It would make sense for Kirk Ferentz to be a bit miffed after his Iowa Hawkeyes’ 18-16 home loss to the Oregon Ducks on Saturday.
After all, the Hawkeyes had that thing in the bag. With 1:51 to go in the game, quarterback Mark Gronowski executed a perfect quarterback draw for a touchdown to pull the Hawkeyes ahead of the Ducks, 16-15. Never mind the two-point conversation afterward failed. The Hawkeyes had the lead and just had to play defense for less than two minutes, and they’ve always been good at defense.
The problem for Oregon is that the Ducks have seemingly always been good at offense, at least in this modern era, and that’s certainly been the case under head coach Dan Lanning. The Ducks got the ball back at their 25-yard line and marched down the field on a 10-play, 54-yard drive that ended in a game-winning field goal.
There were several key plays on that final drive that saw Oregon simply execute better than Iowa. Again, Ferentz would have reason to be upset at how the game ended up, but he’s the longest-tenured head coach in college football, and his time in Iowa City has given him perspective.
His Hawkeyes came into the game ranked No. 20 in the country compared to Oregon, which was No. 9.
The Hawks gave the Ducks all they could handle, and Ferentz was happy about that.
“So we came up a little short, but proud of our team’s effort and the way we competed certainly,” Feretnz said after the game. “Tough loss. A lot of little things that we’re going to have to figure out, do a little bit better at, but the most important thing for our team is they understand there’s a lot to be proud of. They’re going to see a lot of really good efforts on film, a lot of things they did during the course of the game that were really impressive.”
Kirk Ferentz pleased with how Iowa fought Oregon
Iowa held Oregon quarterback Dante Moore to just 13-of-21 passing for 112 yards and no touchdowns with a pick. Of course, the weather had a ton to do with it, because it was raining and cold, but that was noteworthy for the Hawkeyes.
On the other hand, the Hawkeyes did let the Ducks rush for a total of 261 yards, including 118 yards from senior Noah Whittington. Gronowski threw a touchdown and ran for a touchdown for the Hawkeyes on offense, and speaking of, that final drive of the game for the Hawks’ offense was extremely impressive.
This is a Hawkeyes team that’s certainly out of the College Football Playoff race now, but it’s not one you’d want to see on your schedule if you’re USC, Michigan State or Nebraska over these next few weekends of play.
“I think all the coaches are really proud of the effort that everybody put into it and the way we responded several times in the football game. We still have a good team, and we got plenty of football in front of us,” Ferentz said.
