Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz will miss the Hawkeyes’ season opener against Illinois State on Saturday, August 31. The longest-tenured head coach in college football has been suspended for one game due to a recruiting rule violation, according to Scott Dochterman of The Athletic.
The alleged violation occurred during the recruitment of former Michigan starting quarterback Cade McNamara, who entered the transfer portal in 2022. Iowa wide receiver coach Jon Budymar also faces a one-game suspension.
Ferentz hasn’t missed a single game as coach since taking over as Hawkeye coach in 1999. Under his leadership, Iowa has a 196-119 record, including three Big Ten West titles and two conference championships.
McNamara entered the transfer portal after the 2022 season at Michigan. He earned a starting spot at Iowa last season, but was injured after just five games. In his short time on the field, he threw for 505 yards with four touchdowns and three interceptions.
Iowa is coming off a 10-4 season in 2023, its second 10-win season in three years.
The suspension is certainly a big blow for the Hawkeyes, but fortunately it only applies to Week 1. Ferentz will be back on the sidelines the following weekend for Iowa’s rivalry game against Iowa State.
McElroy chooses Ohio State
With kickoff just around the corner, top college football analysts are making their final predictions for the conference champion. ESPN’s Greg McElroy predicts Ohio State will win the Big Ten – which would be the program’s first conference title since 2020.
That’s not a particularly bold prediction, as the Buckeyes are preseason favorites to win the division title, but right now, it’s hard to bet against Ohio State.
“I’m betting the Ohio State Buckeyes beat the Oregon Ducks in the Big Ten title game and book their place in the playoffs,” McElroy said. “That means Oregon and Penn State still have a good chance of being wild-card contenders, but they’ll await their fate on Selection Day the Sunday after the conference title games.”
Ryan Day enters his sixth season in Columbus with a lot of pressure on him. After losing to Michigan each of the last three seasons, expectations are high that Ohio State will finally get on the right side of the rivalry and climb back to the top of the Big Ten.
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