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The wide receiver group for the Iowa Hawkeyes made former offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz look more than a little silly on Saturday.
The Hawkeyes rolled to a 40-0 victory over visiting Illinois State in new offensive coordinator Tim Lester’s debut. It marked the first time Iowa topped the 40-point plateau since 2021.
But even more notably, Iowa wide receivers combined for three touchdown catches in the blowout victory. Why is that notable? Because Hawkeyes wideouts combined for three touchdowns over the course of the ENTIRE 2023 season.
Stat of the year. pic.twitter.com/g9m5t7JFzC
— Sickos Committee (@SickosCommittee) August 31, 2024
In fact, Iowa had just two touchdowns from wide receivers in the entire 2022 season.
The Hawkeyes, namely head coach Kirk Ferentz, reluctantly fired Brian Ferentz (his son) following the 2023 season.
“OK, for 25 years, I’ve tried to operate with a singular focus of doing what I feel is best for the program, and that’s mainly the players and everyone that works inside this building. That’s my first obligation,” Kirk said of the move. “My philosophy, my practice, has been pretty consistent. Typically, we go through the season and then run an evaluation of our program, top to bottom afterward. Yesterday’s announcement was certainly a departure from that practice.”
After the firing, Iowa turned to Lester, who spent six years in the same role at Western Michigan, to coordinate his offense. But the early returns weren’t encouraging.
The Hawkeyes’ offense looked horrific in a preseason scrimmage and QB Cade McNamara struggled mightily.
Now it appears that the unit has figured things out just in the nick of time.
It may well be that Iowa’s offensive explosion is simply a product of Illinois State. The Redbirds are hardly the most vaunted opponent. But the Hawkeyes hadn’t scored 40 on anybody in over two years.
So it’s hard to view this as anything but a massive step in the right direction.