RJ Young
FOX Sports National College Football Analyst
History is on the line Saturday as Kirk Ferentz and Mark Gronowski each stand on the brink of all-time greatness.
With a win over Iowa State this weekend, Ferentz would notch his 206th career victory, the most by any coach in Big Ten history. That would move him one ahead of Ohio State legend Woody Hayes, six ahead of Alonzo Stagg, 11 beyond Michigan legend Bo Schembechler and 43 ahead of Penn State legend Joe Paterno.
Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz walks the sidelines in the first half against Albany. (Photo by Matthew Holst/Getty Images)
What’s fascinating about each of those names is that only one of them coached in the ’90s and Ferentz did not begin his tenure as head coach at Iowa until 1999. What’s more? Each of the coaches listed has won a national title.
Ferentz, the longest-tenured active head coach in college football, has never won a national title. His greatest accomplishments at Iowa include winning a share of two Big Ten titles, four Big Ten Coach of the Year awards, and having just four losing seasons — none since 2012 — in 27 seasons.
At 70 years old, Ferentz is a future hall of fame coach, and he refuses to be defined by winning a national title. However, making the College Football Playoff might be the last major accomplishment to add to his résumé, especially given the extension to the 12-team format.
The addition of former FCS All-American QB Mark Gronowski, who won a pair of FCS national championships at South Dakota State, is the clearest indication that Ferentz is willing to chase a playmaker that could elevate his team into a CFP contender.
Remember, Iowa ranked 132nd in scoring offense with just 15.4 points per game in 2024. The Hawkeyes haven’t ranked better than 117th in total offense in each of the last five years and haven’t seen a 300-yard passer since 2019.
For Gronowski, a win on Saturday would be his 51st as a starting quarterback, the most by any quarterback in Division I history. And winning has always been the top priority for the Hawkeyes. They don’t win with flash, and they don’t always win with a credible offense, but they do win. And Gronowski might just be the QB capable of leading this team to the postseason.
What remains to be seen is just how good this Iowa team is — let alone what it could be. Given the kind of defense Phil Parker has fielded for each of the last four years, the thought outside of Iowa City has been that, with a component and functioning offense, the Hawkeyes are a College Football Playoff contender.
Defensive Coordinator Phil Parker of the Iowa Hawkeyes before the matchup against Albany. (Photo by Matthew Holst/Getty Images)
“It’s really up to what [Kirk] Ferentz will allow,” one Big Ten assistant coach told me. “The offense is conservative, even in our league, but with the Gronowski kid, they might open it up a little more. [Phil] Parker is a genius.”
With Parker as their defensive coordinator, the Hawkeyes have ranked inside the top 20 in the country in scoring defense for 10 straight years and have held opponents to an average of 20 points or fewer for nine straight years.
There’s every reason to believe Iowa’s defense will be just as stout as it’s been over the last decade with Parker in charge of the unit, and that means a worthy opponent ought to show itself against a top-25 Iowa State team that is favored by 3.5 points — according to DraftKings Sportsbook — against their in-state rival.
Still, if Iowa wants to make a serious case to the College Football Playoff Selection Committee, taking care of a 2-0 Iowa State team is the least it can do. With Big Ten play looming — and the league’s true contenders likely to separate themselves in November — Iowa needs to position itself for a strong finish, much like Indiana did in 2024.
RJ Young is a national college football writer and analyst for FOX Sports. Follow him @RJ_Young.
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