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A statistical look at Iowa’s offense during Brian Ferentz’s 7 years as offensive coordinator
Hawkeyes were at or near bottom of Big Ten in several key statistics in last 3 seasons
IOWA CITY — As Iowa football moves closer to naming its next offensive coordinator, this week marked seven years since the Brian-Ferentz-as-offensive-coordinator experiment began.
The end of the Brian Ferentz era — shutout losses in the Big Ten championship game and the Citrus Bowl to close out a season in which the Hawkeyes ranked dead-last in yards per game — was unquestionably unceremonious.
But along the way, there were some highs, including the 55-24 win over Ohio State in 2017, and some lows.
Here is a statistical look at Iowa’s seven seasons with Brian Ferentz leading the offense. The FBS rankings exclude any reclassifying teams.
Points per game
2017: 28.2 (66th in FBS, fifth in Big Ten)
2018: 31.2 (43rd in FBS, fourth in Big Ten)
2019: 25.8 (88th in FBS, 10th in Big Ten)
2020: 31.8 (40th in FBS, second in Big Ten)
2021: 23.4 (99th in FBS, 10th in Big Ten)
2022: 17.7 (122nd in FBS, 12th in Big Ten)
2023: 15.4 (129th in FBS, 14th in Big Ten)
Yards per game
2017: 329.5 (116th in FBS, 10th in Big Ten)
2018: 375 (91st in FBS, 10th in Big Ten)
2019: 366.5 (99th in FBS, 10th in Big Ten)
2020: 368.6 (87th in FBS, eighth in Big Ten)
2021: 303.7 (121st in FBS, 13th in Big Ten)
2022: 251.5 (129th in FBS, 14th in Big Ten)
2023: 234.6 (130th in FBS, 14th in Big Ten)
Yards per play
2017: 5.12 (107th in FBS, 10th in Big Ten)
2018: 5.44 (91st in FBS, 11th in Big Ten)
2019: 5.52 (86th in FBS, eighth in Big Ten)
2020: 5.42 (87th in FBS, eighth in Big Ten)
2021: 4.67 (121st in FBS, 12th in Big Ten)
2022: 4.24 (128th in FBS, 14th in Big Ten)
2023: 3.94 (130th in FBS, 14th in Big Ten)
Third-down efficiency
2017: 34.4 percent (104th in FBS, eighth in Big Ten)
2018: 43.5 percent (30th in FBS, third in Big Ten)
2019: 40.7 percent (57th in FBS, eighth in Big Ten)
2020: 33.6 percent (107th in FBS, 13th in Big Ten)
2021: 34 percent (110th in FBS, 12th in Big Ten)
2022: 27.8 percent (128th in FBS, 14th in Big Ten)
2023: 29.4 percent (126th in FBS, 14th in Big Ten)
Completion percentage
2017: 56.1 percent (93rd in FBS, ninth in Big Ten)
2018: 59.3 percent (67th in FBS, seventh in Big Ten)
2019: 59.1 percent (78th in FBS, seventh in Big Ten)
2020: 56.9 percent (95th in FBS, 12th in Big Ten)
2021: 55 percent (114th in FBS, 12th in Big Ten)
2022: 55 percent (111th in FBS, 12th in Big Ten)
2023: 48.9 percent (129th in FBS, 13th in Big Ten)
Rushing yards per carry
2017: 3.76 (103rd in FBS, 11th in Big Ten)
2018: 3.95 (93rd in FBS, 11th in Big Ten)
2019: 3.95 (91st in FBS, ninth in Big Ten)
2020: 4.62 (47th in FBS, fifth in Big Ten)
2021: 3.41 (109th in FBS, 11th in Big Ten)
2022: 2.92 (126th in FBS, 14th in Big Ten)
2023: 3.34 (116th in FBS, 11th in Big Ten)
Turnovers lost
2017: 19 (tied for 61st in FBS, tied for sixth in Big Ten)
2018: 18 (tied for 49th in FBS, tied for fourth in Big Ten)
2019: 12 (tied for eighth in FBS, first in Big Ten)
2020 (shortened season): 9 (tied for 24th in FBS, tied for fourth in Big Ten)
2021: 19 (tied for 82nd in FBS, 10th in Big Ten)
2022: 17 (tied for 48th in FBS, tied for seventh in Big Ten)
2023: 22 (tied for 105th in FBS, tied for 11th in Big Ten)
Comments: john.steppe@thegazette.com
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