Bohnenkamp – Must-Win Feel for Hawkeyes This Week

Kirk Ferentz offered his analysis of Iowa’s problems two games into the season during the opening moments of Tuesday’s press conference.

And then he summed it up by saying, “As it stands right now, we are an 0-2 football team. Nothing about that feels good.”

No, it doesn’t.

The Hawkeyes are 0-2, falling quickly behind in this abbreviated season, a time crunch that tends to accelerate the pessimism.

Leave it to kicker Caleb Shudak, though, to offer a mathematics lesson to give Ferentz some optimism.

Shudak pointed out that the Hawkeyes had seven games remaining, so there was 78 percent of the season left.

“He’s good at math,” Ferentz quipped.

Ferentz brought up two history lessons, one more recent than the other, heading into Saturday’s 11 a.m. game against Michigan State at Kinnick Stadium.

Ferentz pointed out the changes in the Spartans from Week 1 (a 38-27 loss to Rutgers) to Week 2 (a 27-24 win over Michigan).

“All you’ve got to do is look at our opponent,” Ferentz said. “They did a great job of that week one to week two over the last two weeks.”

He also drifted back to the 2008 season for the Hawkeyes, when that team started 3-0, lost its next three games, then closed the season by winning six of its last seven games.

“We were 0-3 in the league,” Ferentz said. “We had three one-possession losses, straight. It’s hard. It tests you in a lot of ways and opinions on the outside, all that stuff. It’s all about what we do internally.

“If our focus stays where it needs to be, and it never changes. It’s all about trying to get better this week and see what we can do this week and play our best this week. That team bought into that philosophy and they just kept pushing and we came out of it. Got a big victory (a 45-9 win over Indiana) and then another big victory (a 38-16 win over Wisconsin). Had a disappointing loss (27-24 against Illinois) but they bounced back from that and pushed right on through.”

Pushing through is all the Hawkeyes can do at this point.

Ferentz, at least, likes the mood of his team.

“They were good on Sunday looking at the film (of Saturday’s 21-20 loss to Northwestern),” Ferentz said. “A lot of good things on that film. There are a lot of things that were painful. You know, it’s like every game. But when you don’t win, it’s a little harder. That makes it a harder day. But they were great on the field yesterday morning. Thought we had a good workout. Got a lot done, a lot accomplished. Good meetings last night.

“I have no reason to think that they are not just going to keep pushing forward. I have no reason to believe that. I think we have good players. I think we have good people as I’ve said. Haven’t seen anything to the contrary, and obviously coaches have little things they look at all the time and watch. I’m seeing a lot more good than negatives, that’s for sure.”

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Still, this week’s game against the Spartans has a must-win feel to it. Lose again, and 0-3 really looks ugly.

And that percentage of the season dwindles a few points.

“It can slide in any year,” Ferentz said when asked if the season could get away from the Hawkeyes. “So this year is unusual, but we’re dealing with it on a week-to-week basis, day-to-day basis.”

History and mathematics make for a good education that things can change quickly in a season.

For the Hawkeyes, that change has to come soon.

“There’s a lot of football left,” Ferentz said, “and all of us know that we need to play better.”