4. Kirk Ferentz gets win 144
Much of the talk coming into Iowa’s season-opener against Northern Illinois is if the game would be Kirk Ferentz’s 144th win as head coach of the Hawkeyes. While that number may not have significance to outsiders, it has great significance to those who know the history of Iowa football. Ferentz’s predecessor and mentor, the legendary Hayden Fry, won 143 games as head coach at Iowa from 1978 to 1998. Fry is considered the gold standard for Iowa coaches.
It wasn’t going to be an easy task to beat the Huskies, as they came into the game favorites to win the MAC West (Went on to win the conference championship) and boasted an All-American defensive end in Sutton Smith. The game started off slowly, with Iowa not mustering much offensively, but as the game wore on, it became a classic, Kirk Ferentz-like game, showcasing Iowa’s physical dominance and unbreakable will to win as Iowa won by the final of 33-7.
Kirk Ferentz could not hide his emotion on the sideline and frankly, I don’t think he cared. The picture above with his son, offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz, could play to the cliche “A picture is worth a thousand words”. For me, however, there is only one word to describe that picture: Love. Love of the game, love of the program, love of his family.