Kirk Ferentz Post Game Interview - 2004 Iowa State Football - Summary of Iowa football and basketball games

REPUBLISHED NEWS and ARTICLES

This article has been republished for historical purposes. Exact publishing date may vary. If you'd like us to repost a related article that is no longer online (or pre-internet), please contact us!

Kirk Ferentz Post Game Interview - 2004 Iowa State Football

9/12/2004 by Jon Miller of Hawkeye Nation

Iowa Head Coach Kirk Ferentz’s Opening Post Game Comments

“First and foremost, a couple of points. First, we are excited to get the win. That being said, I told our team on Tuesday this would be a 60-minute ballgame. We really felt that would be the case, and that is exactly how it panned out. A big compliment to Iowa State in their efforts. They played a great game, were well prepared and we anticipated that. They played very hard. I think that is what you saw; two teams playing tough and getting after it a little bit out there. It is a great series, a great rivalry, and we are happy and fortunate to be on the winning end of it today.”

What about the defense, that was the story wasn’t it?

“It really was. It’s pretty clear as you can see right now. We are playing pretty well, yet have some things to clean up. We had a couple of penalties that hurt us; both personal fouls, and that will catch up to us eventually. They ran that risk today, certainly. All in all, our guys did a great job and buckled down. We are going to need to continue to improve in that area.”

Can you comment on Ed Hinkel’s catch?

“Extremely big play. Drew threw a real nice ball on that. I mean Ed came up big for us, not only on offense, but also on the special teams. His contributions kind of points out our lack of experience. That is one of our most experienced guys, though he had some injuries last year. He is comfortable operating out there. It was just a beautiful play.”

Were you aware of the change in quarterbacks (for Iowa State) throughout the game?

(chuckling) “It kind of dawned on us, yeah. With all do respect to the guy that came in, it is tough to come in cold off the bench. We have been in that position, too. It is just hard for a guy to come in cold off the sideline.”

After two games, are you able to get a good read on your offensive line?

“I am not sure we made progress today, and that is certainly disappointing. We came out of the gate the first series and looked like we were a crisp offense. We had some pretty good energy and that seemed to wane. Then in the third quarter, it was a little reminiscent of a few years ago. If there is one positive, we buckled down in the fourth quarter and did what we had to do to get the win. We obviously have a lot of work to do there right now. We are young and I think it is showing.”

Will you evaluate Drew Tate for us after this performance?

“Yeah, after one and a half games we can evaluate him a little bit. First of all, it was great to see him finish a game. Gary Dolphin just said he looked like he rode in on a horse up from Texas to get here. That was kind of what he looked like at the end. But Drew is an emotional guy, and expends a lot when he plays. He is a tough competitor and a guy who throws good balls. We are going to have to continue to work with him on recognition and those types of things. But for playing as little as he has, I really think he has done a good job. He gives us a chance out there.”

Was he (Tate) cramping up a little bit?

“He cramped up at the end of the game. He got beat up a little bit and it was another hot day. It’s kind of ironic that we might have had one hot day during fall practice. It was real hot and we had heat and humidity. The only other hot days we have had since then have been the last two Saturdays. We don’t count Friday since we do not do anything on Friday.”

Give us an update on Albert Young.

“It is a concern right now. He sprained his knee, but we really won’t know for sure until they examine it Monday. But it’s definitely a concern.”

The offense is kind of taking a hit by these injuries.

“Yeah, we’ve lost, in the course of two weeks, Albert (Young) today and Marcus (Schnoor) last week. Matt Melloy went down during the week. And Todd Plagman came out in the fourth quarter, end of the third. So it is concerning when you factor we came in a couple of guys short. It is a concern right now and that has entered my mind. It really has made me think about some things.”

What is the status of Plagman’s injury?

“Todd’s was an ankle and I think right now we have good news. That is one of the positives that came out. We have taken our hits. Another positive is Matt Melloy’s is a not a surgery type thing it is a sprain. We are looking at weeks there and not days. That’s tough.”

Is there a dramatic difference between the Iowa State of last year and the Iowa State of this year?

“I think yes and no. We saw Iowa State on tape at the end of the season. Once this game is over, we just kind of follow scores and that is it. I think that last year, what was unusual about that ball game was two blocked punts. That really changes the complexion of the game. But if you take those kinds of plays away, it has been one of those things that whoever has the best team really doesn’t matter. It is a sixty-minute ball game.

I think last year was kind of an aberration on that one. We expected this one to be tough and down to the wire. Somebody mentioned the point spread on Tuesday and I think that was laughable. Point spreads and rankings at this time of year, outside of 8-10 teams in the country, are really meaningless and groundless. You are kind of throwing darts in the dirt. We will know a lot more in the next few weeks about who is what and what’s what. It is very apparent right now we have a lot of work to do.”

Did you think their defensive line would handle your offensive line like that?

“Well, no I didn’t. They had some young guys, too. I know (Brandon) Johnson did not play, if he did he was not in their very long. And unfortunately, (Brent) Curvey was injured. I hope he is OK, I do not know what his status is. They really have some young players in there, too. We have work to do and it is very apparent.”

Was getting Jermelle Lewis back a good thing?

“Yeah, that was good. We just did not give him a lot of help today. We did not give him enough running room to get going. Jermelle is a guy who does have energy and he is a veteran player. He has had the problems with the knee injury a year ago, but at least he has been out there in game conditions. We are really are going to have to lean hard on those guys with game experience. We need everybody else to catch up with those guys.”

Are offensive lines giving Matt Roth extra attention?

“Matt is going to get his share and he knows that. That is the price you pay for being an explosive player, and he is that. We saw all kind kinds of blocking schemes today. Not that any of it was unexpected. You are not going to match one guy up for him play in play out for a whole game. I don’t think anyone could do that. That being said, he has to get his share of match ups and hopefully he can win. He is always working out there and digging out there. It looked like he was getting his share of attention.”

What did you think of your special teams?

“We need improvement there, obviously. Our kickoff coverage was fine if we kick it out of the endzone. If we don’t, it is pretty bad right now. Our punt team is bad right now, even though we have some injuries. It looked they tipped that last punt when we had a chance to put it down there deep and put the game away. We could not do that. We are going to have to up it there also. We had a problem on a field goal today, too. It was kicked a little low and we had leakage on our right side. So we have work to do.”

With the offensive line, is it one person breaking down?

“Right now we just do not have the cohesiveness and tempo as a group. There are no easy ways to attain that. I have spent a lot of years in that area and there are no easy paths. We have been there before; we will probably be there again. Things got a little tougher during the off-season. Nothing is going to change. We need to worry about getting a little better. Improvement will not be dramatic or radical in the next two weeks. We have to keep plugging. We are a lot like we were a year ago, offensively. By no means were we an offensive juggernaut. The key this is by October we want our best. That is what we have to push for right now.”

Of Drew Tate’s 22 pass attempts, I counted at least eight that were 20+ yards to make a completion. Was there a tendency in Iowa State’s safeties in coverage or just Drew making the reads?

“Not necessarily. It was not so much about them as it was about us. We did not throw much of that stuff last week. If we want to move the ball, we have to do that successfully

How effective was Norm Granger’s speech?

“He was terrible. He was terrible! Anybody from Waterloo, are you kidding me? Norm was great. He was like 35 years old when he played. He was a sophomore when I got here. I forgot that he was a two-time captain and co-MVP. When I got here in 1981, he was like a 35-year-old guy out there. He was outstanding and so solid. I told him he should get into coaching because he does a lot better job talking to our team than I do. That is the way he played, that is the way he lives. His address was perfect.

Hawkeye Nation was founded by Jon Miller, and later acquired by Rivals and Sports Illustrated. You can visit them at HawkeyeNation.com

View all republished articles from Hawkeye Nation >>>

View all republished articles >>>

HAWKEYE RECAP ARTICLES

Bob Stoops New Book A Great Read For Iowa Fans
Former Iowa player and assistant coach Bob Stoops recently published a new autobiography called "No Excuses: The Making of a Head Coach" The book explains his rise from undersized football player t...9/13/2019
When Iowa Graced the Cover of Sports Illustrated in the 50's and 60's
I was in an antique store today, and they had old editions of Sports Illustrated. I browsed through the old magazines from the 50's and 60's, and wondered if Iowa was ever on the cover. I did a qu...1/4/2020
True or False? Iowa Football Struggles in Games on the West Coast
As a lifelong Iowa fan, I always felt that the football team struggled winning games on the West Coast. I would bet most fans would agree with that statement. After setting up this website, it is n...8/26/2020