Iowa football: A look at preseason predictions that aged quite poorly

LINCOLN, NE - NOVEMBER 29: Place kicker Keith Duncan #3 of the Iowa Hawkeyes celebrates kicking the winning field goal against the Nebraska Cornhuskers at Memorial Stadium on November 29, 2019 in Lincoln, Nebraska. (Photo by Steven Branscombe/Getty Images)
LINCOLN, NE - NOVEMBER 29: Place kicker Keith Duncan #3 of the Iowa Hawkeyes celebrates kicking the winning field goal against the Nebraska Cornhuskers at Memorial Stadium on November 29, 2019 in Lincoln, Nebraska. (Photo by Steven Branscombe/Getty Images)
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MADISON, WISCONSIN – NOVEMBER 09: Head coach Kirk Ferentz of the Iowa Hawkeyes looks on in the second half against the Wisconsin Badgers at Camp Randall Stadium on November 09, 2019 in Madison, Wisconsin. (Photo by Quinn Harris/Getty Images)
MADISON, WISCONSIN – NOVEMBER 09: Head coach Kirk Ferentz of the Iowa Hawkeyes looks on in the second half against the Wisconsin Badgers at Camp Randall Stadium on November 09, 2019 in Madison, Wisconsin. (Photo by Quinn Harris/Getty Images)

Iowa football needs to move on from Ferentz

Virtually every year, a section of the fanbase questions whether Kirk Ferentz should still be coaching Iowa Football.

Arguments against Kirk range from not winning the bigger games to a consistent stream of mediocrity. After all, the 7-win season and a trip to the Outback Bowl is basically the default for Iowa football.

That is not really true, though. Over the last 7 years, Iowa football is averaging around nine wins per season.

Yes, the Hawkeyes have only won the division once in those seven years. However, Iowa football was only a win over Wisconsin away from winning the division in 2016 and 2019.

Even beyond the close calls, how many teams would gladly take consistently winning nine games in a season?

If you look to our friends just west of Iowa City, you may recognize that their team has never won more than nine games.

If you look just west of them, you may hear fans longing for the days of Bo Pelini, where they also consistently won nine games in a season.

This season, the Hawkeyes have the chance to win 10, which is something Iowa football has only done eight times in their history. For reference, five of those eight 10+ win seasons were under Kirk Ferentz.

Iowa football definitely has room for improvement still, but the calls for Kirk to leave have not aged well.