By Jordan Garretson
jordan-garretson@uiowa.edu
Kirk Ferentz said after Iowa’s loss to Minnesota on Oct. 29 that the Golden Gophers’ onside kick was “a great call on their part.” The execution was “outstanding.”
During his Tuesday press conference, Ferentz changed his stance. The 13th-year Hawkeye head coach put most of the blame on his shoulders.
“The onside kick, I’ll take that one,” he said. “Just as soon as [the kicker] started making his approach, I almost called timeout. I’m standing next to an official. I should have in retrospect, but I didn’t. So that’s the way it goes.”
Minnesota recovered its onside kick with 8:22 remaining in the game. Quarterback MarQueis Gray ran for a touchdown 12 plays later, putting the Gophers up 22-21 — the game’s eventual final score.
The closest Iowa player to the kick was Jason White, who said Tuesday he’d “never seen a better executed onside kick.” White said coaches told the return unit to be aware of a possible onside attempt, but Iowa wasn’t in an ideal lineup to recover such a play.
“It was in the back of my mind at the time,” White said. “When they lined up it was kind of different, so as they were approaching we kind of knew something was up … At that point, we were not prepared.”
Iowa’s failure to recover the ball wasn’t its only special teams gaffe against Minnesota. Mike Meyer missed two field goals in the first half, one from 24 yards away and one from 43.
The sophomore is now 12-of-16 this season, tied for the second-most made field goals in the Big Ten.
“Mike Meyer is a good kicker,” Ferentz said. “We all have games like that. The best miss them. Things like that happen. He’s not the best yet, but he’s got a chance to be a really good player here.”
Though Iowa “didn’t get what we needed out of special teams” against Minnesota, Ferentz said, he has been pleased with the season’s progress after special teams nagged the squad for most of 2010.
“I think we’re gaining ground, quite frankly,” Ferentz said. “That’s one of the things I’m optimistic about.”
Ferentz, players weigh in on Hawkeye fan sentiment
Iowa’s second loss in as many years to Minnesota has drawn plenty of criticism from fans. Ferentz responded to the topic by saying he’s more focused on his players’ frustration.
“I don’t mean to sound callous. My No. 1 responsibility is how our players are feeling and how they’re reacting to things and responding to things,” he said. “… That being said, we don’t ever want to disappoint our fans. We appreciate our fans. Nobody’s got better fans than us, home or away.
“The people that are pulling for us, I’m sure they’re all dying a thousand deaths, just like we do. It’s tough to lose.”
Defensive tackle Steve Bigach said such reaction comes with a loss.
“We probably should have beat that team,” Bigach. “We didn’t play well and they played well enough to beat us. We got what we deserved. But we’re on to this week and all that’s behind us. We have Michigan coming in — we have a chance to redeem ourselves.”
Keenan Davis’ availability unclear
Wide receiver Keenan Davis did not play at Minnesota after leaving Iowa’s game against Indiana on Oct. 22 with a sprained ankle. The junior said he’s feeling “better and better,” and he returned to practice in a fuller capacity on Tuesday.
Davis ranks second among Iowa receivers with 30 catches for 463 yards and four touchdowns this season.
“I don’t know if he’ll be good enough to play Big Ten football Saturday,” Ferentz said. “We’ll see how the week goes.”
