I used to think 1 p.m. was too late for coffee. Now, I think 4 p.m. is in bounds.

You might have heard by now that Illinois coach Ron Zook ducked out on his news conference Tuesday when he heard one too many questions about his future, which could be seen as somewhat tenuous with the Fighting Illini’s 6-0 start folding into a 6-4 flameout with Wisconsin on deck. (Here’s a link to the video.)

This is that time of year. Teams know what they are now. Some of exceeded expectations and are loving life. Some have fallen short, and so the weekly news conference becomes an exercise in tension.

As for Kirk Ferentz, he didn’t want to be there today. Iowa has Purdue this week. Iowa doesn’t know a whole lot about Purdue, with their last game being in 2008 when Curtis Painter was still deemed a QB with a future. Iowa has 112 things on its mind (I think that’s the exact number, per KF).

Ferentz’s agitation at these things has become visible the last couple weeks. He comports himself well, better than Zook. Is there a lot of information? That’s for you to decide. The machine moves along, either way.

There are certain questions that just aren’t going to be any sort of meaningful response. Most of those are along the lines of football strategy and the future.

It’s tricky, but I’ll say this, Ferentz holds it together fairly well compared to some other examples around the country and the Big Ten. As a football nerdlington, I would love for him to loosen up in that area. He’d be giving us something to write without giving up any super valuable scouting info. Plus, I think that type of information is only of interest to about 25 percent of people out there.

I have fun on Tuesday. Truly enjoy the interaction with the players. They are a fountain of youth.

This job remains and, I think, always will be fun. But then, I’m asking the questions and I don’t have to beat Purdue.

Begins with Marvin McNutt, on Purdue (kick return), injuries, ankles, Keenan, CJF and Purdue DT Kawann Short.

Purdue’s two QBs, “every week is an adventure,” road trip, Mika’il McCall stuff, the Michigan State injuries thing and that goes on for awhile. It’s a complex issue. There, we agree on something.

This is where he says 112 things, how’d he be able to tell if someone was faking injury, are Iowa fans spoiled?, road games, bowl eligibility and 3-0 after losses this year.

More on Purdue. Segment on recruiting. And I’m pretty sure my dumb question of the week is in here, too.

I’m not sure what’s going on here. I ran out of room for notes. I’m sure it’s worthwhile.

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Here’s the transcript from the main news conference:

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