ranks 10th in the country in total defense and fourth in points allowed per game (15.7). The Hawkeyes are also one of the best teams in the nation at forcing turnovers, with an average of 2.7 per contest.

None of that was really on display Saturday, but Ferentz’s team still found a way to pull out the victory. We saw that the offense can indeed come through when needed, as evidenced by Padilla’s performance. Despite not forcing a single turnover and allowing more than 400 yards of offense, the Hawkeyes prevailed.

Kirk Ferentz and the Iowa football team are next set to take on Illinois next Saturday with the time yet to be determined. Until then, the coach will relish in the aftermath of his eighth victory — and the large paycheck that comes with it.

If the Hawkeyes can manage to make the Big Ten championship game and pull off an upset, they would be a candidate to play in a New Year’s Six Bowl at the end of the season.