Hawkeyes Football: Week One History Under Kirk Ferentz

The Iowa Hawkeyes are starting the 2016 season with a home game against Miami (OH)

Coming off a 12-win season the Iowa Hawkeyes will start their 2016 campaign at home. They take on the Miami (OH) Redhawks, who went just 3-9 last season. Despite many regarding this week as the most exciting opening week of college football history, as numerous top-25 teams are facing off, the Hawkeyes are 32-point favorites entering Saturday’s game.

Iowa, just like many schools from power-five conferences, stuck to the long-time history of opening the season against a couple of smaller schools who should be cake walks. The Hawkeyes didn’t schedule another FCS school like the past couple of seasons, when they took on Illinois State and Northern Iowa, but the Redhawks aren’t a huge step up.

Even with the level of competition not being on the same level as the Big Ten, it’s a good way to start the season. It gives backups a chance to play, teams get to work out some early season kinks in a game that they should be able to win if they played most of their second stringers. Plus, a loss is rare in opening week games so most teams start off 1-0 – getting off to a fast start and scheduling tougher opponents towards the end of the season.

With that being said, the last time the Hawkeyes lost in week one was to a school from the MAC, Northern Illinois. The Huskies were led by quarterback Jordan Lynch that season and defeated Iowa 30-27, handing Iowa a tough loss to start the season.

That was also the first time Iowa lost in week one since 2000 when they got trounced by #8 Kansas State, 27-7. It was at the beginning of the Kirk Ferentz era and Iowa finished just 3-9 that season.

Since Kirk Ferentz has taken over, Iowa has gone an impressive 14-3 in their first game of the season. The silver lining of those three loses were that two came against top-10 teams (#5 Nebraska 1999, #8 Kansas State 2000) and their loss against Northern Illinois was against a Heisman finalist quarterback in Jordan Lynch.

Since Ferentz took over, the Hawkeyes have also gone 5-0 in opening week games when they were ranked. The Hawkeyes are ranked #17 in the AP Poll to start the season. Iowa hasn’t been ranked this high to start a season since 2010 when they were ranked #9 and defeated Eastern Illinois 37-7.

Even with the Hawkeyes succesful history against Miami (OH), that includes winning all three meetings, being a 32-point favorite is hard to cover. They’re expected to have one of the most lopsided games in the nation but, as we have all learned during the Kirk Ferentz era, Iowa doesn’t run up the score often and isn’t known for putting up huge numbers.

The last time Iowa has won by at least 30 points in week one was in 2010, and they have only done it seven times since Ferentz took over as head coach. Iowa is more than capable of beating Miami (OH) by 30 points, though. They put a beating on North Texas last year and defeated Northwestern by 30 points in Big Ten play.

Although, there is no certainty that the starters will play the whole game. If Iowa gets off to a fast start there’s no reason to keep key players in the game late in the second half. After learning that C.J. Beathard wasn’t 100 percent for most of the 2015 season, Ferentz will definitely keep a closer eye on the quarterback’s health and not risking an injury late in a blowout.

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Plus, Iowa would resort to running the ball later in games and become less aggressive on defense when a game is in hand.

Kirk Ferentz told CBSSports earlier this week that true freshman tight end Noah Fant will likely see playing time in week one. That’s huge implications that Ferentz doesn’t plan on risking his starters late in the game if Iowa does start to blowout the Redhawks.

No one is expecting this game to be close, just like many opening week games under Kirk Ferentz. The Hawkeyes are one of the biggest favorites in the nation this week and will start the season at home against one of the worst teams in the MAC a season ago. Throughout his Iowa coaching career, Ferentz has proven to be a very good coach during week one – keeping everyone healthy, working on little things during the games and not losing against mediocre competition.

Next: Three Players to Watch in Week One

He’ll have to do the same this week during a game that should be a blowout from the get-go.

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