Kirk Ferentz says Ohio State will be 'a really big challenge'

Iowa has had a challenging season to this point. The Hawkeyes are currently 5th in the Big Ten West at 3-3 and 1-2 in the conference. In particular, Iowa has been abysmal on offense. Now, Iowa needs to find a way to beat Big Ten favorite Ohio State in the Horseshoe. At the same time, Kirk Ferentz beat Ohio State, scoring 55 points the last time these two teams met. of course, that was in 2017.

“We face a really big challenge this Saturday, playing Ohio State. Pretty much any year I stand up here and talk about Ohio State, you’re talking about a team that’s very talented,” Kirk Ferentz said.

“They’re very well coached, and that’s certainly the case this year in both of those areas and as you might expect ranked near the top of the national polls for good reason. They’ve got a really good football team.”

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Kirk Ferentz immediately started praising the offense for being explosive, before describing CJ Stroud and the wide receivers as “tremendous.” The offensive line for Ohio State is also “as big as we’ve seen,” according to Ferentz.

“They play a lot of guys on defense,” Kirk Ferentz said of the Ohio State defense. “There’s a lot of players in and out and that doesn’t matter who’s in there. They’re playing at a really high level.”

Iowa is going to need to find a way to attack that talented Ohio State defense. The Buckeyes are talented and multiple. The Hawkeyes have struggled offensively against FCS South Dakota State and Big Ten competition. So, offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz needs to find an adjustment somewhere.

Both Iowa and Ohio State are coming into this game off a bye week. So, neither is gaining an advantage over the other with that period. However, it will be interesting to see if either team installed anything new.

“All in all, just a really tough challenge, and then you factor on top of it, it’s a tough environment to go into. Tough Big Ten environment. Always has been, and certainly won’t be any different,” Kirk Ferentz said.

Brian Ferentz won’t step down

The Iowa offensive coordinator is Kirk Ferentz’s son, Brian Ferentz. This has led to a lot of extra criticism for both Kirk and Brian. As the offense struggles, calls of nepotism have grown louder. However, Brian Ferentz wants to insist that he’s not going to step down.

“There’s two options in life in any situation. You can surrender, and if you surrender, then I think the results are pretty much guaranteed. Or you can dig in, you can continue to fight, and you can try to improve and do things better. I will always choose option [B]. Done it in my personal life. Done it in my professional life,” Brian Ferentz said.

“I wouldn’t be able to go home and look my children in the eye if I wasn’t an option B person. … Let me be crystal clear about that. That’s number one.”