Iowa’s Head Coach Kirk Ferentz passed former Ohio State Head Coach Woody Hayes for the most wins in Big Ten History when he beat UMass 47-7. With his 206th win, Ferentz passed Hayes to become the all-time wins leader in the Big Ten Conference’s History. Ferentz is like Hayes in that he led Iowa his way. Iowa, under his guidance, has been known for its defensive prowess and excellence on special teams. Ferentz epitomizes Hayes as he finished his coaching career at one Big Ten school, like Hayes. Ferentz has produced tough, physical players, something Hayes prided himself on when he was head coach of Ohio State.
Ferentz was interviewed on the Big Ten Network after the game an emotional Ferentz said the following about passing football legends Stagg, Schembechler, Hayes "That part is surreal, It was never a goal of mine. Being a Head Coach was actually not a goal of mine. The whole concept is do the best you can do. Been around a lot of good people". A great accomplishment for Ferentz and Iowa.
Hayes was Ohio State’s hard-charging head coach of Ohio State from 1951 to 1978. He had great success as a head coach, going 206-61-10 while at Ohi o State. He also won 5 National Championships as Head Coach. He is most known for his heated rivalry against Michigan. This is Kirk Ferentz’s 27th season as head coach of Iowa; ironically, Woody Hayes coached Ohio State for 27 years. Ferentz and Hayes were both guys who have always coached the game the way they have wanted to.
In the age of spread offenses and throwing the ball all over the field, Ferentz has resisted this type of offense, as Iowa has stayed with a traditional offense of being under center and running the ball more than most teams. Hayes was similar in that he commonly said that “only three things can happen when you pass, and two of them are bad”. Ferentz has only had 2 quarterbacks to throw for 3,000-yard passing seasons in his career at Iowa. That is astounding, considering that it is common to have 3,000-yard passers. Last year, 4 players in the Big Ten threw for 3,000 yards, and 3 others threw for over 2,800 yards. Iowa didn’t have a quarterback in the top 17 in passing yards last year in the Big Ten.
Iowa, on the flip side, has been dominant under Ferentz on defense. They have held offenses under 20 points for 9 consecutive seasons, as they regularly have one of the top defenses in College Football. Hayes also had great defenses at Ohio State, led by star players like Jack Tatum and Jim Stillwagon. Ferentz might have gotten older, but his defenses have continued to excel.
Ferentz is a worthy coach to break Hayes' record for most wins in the Big Ten. His ability to continue to have success at Iowa in the era of NIL and the transfer portal is commendable. Ferentz is a worthy person to pass Hayes because of all the success he has had at Iowa over the course of his 19 years of coaching at Iowa. Hayes probably would appreciate all of Iowa’s success because Ferenz has coached the game the right way. For that reason and other reasons mentioned, he has epitomized Hayes.
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