Kirk Ferentz describes his Saturday during Week 1 suspension: ‘Really strange’

Saturday marked a rare day for Iowa. Kirk Ferentz wasn’t on the sideline, serving a suspension related to a recruiting violation.

Instead, Ferentz watched from home. He looked on as the Hawkeyes broke out in the second half en route to a 40-0 shutout victory over Illinois State at Kinnick Stadium.

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It was an adjustment for Ferentz, who hasn’t missed many games since taking over at Iowa in 1999. His routine was simple, though.

“Actually, I had a grandson in the house,” Ferentz said. “So got up, had two scrambled eggs, nothing too dramatic. Just kind of killed time. Did that moreso with him. But when the game started, it’s different watching it on TV. It’s really different. You can see better. That’s one thing. I had a nice surface to write on, which was the second thing. So I guess those are two upgrades.

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“But outside of that, there wasn’t much good about it. It’s sterile, and you’re pretty much helpless. Not that I do a lot during games anyway, I’m not playing, but you have a total feeling of disconnection, so it was really strange.”

Kirk Ferentz: ‘You feel totally disconnected’

Kirk Ferentz watched Saturday’s opener like many of Hawkeye fans, turning his TV to Big Ten Network. Seth Wallace took over as acting head coach for the day as Tim Lester also debuted his new offense, which hit its stride after halftime with 34 points after the break.

For Ferentz, it meant he had to watch preparation from the week pay off without calling the shots. That, he said, was the hardest part.

“It’s just a totally different experience,” Ferentz said. “You feel totally disconnected. I thought about that a little bit. Like, if I were retired, the difference is you’re not invested the way you are if you work here every day or are with the guys every day. The closest thing would be like one of our kids’ games. You’re kind of invested – you’re a parent – but it’s still not the same as when you coach and work with people on a daily basis in a really intimate environment. And that’s what we get to enjoy, and that’s the best part of coaching is just that – at times when we get to shut the door and just do what we do or practice and all those kinds of things. When you have that, then it’s really strange to be disconnected.

“It was code of silence on Saturday. Left the hotel Friday night, which was strange, and then sleep in your own bed that night, that’s strange. And then basically, wasn’t sure what to do all morning. And then the game came, and then I really wasn’t sure what to do at halftime. It was kind of interesting. But it all worked out.”

Of course, Ferentz also had to watch the game with his wife, Mary. When asked about what that was like, he answered in a way only he could.

“We talked civilly,” Ferentz said. “We were very civil with each other. She gave me a little distance at halftime. I walked around at halftime, came back, and then I gave a, yeah, or whatever when we made a play. She was sitting about 20 yards away from me.

“We got along fine. No problems.”