Next stop-Iowa!

IOWA
HEAD COACH-KIRK FERENTZ

The 2009 roster shows Shaun Prater from Omaha Central and Jeff Tarpinian from Millard North.

Kirk Ferentz is in his 12th year as head football coach at the University of Iowa. His tenure as Iowa's head football coach trails only Hayden Fry, who led the Hawkeyes for 20 seasons (1979-98). Ferentz ranks second in longevity among Big Ten Conference football coaches.

Ferentz, a two-time Big Ten Coach of the Year (2002 & 2004), led the Hawkeyes to a third place Big Ten finish in 2005. An overtime loss to Michigan and a last-minute, one point loss at Northwestern is all that kept the Hawkeyes from sharing a third Big Ten title in four years. Following the 2005 season Iowa was one of four teams (Southern Cal, Georgia, Florida State) in the nation to play in four consecutive January bowl games. The overtime loss to Michigan ended Iowa's 22-game home winning streak, the fourth longest in the nation at the time.

Ferentz is 81-55 the past eleven years. He is 49-39 in the Big 10. His career record is 93-76.

Ferentz coaches one of the Big 10 old school teams, similar to Wisconsin. They run the ball and emphasize a very strong defense. Last year they were 2nd in the conference in points allowed and 1st in pass defense in the league.

Ferentz joined the Iowa staff after serving as assistant head coach and offensive line coach of the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League. He had been a part of the Baltimore (Cleveland Browns prior to the move) organization for six years. He has been mentioned many times the past few years as a possible NFL coach.

Iowa will probably become a big game for NU. It is apparent that they will be in the same side of the conference when they split it into two divisions. We will likely become an annual game and they will be a formidable opponent.

Iowa beat Georgia Tech in this year's Orange Bowl 24-14.