The resume of Kirk Ferentz is loaded with achievements at Iowa. Ferentz has made the Rose Bowl. He won a BCS bowl, the Orange Bowl against Georgia Tech nearly 15 years ago. Ferentz made multiple Big Ten Championship Game appearances as Big Ten West Division champion.
Ferentz hasn’t made a College Football Playoff appearance — that could obviously be viewed as the biggest achievement not on his resume. However, for a lot of Iowa fans, a more local matter is attached to Ferentz’s biggest unfulfilled goal in Iowa City.
Hawkeyes Wire editor Josh Helmer talked to us about this topic.
It is true that Ferentz has won a Big Ten title, but it is worth remembering that Ferentz’s one Big Ten championship was split with Ohio State in 2002. Both the Hawkeyes and Buckeyes were unbeaten in Big Ten play, but they didn’t play each other. Ohio State went to the national title game against Miami because it did not lose a game in 2002. Iowa lost out of conference to Iowa State and went to the Orange Bowl to play USC.
Helmer told us that if Iowa fans would like to see Ferentz achieve one specific thing before he retires, it is to win an outright BigTen title. One split title is important and historic, but it isn’t an outright championship.
If only the Big Ten had a conference championship game back in 2002. The Big Ten’s big game didn’t begin until 2011.
Here’s the full conversation with Hawkeyes Wire about Kirk Ferentz: