Iowa HC Kirk Ferentz takes a not-so-subtle shot at USC's Lincoln Riley during rant about Hawkeyes' offensive struggles
Kirk Ferentz minced no words while talking about the USC Trojans and their head coach Lincoln Riley. The Iowa Hawkeyes head coach was answering some questions about his team's offensive stats. He took the opportunity to take a not-so-subtle dig at the newest entrant into the Big Ten conference.
Riley has been widely regarded as a big name when it comes to offense with Caleb Williams at his disposal. But he couldn't get his team any silverware in his last season in the Pac-12. The Trojans will be a part of the Big Ten next season, one of many teams changing the conferences in 2024.
Here is what Kirk Ferentz said about the USC Trojans HC Lincoln Riley while discussing the offensive struggles of his own Iowa Hawkeyes.
“What is important is wins per game. And if you want to evaluate, check the wins per game column. I think of a guy that entered the conference recently. He came with widely acclaimed offensive stats and all that…. You look a little deeper that what's this guy's wins per game? And there's usually a correlation.
"People who just throw the ball around, you know, it makes it tougher to win and makes it tougher to be good on defense. So, there is a team concept that is really important to me,” Ferentz said, almost in a rant.
Riley has been a head coach in 91 games so far in his career and won 73 of those. That puts his wins per game at 0.802. Ferentz, on the other hand, has been a head coach for a long time now. He has helmed 347 games in his career, winning 208 of them.
That puts his wins-per-game ratio at 0.599. Ferentz has been at Iowa for 25 seasons now and has a 196-118 overall record with the Hawkeyes. So, the 68-year-old has 0.624 wins per game at his current school.
Contrasting 2023 season for Kirk Ferentz and Lincoln Riley
Lincoln Riley didn't have the season he expected in 2023. The Trojans won seven games this season and lost five, putting them sixth in the Pac-12. This came a year after they reached the conference championship game with an 11-1 overall record, only to lose the title to the Utah Utes.
The Hawkeyes under Kirk Ferentz finished the regular season with a 10-2 record, winning the Big Ten West. But they fell to the Michigan Wolverines in a 0-26 blowout in the conference championship game.
Last season, they had won the Music City Bowl after finishing the season at the record Riley saw this time around. So, the fortunes reversed for both the coaches in these two years.
Who is going to finish on top when the teams meet each other next season in the same conference?