11/2/2010: Kirk Ferentz teleconference transcript (premium)
Posted on 02. Nov, 2010 by admin in Iowa Football
By Brendan Stiles
HawkeyeDrive.com
Below is a written transcript of Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz’s teleconference on Tuesday with the Big Ten media:
Ferentz’s opening statement:
“First of all, congratulations to Shaun [Prater] on his effort. Again, we’re just happy about the overall performance of the team. They really did a great job against an excellent football team. We were thrilled to get the win, and now we move on to another tough challenge, going back out on the road and playing down at Indiana.”
On whether having four teams (including Iowa) all with one conference loss adds to variables of what could happen in November:
“Well, a lot of things can still happen, certainly. It’s great that we have teams ranked, and at the end of the season, it will probably be something comparable to that. But I’m not sure where it’s all going. There’s still a lot of football left. We’re only at the halfway point of the conference race. We’re just trying to focus on what’s ahead of us this week, and I think a lot of things are probably going to happen over the next month.”
On if he is aware of the Big Ten’s tiebreakers to determine who goes to the Rose Bowl:
“Uh, you know, I’m not overly knowledgeable right now, and I’m not overly concerned about it at this point. If we don’t win football games, it really won’t matter and won’t pertain to us anyway.”
On whether the possibility exists of a 6-6 Big Ten team not making a bowl game:
“I don’t know that. We went through that a couple of years ago. I hope nobody’s in that situation. I hope that’s not the case. More importantly, I hope we’re not in that situation. But I think anything is probably possible.”
On what it was like being a 6-6 Big Ten team that didn’t make a bowl game back in 2007:
“Yeah. It’s not great. But in our case, it was a little different. We lost our last game. It was a non-conference game. After that game, I think for any of us to feel like we really deserved to go to a bowl… It would have been nice to keep the streak going, it would have been nice to go to a bowl. It’s always a nice reward. But to feel like we really deserved it at that point, I’m not sure that did. Maybe that was a good thing for us. It wasn’t much fun, but again, you get what you deserve a lot of times.”
On what having Norm Parker back last week did to inspire the team:
“From an inspiration standpoint, the week before might have been a little more pertinent only because Norm came over to the hotel the Saturday prior, met with the defense, and also was with us for the team meal. So everybody had exposure to him. Everybody had a chance to shake his hand and say hello, whereas this was maybe a little bit more of a sterile thing. Norm went right to the press box on Saturday and then actually left before the game was over to beat the crowd out and get back to Cedar Rapids. He really wasn’t in communication. Our players knew he was there, and I think that certainly helped. I’m not sure it was a ‘Win One For The Gipper’ story yet, but it was just great to have Norm back involved and we’re really looking forward. I think we’re getting close now where he can be with us on a routine basis and the players can have access and see him a little bit. That’s what we’re all looking forward to. It was great having him here. I don’t mean that it wasn’t. It was fantastic, but it wasn’t the full deal yet, that’s for sure.”
On whether he and the team recognize when small bits of momentum are going their way during a game like last week vs. MSU:
“Well, it was just one of those days where we really played well in all three areas, and we haven’t done that this year, I don’t think, in any games. It was just one of those deals, and for whatever reason, it happened. As a result, we were gaining some momentum in stride in certain areas, and that was great. But it was just one of those days where things clicked.”
On the challenges of playing at Indiana:
“Well, I think the first thing that comes to your mind is the way they throw the football around. [Ben] Chappell has done a great job offensively. He has really led their football team, did a great job last year and is doing the same thing this year. I think if you look at our series, they had us on the ropes last year. I look back to last season, and it was pretty much just a miracle play that saved us when that ball ricocheted around a little bit, and [Tyler] Sash came out of the middle with it and took it the other direction. We were struggling a little bit. They came in with a great game plan and had us on our heels, and we were fortunate to win the football game. I can remember going there a couple of years ago in ’06, and just getting beaten in all areas there. We got our work cut out. Things are so even in this league, you better be ready every Saturday. That’s how we’re looking at this thing.”
On what Indiana does against Iowa that has given them some success over the years:
“I don’t know that I can explain it. I mentioned the ’06 game. I left out ’07 — that was a thorough beating they gave us right here at Kinnick. They’ve got good players. They have an excellent staff. Their quarterback made some plays in ’07, in ’06 they did a lot of good things, and certainly last year their quarterback played well. It’s the Big Ten. There are a lot of good games in the Big Ten. A lot of good match-ups, a lot of interesting match-ups. If you’re not ready to go, it could be interesting.”
On if there’s anything that could be done to preserve Adam Robinson in any way:
“Yeah, that’s just our situation right now. We talked about this earlier in the season. You go back to 2002-2003, Fred Russell was our primary ballcarrier, and Albert Young in ’05. It’s not unheard of. It’s not that old-school to think that one running back is going to be the guy doing most of the work. It is just a little bit of a turnaround because everybody was concerned with what we were going to do with three backs during the out-of-season, so I think now everybody is like, ‘Well, what are you going to do with one?’ I guess the perfect number’s two, then nobody will ask questions. But we’re going to keep playing. We got four more games scheduled and we’re going to keep playing with the guys that we have.”
On how Robinson is doing from an endurance standpoint:
“He’s doing OK. He gets nicked up every week, and that’s part of the territory. But he’s not the only guy. We’ve got a lot of guys that we’re watching during the week and trying to be careful with and just hope they can make it to the game Saturday.”
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