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Iowa Football: Top 5 moments from the 2018 season

By Quinn Douglas

TAMPA, FL - JANUARY 01: The Iowa Hawkeyes celebrate after winning the 2019 Outback Bowl against the Mississippi State Bulldogs at Raymond James Stadium on January 1, 2019 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
TAMPA, FL - JANUARY 01: The Iowa Hawkeyes celebrate after winning the 2019 Outback Bowl against the Mississippi State Bulldogs at Raymond James Stadium on January 1, 2019 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images) /
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IOWA CITY, IOWA- SEPTEMBER 01: Head coach Kirk Ferentz of the Iowa Hawkeyes tears up as he is congratulated by his son, offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz after the match-up against the Northern Illinois Huskies on September 1, 2018 at Kinnick Stadium, in Iowa City, Iowa. The win made Ferentz the winningest coach in Iowa football history with 144 wins. (Photo by Matthew Holst/Getty Images)
IOWA CITY, IOWA- SEPTEMBER 01: Head coach Kirk Ferentz of the Iowa Hawkeyes tears up as he is congratulated by his son, offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz after the match-up against the Northern Illinois Huskies on September 1, 2018 at Kinnick Stadium, in Iowa City, Iowa. The win made Ferentz the winningest coach in Iowa football history with 144 wins. (Photo by Matthew Holst/Getty Images) /

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.

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