"Punting is winning" is not just a cute t-shirt, but a way of life in Iowa City.
The phrase has been synonymous with the Iowa football program for many years, stemming from Kirk Ferentz's heavy reliance on a strong punting game. Whether it's due to his more conservative play calling or the fact that Iowa's traditionally had a stellar punting game, punting is very important to the program.
Instead of risking it all on uncertainty, Ferentz has been prone to playing the field-position game, and it has worked well in the past. After losing long-time special teams coordinator LeVar Woods and starting punter Rhys Dakin to Michigan State, the special teams unit is going to look a lot different this season.
Now there is a new NCAA rule that complicates things even more.
The new "punt rule" has Kirk Ferentz, Big Ten up in arms
Chris Polizzi was promoted to special teams coordinator this offseason, and his job just got a little harder after the announcement of a new NCAA rule.
The four big changes the rule brings to the punting game are that formations must be two-by-two on either side of the snapper, with the guards and tackles in. Players are locked into that formation, with no shifting permitted.
The change to the formation, coupled with a program needing to inform the referees prior to the game about players switching jersey numbers for special teams, has Ferentz heated.
The issue that the Big Ten coaches are most animated about at Big Ten meetings? The new/complicated punting rule (below), as the Big Ten coaches are 18-0 against it. Iowa’s Kirk Ferentz, a longtime punt advocate, was among the many animated coaches. “There’s no compelling reason… https://t.co/5vw2Ft3RqD
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) May 19, 2026
According to ESPN senior college football writer Pete Thamel, the Big Ten unanimously voted 18-0 against the new rule, with Ferentz among the most "animated."
Not only was it humorous that Thamel called Ferentz a "longtime punt advocate," but also that this is what drove the Big Ten coaches up a wall during the spring meetings.
The coaches were perfectly fine lobbying for a 24-team College Football Playoff, but they drew a line at messing with the punting rules. It makes sense from Ferentz, but to have a rule that the Big Ten unanimously hates is very interesting.
The NCAA has an extremely annoying habit of making changes that no one wants, and it is getting to the point where it seems like they are making changes to make changes.
Messing with kicking and punting is an easy way to distract from the 24-team CFP or the multiple things the league has screwed up recently, so it is not surprising that the unnecessary change was made. It is still unclear why the rule change was made, but to say that Big Ten coaches are unhappy might be an understatement.
It's too bad the Big Ten coaches can't unanimously agree on more things, because we all know how much pull the conference has alongside the SEC. For now, all we can do is pray the change doesn't negatively impact Iowa's special teams with a brand-new coordinator in place, because all Iowa fans love a good field-position battle.
No one, including the coaches and fans, know why this rule change was implemented, and good luck to Chris Polizzi next season as he navigates the change in his first season in charge of the Iowa special teams unit.
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