Kirk Ferentz disappointed in calls, run defense in loss to Michigan
Michigan made a statement from the get-go at Iowa, using its talented offensive line to dominate the Hawkeyes in the trenches. Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz said he knew what his team was up against playing the talented Wolverines, and he wasn’t displeased with the effort.
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He was, however, disappointed in some of the calls that went against his team in a 27-14 home loss.
“Today, to say it didn’t impact the game a little bit, the way things went — I think that would probably be naïve,” Ferentz said. “The two things we’ve been pretty good at — even if we don’t have a real good team — we’re usually pretty good at ball security and takeaway margin … and typically we’re in the upper third penalty-wise. I think we’re somewhere in that neighborhood right now.
“To have six major penalties, that’s kind of uncharacteristic. Maybe we were overwhelmed talent-wise or maybe our guys are that sloppy. It didn’t feel that way from the sideline. It is what it is. But it impacted the game, and we weren’t good enough to overcome that.”
At times, however, they were. They dug themselves out of holes after at least two of them despite being in second- or third-and 20-plus. A couple others, though, wiped out the biggest running plays, including a clipping call.
“It’s an illegal block,” Ferentz said. “That’s what you saw. I’m cosigning. I’m not saying it.”
But he also gave Michigan credit.
“I’m never discouraged by our players. I thought the effort was there,” Ferentz continued. “I thought we had a good week of preparation and practice … the guys were wired in, and we knew what we were up against, what we had to do today to be successful. Credit our opponent. They did a good job of setting the tone and made it difficult for us in offensive and defensive phases … special teams maybe not as much, but they did a good job there.”
Michigan junior Blake Corum ran for 133 yards against the nation’s top-ranked defense, averaging 4.6 yards per pop. He and the line took the fight to Iowa on the first drive, moving 75 yards for a touchdown.
“He’s an outstanding back, first and foremost,” Ferentz said. “He’s a really good football player. That didn’t surprise us. You look at film, you can see that. And then they’re good up front. Those guys last year and this year are really blocking well. They have good tight ends that block well.
“The other part of the equation is they threaten you outside. They have really good receivers and a quarterback that can get it out to them. You have to choose your poison a little bit defensively, and if you load up too much in one area, you’re going to be vulnerable in another spot.”
But if you can’t stop the run without selling out, you’re in trouble, no matter the opponent. Iowa is tough defensively and fundamentally sound. They were getting manhandled at a number of positions, however, by a better football team.
They had some success through the air offensively and adjusted for about a quarter in the second half. For the most part, however, the Michigan offense was in control.
“We knew what we were up against today, what we had to do,” Ferentz said. “Really we couldn’t force [turnovers] … only one bad play I think on their part, the quarterback’s [J.J. McCarthy] part. He had that one [fumble] down to the right of our bench, which we were hoping maybe we could get a little bit more going there. But to his credit, he played a really good game.
“We couldn’t get off the field, and if you can’t stop the run, it’s tough. It’s easy to call plays when you can run the ball. Not minimizing what they were doing, but again, the pressure they put on you from my vantage point, you see both those receivers last week running by DBs. If you match up on them one-on-one, you’re living dangerously there with a guy who can throw it.”
Michigan missed a few opportunities, too, but did more than enough to win in Iowa City for the first time since 2005.
