Big Ten Daly (Aug. 22): Iowa’s Kirk Ferentz Hit with 1-Game Suspension

Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz will miss the Hawkeyes’ season opener against Illinois State on Saturday, Aug. 31. The longest-tenured head coach in college football was hit with a one-game suspension over a recruiting violation, per a report from The Athletic’s Scott Dochterman.

The alleged violation occurred with the recruitment of former Michigan starting quarterback Cade McNamara, who entered the transfer portal in 2022. Iowa wide receivers coach Jon Budymar will also face a one-game suspension.

Ferentz has not missed a game as the Hawkeyes coach since taking over the program in 1999. He’s coached Iowa to a 196-119 record with three Big Ten West titles and two conference championships.

McNamara entered the transfer portal following the 2022 season at Michigan. Last season, he earned the starting job at Iowa but was injured just five games into the season. In his short time on the field, he threw for 505 yards with four touchdowns and three interceptions.

Iowa is coming off a 10-4 season in 2023, the team’s second 10-win season in three years.

The suspension is certainly a tough blow for the Hawkeyes, but fortunately it will be applied to Week 1. Ferentz will return to the sideline for Iowa’s in-state rivalry game against Iowa State the following weekend.

McElroy picks Ohio State

With kickoff just around the corner, major college football analysts are making their final conference champion picks. ESPN’s Greg McElroy is predicting Ohio State will win the Big Ten — which would be the program’s first conference title since 2020.

That’s not really a bold prediction, as the Buckeyes are the preseason favorites to win the league title. But, right now, it’s hard to bet against Ohio State.

“I’m taking the Ohio State Buckeyes to beat the Oregon Ducks in the Big Ten title game and punch their ticket to playoff,” McElroy said. “Which means Oregon and Penn State are still well positioned to be an at-large, but they’ll be sitting there awaiting their fate on selection day that Sunday after the conference title games.”

Ryan Day enters his sixth season in Columbus with a lot of pressure. After losing to Michigan each of the last three seasons, there are high expectations for Ohio State to finally get on the right side of the rivalry and climb back to the top of the Big Ten.

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