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The original was posted on /r/cfb by /u/plow0 on 2023-10-02 02:08:51.
It’s developed from an ironic enjoyment after the 7-3 SDSU game last year to something I genuinely look forward to each Saturday.
There’s nothing like it in the sport: the drama underlying the perfect Yin-Yang contrast between Iowa offense and Iowa defense/special teams. It’s something unique not only to College football, not only to the Big Ten West, but uniquely Iowa.
Watching the Iowa offense knowing the best case scenario is getting one or two first downs to give your defense time to rest before inevitably punting has a certain sense of dramatic irony usually native to the detective shows that come on around 4pm, but then you get to witness the Iowa punter flip the field somehow and pin whatever unsuspecting opponent was unlucky enough to draw one of the most fearsome defenses in the nation that week.
And the defense! Never have I been more excited to watch a 3-and out series of two teams that I’m entirely neutral on. They play nearly perfectly, with style, discipline, and flawless fundamentals symbolic of a Kirk Ferentz defensive squadron. They can wreck a game at any moment, all it takes is one miscue by the offense and then you’re down 7-0, which feels insurmountable with how brutal and unforgiving Iowa is to visiting offenses. To watch a game be entirely decided by a defensive and special teams unit for one team is unforgettable and bizarre all the same.
There are times I wonder with any other defense of the same could be done. Iowa has two opponents on the field at any given moment, but somehow scrape and fight and claw their way into B1G Championship games year after year. Could Michigan’s defensive squad do it? They’re incredible in their own right and certainly a top 3 defense in the nation, but they have the benefit of a grueling run game that gives the other side ample time to rest. Iowa is not afforded this luxury.
I just wanted to write an appreciation post for Iowa football, because they’re probably the only team besides Ohio State and BG that I watch weekly for the most part, and they’ve brought me a lot of joy the past two years.
Fire Brian Ferentz!