America loves an underdog … unless it’s boring old Iowa

IOWA CITY, Iowa — America loves an underdog, except when it comes to the Iowa Hawkeyes.

Whether it was Colin Cowherd’s weekly “Fake I.D.” diss track in 2015 or the overwhelming blasts today, Iowa tends to receive the brunt of criticism that evades many programs. Cinderella stories turn the NCAA Tournament into March Madness. If Iowa were a fairy tale, it would be “The Ugly Duckling.” Only most people would root for it to drown.

“I don’t know why,” Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said. “We’ve got great colors. Iowa’s easy to spell. So I don’t know. That’s a good question.”

“I feel like everyone loves to hate Iowa,” wide receiver Nico Ragaini said.

Entering the Big Ten Championship Game on Saturday, the consensus betting line has Michigan (12-0, 9-0 Big Ten) as a 23.5-point favorite with an over/under line of 34.5. The majority of betting sites don’t project Iowa (10-2, 7-2) to score a touchdown. Although gambling references are taboo around Kinnick Stadium after a state investigation sidelined several players for varying competitions, it’s notable the betting public thinks so little of Iowa. It seems to mirror the sentiment nationally as well.

“People love not to love us,” Ferentz said. “Maybe it’s me. I think I’m a decent person. I don’t know. We’ve had some success, but we just try and let our play speak for itself. And I’m extremely proud, and I think all our players are proud of what we’ve done here the last three, four, five years. If you look at the numbers, they’re not bad.”

Philosophically, Iowa is built with a tenacious defense, an aggressive special teams unit and a ground-based balanced offense. At times it worked in sync, like in 2020 when the Hawkeyes offense averaged 31.8 points per game (second in the Big Ten) and led the nation in yards per play allowed on defense. The past three years, however, the offense has failed to measure up to Iowa’s staunch defense.

This year, Iowa ranks first in net punting and third in scoring defense but last nationally in offensive yards per game (246.3), nearly 24 yards behind the nation’s next-lowest team. Only once all season has Iowa scored more than 30 points, and it has 11 offensive touchdowns in nine Big Ten contests. But the Hawkeyes defense has given up three total touchdowns in the past six games, which is why the program continues to win.

For many college football fans and observers, entertainment value trumps the outcomes. Low-scoring games marked by defense and punting lead to the sport’s greatest sin of all, which is to be labeled as boring.

“I think there’s also a stylistic part, and maybe we’re not pretty enough or whatever it may be,” Ferentz said. “The objective is to win games. Try to find a way to win; that’s what you try to do. Our guys have done a pretty good job of that. We’re proud of what we’ve done and proud to have earned our way into this thing. And now we have a hell of a challenge on our hands.”

“I just think our style of football isn’t as appealing to the eye as fans want it to be, so that’s why they don’t like us,” Ragaini said. “Who really cares?”

The Hawkeyes are among the nation’s more successful programs and have enough of a following to generate public discussion. Often the discourse centers on a lack of talent (Cowherd in 2015) or the offensive style of play (everybody else currently). But their success belies the narratives that often hover over the program.

The 2015 team that Cowherd perpetually skewered as untalented still has 11 players on NFL rosters, including starters George Kittle, Josey Jewell and James Daniels. In the past nine seasons, Iowa sits tied for eighth in wins among Power 5 programs and tied with Penn State for third in the Big Ten. In that span, Iowa is the only West Division team to have beaten every East Division team. Today, No. 16 Iowa makes its 30th appearance in the College Football Playoff rankings, 15th among all programs.

“We’re at Iowa, so we understand the type of love we get from the media,” linebacker Jay Higgins said. “I don’t think that’s a surprise. We were expected to lose last week (at Nebraska) as well. So if we listen to what people say about the games before they actually happen, then there’d be no point of going out there and competing.”

“Everyone on our team, I’m sure, was watching the Ohio State-Michigan game last weekend, and for (Fox broadcaster) Joel Klatt to say that we’re ‘The Little Engine That Could,’ I think that’s great,” tackle Mason Richman said. “I love that. We’re definitely going to be using that one as a little chip on our shoulder. But we’ve been talking about a train all year and how we’ve just been chugging along and on our way to Indy.”

Ferentz has led Iowa to 12 top-10 wins during his career, including three against Michigan. Against top-five competition, Iowa is 4-7 under Ferentz. The Hawkeyes have won at least eight games in each of their past nine seasons, except for the shortened COVID-19 campaign (6-2). Yet, rarely is Iowa predicted to win its division, let alone the conference title, despite its consistency.

“We’ve had doubters all year,” punter Tory Taylor said. “It’s funny to kind of see all this preseason stuff. It’s like Wisconsin is going to win the Big Ten West. And if it’s not them, Nebraska is finally going to take the leap. Even though last year we didn’t win it, but the year before that we won it.

“We just love to prove people wrong. We’ve been doing that for years now.”

(Top photo of Kirk Ferentz: Steven Branscombe / Getty Images)