To employ Kirk’s mantra for fans: We do NOT deserve the mediocrity on the field that’s been in place for much of the past 8 years (save 2009). One for the last eight isn’t exactly “earning his money” in ANY coaching job ANYWHERE. For those that love the “NFL development” fact: even developmental programs need to challenge for the conference crown AT LEAST once every 3-4 years (saw that somewhere else, but makes sense).

Of course, as I’ve posted elsewhere: until oldtimers and others quit writing checks to the I-Club and tickets to bowl games, there will be exactly no reason whatsoever for KF to change a thing. Expecting Barta to actually govern the athletic program is a waste of time. Besides, even if he tries, some folks will call on the ghosts of Ray Nagel, Bob Cummings and even Steve Alford to fight any major changes to the program.

It is obvious to me that KF and staff did not prepare these guys at all and have little ability to do in-game management, and have been deficient that way for years. Do you remember our greatest victory ever, the Capital One Bowl in 2005? It was won when we mismanaged the clock and Drew Tate threw a desperation heave to Holloway. We never should have won that one, and is typical of how the coaching staff “manages” a game.

It is obvious to me that Ferentz peaked years go. He collects the sixth-highest coaching salary in the nation, and all five of the coaches who are paid more have won national titles in the past ten years (Miles, Stoops, Saban, Brown and Meyer). We have never gotten close, and under Ferentz’s leadership, we never will. Two BCS bowls in 14 years. A clutch of lesser bowls. It seems that Ferentz is a coach that can get you to “respectable”, but cannot push through to elite status, rather like Jim Mora in the NFL. How long will we pay top dollar for the kind of disgraceful effort we saw today? Is $4 million a year appropriate for a seemingly endless series of 7-5 or 6-6 seasons? We must look like gullible hicks to the rest of the football world. And I guess we are.

Inside the denial bubble that surrounds Iowa City, no one seems to see the cold numbers, and this disgraceful performance will again be rewarded with loyalty and a lot of excuses. Out here where the rest of us live, we see it a little clearer. Kirk Ferentz, as nice a guy as he is, has had his shot. It is time for a new direction.

Well-said, Mike, well-said. Iowa shouldn’t be mediocre and rebuilding, not after some of the seasons they’ve had in the past. At least we can watch good college football on television this fall. Unfortunately it’s not Iowa football. It’s Oregon, and Alabama.

As your boy Neil Young would preach,
“Out of the blue
and into the black
They give you this,
but you pay for that
And once you’re gone,
you can never come back
When you’re out of the blue
and into the black.”

The black has been entered, and the great unwashed masses have had their eyes opened. They don’t like what they see. $21 million,…. you pay for that, as Niel roared!

Unheeded prophesies were ignored(I tried to open the eyes, but would be ridiculed). Look to the west, and a little north. The side of light and good also has a bandwagon, but it is VERY full now.

Applications are being taken.

The program seems to have lost something. I said in another story comment section that the team seemed to regress quite a bit this week. It just feels different this year than, say 2007, the last time Iowa had mediocre/young/inexperienced talent.
If they somehow manage to beat Minnesota next week than MAYBE they can salvage something but this team looks lost. How a college football team can lose 2 games in a year when a RB runs for over 200 yards is beyond me. That’s almost IMPOSSIBLE. Seriously. I have no idea how that happens.
Kind of a nice little symbol for where the program is at.

Where to start, 6 fouls called on Iowa in the first half 0 on C. Michigan. I saw players on both sides pushing after the play and sucker hits all day long. Normally a ref calls both sides equally in these situations or nothing. Iowa players on D were shoving players into position as the plays was snapped, often with players out of position. Coaching indecision costing Iowa momentum and time outs. Two free previews of the onside kick which cost them the game with no coaching changes from the sidelines. No holding or pass interference calls on CM at almost any point, fouls which everyone else in the stadium saw. (No, fans were not booing the players, they were booing the refs.) A 5th year QB that still can’t read “hot routes” that should have been TD’s and were lucky not to be pick sixes. A defense that played cushion all day but tried for a pick at the worst possible time. (If your going to shoot a route you better make the play). A defense that again howled in the second half after meowing in the first half. I agree that right now Iowa is a bad team. But they are so close to being a good team. Kirk Ferentz’s coaching used to be the difference between the two. I don’t know what’s going on in Iowa City but this team AND COACHING STAFF needs to get on the same page or a 2-3 win season is VERY possible. To not be all negative, the offensive line was “sick”. They were the players of the game. Truckers from I-80 were confusing the holes they were paving as off-ramps. This game will stick with me for a long time because this was a senseless loss.

Guys, stop complaining. We are only into our 14th year of rebuilding, hang in there, we will be able to start requecting kids from the glory year playes, LOL……Does Chuck Long have a son?

Oops, I just figured it out, They have these new uniforms every week and they are not suppose to get then dirty, Maybe they cant return or sell them if they have foot prints on the back side, just a thought

This summer, My wife and I made the decision to move to Florida(Tampa area)…my thought process was , well I can finally just drive to a Iowa bowl game, Well there goes that Idea, well there is always Busch Gardens

as is said by many CUBS fans… “well. there is always next year”

For fans of Iowa Athletics, this fall may just be an Indiana (IU) type of fall.

They type of fall that screams ” When does basketball season start”

Iowa was obviously very poorly prepared but this game and deserved to lose based on how they played BUT I also give the officiating crew an “F”. Looking at just that last few minutes of the game:

- On the last drive for CM’s touchdown they called Gagglione for a personal foul but didn’t call the CM played for holding when he obviously rolled over on Gaglione.

- On the same series the CM QB was obviouly over the line on the pass play that was reviewed.

- On the enusing kickoff CM was called for delay of game BUT was not penalized – no yardage was marked off. I don’t have the play clock but its hard to imagine that there weren’t actually two of delay of game infractions.

Earlier in the game Iowa got called for pushing and shoving where the CM players were obviously trash talking and shoving as well.

The quality of Iowa’s play was just terrible. I can’t give CM much credit as they succeeded in large part because Iowa faile to execute in so many situations you just can’t count them.