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Iowa football: Three takeaways from last-second win over Nebraska

By Andrew Wade

IOWA CITY, IOWA- NOVEMBER 23: Offensive linemen Keegan Render #69 and Ross Reynolds #59 of the Iowa Hawkeyes carry the Heroes Trophy off the field after their match-up against the Nebraska Cornhuskers on November 23, 2018 at Kinnick Stadium, in Iowa City, Iowa. (Photo by Matthew Holst/Getty Images)
IOWA CITY, IOWA- NOVEMBER 23: Offensive linemen Keegan Render #69 and Ross Reynolds #59 of the Iowa Hawkeyes carry the Heroes Trophy off the field after their match-up against the Nebraska Cornhuskers on November 23, 2018 at Kinnick Stadium, in Iowa City, Iowa. (Photo by Matthew Holst/Getty Images) /
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CHAMPAIGN, IL – NOVEMBER 17: Head coach Kirk Ferentz of the Iowa Hawkeyes looks up at the scoreboard during the game against the Illinois Fighting Illini at Memorial Stadium on November 17, 2018 in Champaign, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
CHAMPAIGN, IL – NOVEMBER 17: Head coach Kirk Ferentz of the Iowa Hawkeyes looks up at the scoreboard during the game against the Illinois Fighting Illini at Memorial Stadium on November 17, 2018 in Champaign, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) /

Casino Kirk is not changing his ways

Kirk Ferentz has been quite the riverboat gambler this season. So much so that we wrote an article on the evolution of #NewKirk, which was trending on Twitter multiple times earlier in the season.

Historically, Kirk Ferentz has coached the game in a very NFL-esque style avoiding high-risk, high-reward situations in favor of field position, limited turnovers, and time of possession. It’s something that Iowa football fans have just learned to live with over the years, but this season, Iowa has changed the mantra.

I’ve seen more fake field goals this year than I can remember ever seeing in the history of the Kirk Ferentz era. On Friday, it almost cost Iowa dearly. With the Hawks up 28-13 in the middle of the third, the Iowa coaching staff gambled with a fake field goal attempt that they failed to convert. Not only did Nebraska take advantage of great field position by driving down the field for a touchdown the very next drive, but it shifted momentum in the game.

Late in the game, however, as we alluded to earlier, Kirk risked it again going for it on fourth down with the game on the line. They converted then and Miguel Recinos put a game-winning field goal through the uprights moments later.

What we learned from both of these moments is that Kirk Ferentz is not changing his ways anytime soon. He sees the value in risking it, and as Iowa football fans, we should appreciate the adaptivity of Kirk to the new style of college football. Without risk, there is no reward, and this Hawkeyes team is playing to win. That’s something I can get behind.

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