An Analysis Of All QB Battles/Controversies In The Ferentz Era

[Passing Is For COMMIES]

Well it's summer. No spring ball or fall camp to talk about. Some would say that I should go outside and touch grass, but why would I do that when I can comb through old Iowa box scores on sports-reference.com?

With the Brown/Hecklinski battle ending up closer than anticipated, I thought it would be interesting go through every QB battle and controversy of old and see how they turned out. I'll be assigning a win or loss to Kirk's decision on the starter, that way we can argue with each other in this thread all day tomorrow instead of doing our jobs.

My cutoff for what is considered a QB battle is anytime there was not a starter declared after spring training/before fall camp, or if the starter was benched for performance reasons at any time during the season.

While I've been alive for all these QB's, I probably wasn't old enough to truly understand the vibe of the fanbase for any QB before Drew Tate, so I'd like to ask the older guys here to give some context on how everyone felt during these 90s battles/controversies. Finding articles on what exactly happened 20-30 years ago isn't that easy either, so if you remember more details I missed let me know.

1999: Chaos

In Kirk's first year he had a tough decision to make as 3 guys had started games in 1998: Kyle McCann, Randy Reiners, and Scott Mullen. Reiners had started game 1, but had been benched for McCann. Then McCann got benched for Reiners, but Reiners got hurt, so McCann was back in. Then McCann got benched AGAIN, and Mullen got some starts. Then Mullen got hurt and McCann started the last game.

Reiners was poised to win the starting job, but received a one game suspension due to an alcohol related offense. McCann was named the starter later that month.

McCann would struggle in game 1 against Nebraska, going 11/27 for 112 yards, 1 TD, and 1 INT. He would get the nod over Reiners in week 2 still, even though Reiner's suspension had ended. He would play better against Iowa St, but not well enough to hold onto his job as he was benched for Reiners for week 3 against NIU. Reiners would play well in Kirk's first win and would seem to lock up the job, but he was hurt the next game. Instead of sending McCann back in, 3rd stringer Scott Mullen would come in to finish a blowout loss for the Hawks against MSU. Reiners would start the next game against Penn St, but would reinjure his shoulder. Scott Mullen was put in over McCann, and Mullen would go on to be the man for the rest of the season, putting up some good games even though the Hawks Finished 1-10.

1999 Stats:


Win or Loss?
For it to be a Win, the guy who was chosen as the starter for game 1 should prove to be the best. But was McCann even Kirk's choice? Or was he only playing because of Reiner's suspension? But then why would Reiners not have played week 2 against ISU? And when Reiners got hurt why did Mullen come in instead of McCann?

Mullens does have better numbers and was named the Week 1 starter in 2000, so I guess I'll give him a loss for the McCann decision. 0-1.


2000: Chaos Part 2

Once again, 3 guys started games for the Hawks this season. Mullen, McCann, and freshmen Jon Beutjer. It was a close competition between McCann and Mullen, but senior Scott Mullen was given the keys to the car at the end of fall camp. However, after an 0-4 start with middling numbers from Mullen, Kirk dropped a nuke on the depth chart and started the freshmen Beutjer against Indiana in week 5. Iowa would lose, but Beutjer had a phenomenal game going 30/47, 380 yards, with 4 TD's and 0 INTS. Next week, Beutjer would go on to lead Iowa to the first legendary upset of the Ferentz era, beating #25 MSU for the first win of the season, and breaking Iowa's 19 game skid against Big Ten competition. Unfortunately, the good times wouldn't last. Beutjer got a severe concussion against Wisconsin, which knocked him out for the season. McCann would get the nod for the rest of the season.

Stats:


Win or Loss?
Kirk named McCann week 1, but Beutjer proved to be far and away the best QB on the roster, so he gets a loss on this one. Unfortunately, that offseason, Beutjer would get into a dispute with his roommate (OL Sam Aiello) over a cable bill,. Aiello would end up knocking Beutjer out. Beutjer would end up transferring to Illinois. 0-2


2001: Stability... kinda

McCann was named the starter after fall camp, and would go on to start every single game. However, JUCO transfer Brad Banks would play in almost every game, but more as a change of pace QB instead of a true QB controversy/carousel. There was only 1 game where Banks had more passing attempts than McCann, week 8 against Wisconsin. After a poor start, Banks had the reins in the 2nd half and almost mounted a furious comeback. Still, McCann remained the foundational starter the rest of the season, while Banks would still get drives to give the team a different look.

Stats:


Win or Loss?
When I started looking into this, I was expecting to give Kirk a loss here. But when you go through the box scores, McCann really looks like the better and more consistent QB here. The INT's are a bit high, but he led the Big Ten in completion percentage and had a very good YPA. I was pretty young, maybe the older guys can give their opinion, but I'm giving Kirk the win here. 1-2.

2002: STABILITY

Banks was declared the starter in spring. No battle or controversy, so Kirk doesn't get a win or loss here.

2003:
Nate Chandler was declared the starter in spring. No battle or controversy, so Kirk doesn't get a win or loss here.

2004-2006:
Drew Tate was named the starter in spring before the 04 season. No battle's occurred during his tenure. There were some spot starts due to injury but he was always the guy. No wins or losses given out here.

2007: Disapointment
Jake Christensen was named the starter in spring before this season. Despite being highly recruited and showing promise when Tate got hurt in 06, he wasn't very good. There wasn't any real QB battle or controversy during the season. However, due to what happened next season I'm going to assign a win/loss here. It would be easy to look at what Ricky Stanzi achieved in 08-10 and declare this a loss for Kirk, but in 08 and 09 Stanzi had INT issues. Notably, he led the Big Ten in INT's in the legendary 2009 season. I suspect that these INT issues would have been really, really bad in his RS Freshmen season in 07. He had 4 pass attempts this season, with 0 completions and 1 INT. I do think Christensen was probably the better QB this year, so I'm going to give Kirk a win for knowing he was the best option and sticking with him. 2-2.

2008: CONTROVERSY

For the first time since 2000, there was real QB battle going on between Ricky Stanzi and Jake Christensen. Christensen would be named the game 1 starter after fall camp, but on a part time basis. Stanzi and Christensen would be splitting halves. In the first game against Maine, Stanzi out performed Christensen in the 2nd half, and got the nod for game 2 against FIU. Stanzi then lit it up in the first half of game 2, going 8-10, 162 yards, and 3 TDs. However, the competition was still kept open. Stanzi struggled against Iowa State, going 5/14 with 2 picks. Christensen was brought out to manage the end of the game. He went 4/5 for 27 yards as Iowa closed out the win. Christensen was given the nod for game 4 against Pitt, and it may have cost Iowa the game. Christensen got the first quarter, and wasn't very good going 2/6 with 15 yards. By the time Stanzi got in Iowa was down 14-3. Stanzi would lead a TD drive, and then get Iowa into FG range on the next drive, but Murray would miss the kick before half. He went 7/10 for 79 yards in the second quarter. For a reason I still don't understand to this very day, Christensen would come out in the 2nd half and play the rest of the game. To his credit, he played better, going 10/18 with 109 yards. Shone Greene would do Shone Greene things, and Iowa would almost win, but Christensen fumbled the game away on the last drive and Iowa lost 21-20. Stanzi was named the permanent starter the next week.

Stats: (Remember when McNutt was a QB?)

Win or loss?
LOSS LOSS LOSS LOSS LOSS LOSS. Kirk went with Christensen in week 1, so it was already a loss. But this went on WAY too long. It should have been over after week 2 against FIU. Reading the play by play of the Pitt game on ESPN brought out dormant anger I had long forgotten about. 2-3.


2009-10:

Stanzi continued to be the Manzi. No battles or controversy, no wins or losses assigned.

 

[Passing Is For COMMIES]

Part 2

2011-12:
James Vandenberg was named the starter in the spring before the 2011 season and was never in a QB battle or controversy. Well, internally he wasn't. While Vandenberg had a good statistical season in 2011, he struggled to adjust to Greg Davis' offense in 2012, and played very poorly. He finished with more INTs (8) than TDs (7). Fans clamored for backup RS FR Jake Ruddock to get at least get a look, but despite Iowa having their first losing season in 12 years (and the 13 years since) James Vandenberg took every single snap that season, with Kirk insisting he gave Iowa the best chance to win. Ruddock proved to be just ok in 2013, but he did beat Vandenberg's numbers in almost every category, and Iowa inversed their regular season record, going 8-4. I'm not convinced Vandenberg was really the best option.

Do you guys remember that firekirk.org petition website that popped up around this time? I think it got up to like a couple hundred thousand signatures at one point. I remember it was written like a crazy religious rant and had a bunch of pictures of urinals. Was actually pretty hilarious.

Stats:
2012

2013


Win or Loss:
I am going to give Kirk a loss for 2012. If Ruddock had gotten even 1 pass attempt, I don't think I would, it would probably look more like my 07 decision. I'm not sure what happened to him that year. Early in his career he was perfectly willing to bench an underperforming QB, but since this year he has been incredibly stubborn at moving off a starter. 2-4.

2013:
This might be the most interesting controversy of Kirk's tenure. There was a 3 way competition between Jake Rudock, CJ Beathard, and Cody Sokol. Sokol was never considered much of a threat though, it was really between Jake Rudock and CJ Beathard, Rudock was considered the heavy favorite all offseason. Despite this a starter was not declared until 8 days before week 1, with Rudock getting the nod. I said my piece about Rudock already. Beathard only went 5/20 with his cleanup opportunities. The thing was, he had 124 yards in only 5 completions. His first ever D1 pass was in garbage time against Western Michigan, a 54 yard bomb down the sideline. He also had 4 carries for 30 yards. This pretty much instantly stoked the flames of a QB controversy, at least among the fanbase. However, Beathard wouldn't get a real opportunity until week 10 against #22 Wisconsin. Down big, Kirk put in Beathard, who got 70 yards on only 4 completions. The problem was that he was 4/15 overall, and had -1 rushing yards on 4 attempts. But then came the Outback Bowl. Down 14-7 against #16 LSU in the 4th quarter, with only 129 total yards over 3 quarters, Kirk rolled the dice and put Beathard in with 13 mins left in the 4th. Iowa instantly increased their offensive production by 30%, going on a 36 yard drive before turning it over on downs. On the next drive, Iowa got 65 yards, including a 35 yard strike to Jake Duzey and an 11 yard scramble by Beathard. The drive got all the way inside the LSU 10 before Beathard threw a pick. LSU then went on a 6 play, 92 yard TD drive to seal the game. Iowa got some life with a kickoff return to the 4, where Beathard threw a TD pass to make it 14-21, but LSU ran out the clock on the next drive.

Win or Loss:
Beathard very obviously had way more potential than Rudock, as he proved later and is still proving now in the NFL. However, his completion percentage this season speaks for itself. Rudock probably was the better QB in the 2013 season. I am going to give Kirk a win here. 2014 will be different. 3-4.

2014: Peak Frustration

This was the year I found this community on Rivals, and y'all got TOXIC. The whole fanbase got pretty fed up this season, I think this is when that firekirk.org website I mentioned earlier reached its peak signature count.

After the Outback Bowl, the QB battle was in full swing, or so we thought. Rudock was declared the starter after Spring. If I remember correctly, the fanbase was pretty split on Beathard vs Rudock, but nobody was quite freaking out yet. That wouldn't happen until after the Pitt game.

Game 1: UNI, UNI gave Iowa a scare, but Rudock looked fine throwing for 250 yards and 2 touchdowns. Game 2: Ball State - I was at this game. And for the first 3.5 quarters, the stadium was NOT HAPPY. With 6 minutes left in the 4th, Iowa was losing 10-3, Rudock's yardage was fine at 237 yards, but he was 24/41, WAY too conservative at 5.7 YPA. It didn't help that Iowa was 1/4 on FGs and should have been winning. Rudock started the game with a 3 and out. Bethard had come in for the 2nd drive of the game, completed 2 passes for first downs, then had an incompletion on a 3rd and 9 and didn't touch the field again. The boo birds were out the entire second half every time Rudock trotted out there. But with 6 minutes left Rudock got aggressive and went 9/11 for 85 yards and 2TD passes for a comeback win. Game 3: Iowa St. Iowa lost to the Cyclones (who finished 2-10) in Kinnick 20-17, Rudock had 146 yards passing. Beathard did not appear. Game 4: Pitt - Iowa was down by 10 at half, with Rudock going 5/10 for 80 yards. And then Rudock got hurt. Beathard went 7/8 for 98 yards in a comeback win. Game 5: Purdue - Rudock was still hurt and Beathard got the start. He only played ok. 17/34 for 245 yards, 1 TD and 1 INT in a comfortable win. Rudock got his job back next week, and actually played pretty well for the most part in the next 3 weeks where Iowa went 2-1. Iowa then got absolutely destroyed by Minnesota, Beathard came in late but it was way out of hand at that point. Rudock started every game the rest of the way and Iowa went 1-3, Rudock played ok but was pretty conservative. Iowa would finish 7-5 after blowing a 24-7 lead against Nebraska in Kinnick. Iowa went down 28-0 to Tennessee in the Taxslayer Bowl in the first half, with Rudock going 2/8 for 32 yards. Beathard came in and racked up 4 TD drives, but Tennesse still crushed Iowa 28-45.

Iowa finished 7-6 and unranked for the 5th year in a row. The longest stretch since Hayden Fry was hired. I remember the fanbase being super toxic around this time. Attendance also dropped to the lowest level in over a decade.

Stats:


Win or Loss?
Loss. Kirk declared Beathard the starter for 2015 on January 8th, 6 days after the Taxslayer Bowl. I would call that an admission of defeat. Rudock would transfer to Michigan. 3-5

2015/16: UNDEFEATED

As I mentioned earlier, Beathard was announced as the starter and Rudock transferred. There was no QB battle the next 2 seasons so no wins or losses will be assigned for these 2 seasons.

2017-19: A New ERA, THE BRIAN ERA

Nate Stanley and Tyler Weigers were in a battle for the starting job, with Stanley being announced as the starter 5 days before the first game. Stanley went on to be one of the more underrated QBs in Iowa history, Weigers would transfer after this season to Eastern Michigan where he was an ok MAC QB, but very clearly not up to Stanley's caliber.

Stanley Stats:

Weigers Stats:


Win or Loss?
Clear Win. 4-5

2020-2023: THE DOWNFALL OF BRIAN
I'm not going to bother doing a recap for these years. I would prefer to forget the offenses of these seasons. Petras, Padilla, Lianez, Labas, Mcnamara, and Hill, they all were not good enough to play in the Big Ten. Mcnamara at one point was, but by the time he got here injuries had cooked his legs and destroyed his hip rotation to create throw power. Also quit on the team. Labas went on to do ok in the MAC. Petras' 2020 season was actually pretty solid looking back at it, and his season at Utah State proved he was probably the best of the bunch. So I guess I'll give Kirk the win for the 2020 QB pick? 5-5.

2024: THE LESTER ERA

Coming into the fall, we started hearing the stories that Northwestern transfer Brendan Sullivan was pushing Mcnamara hard. Mcnamara ultimately won the job. He came under fire pretty much immediately after Iowa choked away a 2 TD lead against Iowa St in the second game of the season. Brendan Sullivan was put in for specialty packages, but was not handed the starting job until Mcnamara was injured against Northwestern. Although it is still commonly believed among Hawk fans that Cade actually was told he lost the starting job and quit on the team. Unfortunately, Sullivan got injured against UCLA, and Jackson Stratton, who started the season as a 5th string walk on QB was unable to get the Hawks over the finish line in that game. Although he did bounce back and help Iowa get 2 wins to end the season against Maryland and Nebraska.

Stats:


Win or Loss?
Loss. Sullivan's legs were clearly a better fit for the Lester offense, and his completion percentage allowed Iowa to complement a great run game powered by Kaleb Johnson. 5-6

2025: GRONOWSKI
Gronowski was declared the starter in January and never faced any real threat of losing his job. We saw Hank Brown vs Indiana and Grownowski was clearly the correct choice for last year. Brown could always improve and be good next year if he wins the job, but he wasn't ready last year. Since the starter was declared in January no wins or losses will be added.


I got pretty lazy for the 2020's, but this took waaaaaaaay longer to write than I thought it would.


Final Total: 5-6


This Hecklinski vs Brown battle reminds me a lot of the Rudock vs Beathard one. Hopefully whoever wins the starting job is closer to Beathard than Rudock.

 

[Mister Plow]

Thx for writing this up! I seem to recall KF wanting to give Christensen every opportunity because of how much he helped in recruiting and his father.

 

[Flick]

Giving likes before I really crunch the data. Evidence that I’m a real Iowa fan will point to the fact that I’m gohawkeyes529 on YouTube and have thousands of subscribers, so you know I’m not some flash in the pan Iowa fan.

Can’t wait to peruse this data.

 

[eyesofhawk]

Well it's summer. No spring ball or fall camp to talk about. Some would say that I should go outside and touch grass, but why would I do that when I can comb through old Iowa box scores on sports-reference.com?

With the Brown/Hecklinski battle ending up closer than anticipated, I thought it would be interesting go through every QB battle and controversy of old and see how they turned out. I'll be assigning a win or loss to Kirk's decision on the starter, that way we can argue with each other in this thread all day tomorrow instead of doing our jobs.

My cutoff for what is considered a QB battle is anytime there was not a starter declared after spring training/before fall camp, or if the starter was benched for performance reasons at any time during the season.

While I've been alive for all these QB's, I probably wasn't old enough to truly understand the vibe of the fanbase for any QB before Drew Tate, so I'd like to ask the older guys here to give some context on how everyone felt during these 90s battles/controversies. Finding articles on what exactly happened 20-30 years ago isn't that easy either, so if you remember more details I missed let me know.

1999: Chaos

In Kirk's first year he had a tough decision to make as 3 guys had started games in 1998: Kyle McCann, Randy Reiners, and Scott Mullen. Reiners had started game 1, but had been benched for McCann. Then McCann got benched for Reiners, but Reiners got hurt, so McCann was back in. Then McCann got benched AGAIN, and Mullen got some starts. Then Mullen got hurt and McCann started the last game.

Reiners was poised to win the starting job, but received a one game suspension due to an alcohol related offense. McCann was named the starter later that month.

McCann would struggle in game 1 against Nebraska, going 11/27 for 112 yards, 1 TD, and 1 INT. He would get the nod over Reiners in week 2 still, even though Reiner's suspension had ended. He would play better against Iowa St, but not well enough to hold onto his job as he was benched for Reiners for week 3 against NIU. Reiners would play well in Kirk's first win and would seem to lock up the job, but he was hurt the next game. Instead of sending McCann back in, 3rd stringer Scott Mullen would come in to finish a blowout loss for the Hawks against MSU. Reiners would start the next game against Penn St, but would reinjure his shoulder. Scott Mullen was put in over McCann, and Mullen would go on to be the man for the rest of the season, putting up some good games even though the Hawks Finished 1-10.

1999 Stats:
View attachment 1303801

Win or Loss?
For it to be a Win, the guy who was chosen as the starter for game 1 should prove to be the best. But was McCann even Kirk's choice? Or was he only playing because of Reiner's suspension? But then why would Reiners not have played week 2 against ISU? And when Reiners got hurt why did Mullen come in instead of McCann?

Mullens does have better numbers and was named the Week 1 starter in 2000, so I guess I'll give him a loss for the McCann decision. 0-1.


2000: Chaos Part 2

Once again, 3 guys started games for the Hawks this season. Mullen, McCann, and freshmen Jon Beutjer. It was a close competition between McCann and Mullen, but senior Scott Mullen was given the keys to the car at the end of fall camp. However, after an 0-4 start with middling numbers from Mullen, Kirk dropped a nuke on the depth chart and started the freshmen Beutjer against Indiana in week 5. Iowa would lose, but Beutjer had a phenomenal game going 30/47, 380 yards, with 4 TD's and 0 INTS. Next week, Beutjer would go on to lead Iowa to the first legendary upset of the Ferentz era, beating #25 MSU for the first win of the season, and breaking Iowa's 19 game skid against Big Ten competition. Unfortunately, the good times wouldn't last. Beutjer got a severe concussion against Wisconsin, which knocked him out for the season. McCann would get the nod for the rest of the season.

Stats:
View attachment 1303818

Win or Loss?
Kirk named McCann week 1, but Beutjer proved to be far and away the best QB on the roster, so he gets a loss on this one. Unfortunately, that offseason, Beutjer would get into a dispute with his roommate (OL Sam Aiello) over a cable bill,. Aiello would end up knocking Beutjer out. Beutjer would end up transferring to Illinois. 0-2


2001: Stability... kinda

McCann was named the starter after fall camp, and would go on to start every single game. However, JUCO transfer Brad Banks would play in almost every game, but more as a change of pace QB instead of a true QB controversy/carousel. There was only 1 game where Banks had more passing attempts than McCann, week 8 against Wisconsin. After a poor start, Banks had the reins in the 2nd half and almost mounted a furious comeback. Still, McCann remained the foundational starter the rest of the season, while Banks would still get drives to give the team a different look.

Stats:
View attachment 1303863

Win or Loss?
When I started looking into this, I was expecting to give Kirk a loss here. But when you go through the box scores, McCann really looks like the better and more consistent QB here. The INT's are a bit high, but he led the Big Ten in completion percentage and had a very good YPA. I was pretty young, maybe the older guys can give their opinion, but I'm giving Kirk the win here. 1-2.

2002: STABILITY

Banks was declared the starter in spring. No battle or controversy, so Kirk doesn't get a win or loss here.

2003:
Nate Chandler was declared the starter in spring. No battle or controversy, so Kirk doesn't get a win or loss here.

2004-2006:
Drew Tate was named the starter in spring before the 04 season. No battle's occurred during his tenure. There were some spot starts due to injury but he was always the guy. No wins or losses given out here.

2007: Disapointment
Jake Christensen was named the starter in spring before this season. Despite being highly recruited and showing promise when Tate got hurt in 06, he wasn't very good. There wasn't any real QB battle or controversy during the season. However, due to what happened next season I'm going to assign a win/loss here. It would be easy to look at what Ricky Stanzi achieved in 08-10 and declare this a loss for Kirk, but in 08 and 09 Stanzi had INT issues. Notably, he led the Big Ten in INT's in the legendary 2009 season. I suspect that these INT issues would have been really, really bad in his RS Freshmen season in 07. He had 4 pass attempts this season, with 0 completions and 1 INT. I do think Christensen was probably the better QB this year, so I'm going to give Kirk a win for knowing he was the best option and sticking with him. 2-2.

2008: CONTROVERSY

For the first time since 2000, there was real QB battle going on between Ricky Stanzi and Jake Christensen. Christensen would be named the game 1 starter after fall camp, but on a part time basis. Stanzi and Christensen would be splitting halves. In the first game against Maine, Stanzi out performed Christensen in the 2nd half, and got the nod for game 2 against FIU. Stanzi then lit it up in the first half of game 2, going 8-10, 162 yards, and 3 TDs. However, the competition was still kept open. Stanzi struggled against Iowa State, going 5/14 with 2 picks. Christensen was brought out to manage the end of the game. He went 4/5 for 27 yards as Iowa closed out the win. Christensen was given the nod for game 4 against Pitt, and it may have cost Iowa the game. Christensen got the first quarter, and wasn't very good going 2/6 with 15 yards. By the time Stanzi got in Iowa was down 14-3. Stanzi would lead a TD drive, and then get Iowa into FG range on the next drive, but Murray would miss the kick before half. He went 7/10 for 79 yards in the second quarter. For a reason I still don't understand to this very day, Christensen would come out in the 2nd half and play the rest of the game. To his credit, he played better, going 10/18 with 109 yards. Shone Greene would do Shone Greene things, and Iowa would almost win, but Christensen fumbled the game away on the last drive and Iowa lost 21-20. Stanzi was named the permanent starter the next week.

Stats: (Remember when McNutt was a QB?)
View attachment 1303925
Win or loss?
LOSS LOSS LOSS LOSS LOSS LOSS. Kirk went with Christensen in week 1, so it was already a loss. But this went on WAY too long. It should have been over after week 2 against FIU. Reading the play by play of the Pitt game on ESPN brought out dormant anger I had long forgotten about. 2-3.


2009-10:

Stanzi continued to be the Manzi. No battles or controversy, no wins or losses assigned.

Part 2

2011-12:
James Vandenberg was named the starter in the spring before the 2011 season and was never in a QB battle or controversy. Well, internally he wasn't. While Vandenberg had a good statistical season in 2011, he struggled to adjust to Greg Davis' offense in 2012, and played very poorly. He finished with more INTs (8) than TDs (7). Fans clamored for backup RS FR Jake Ruddock to get at least get a look, but despite Iowa having their first losing season in 12 years (and the 13 years since) James Vandenberg took every single snap that season, with Kirk insisting he gave Iowa the best chance to win. Ruddock proved to be just ok in 2013, but he did beat Vandenberg's numbers in almost every category, and Iowa inversed their regular season record, going 8-4. I'm not convinced Vandenberg was really the best option.

Do you guys remember that firekirk.org petition website that popped up around this time? I think it got up to like a couple hundred ..

0-1.

Absolutely ridiculous

 

[Grayhair1981]

One of the best posts ever on here. Good work.

 

[52317Hawk]

Giving likes before I really crunch the data. Evidence that I’m a real Iowa fan will point to the fact that I’m gohawkeyes529 on YouTube and have thousands of subscribers, so you know I’m not some flash in the pan Iowa fan.

Can’t wait to peruse this data.

While you're at it, see if you can find the meme from the 2008 bowl game of Jake and another player sitting on the bench that's captioned "He gone".

2008 watching the Pitt game was the most controversial for me. 2014 was our last year as season ticket holders when life interupted.

 

[Passing Is For COMMIES]

While you're at it, see if you can find the meme from the 2008 bowl game of Jake and another player sitting on the bench that's captioned "He gone".

2008 watching the Pitt game was the most controversial for me. 2014 was our last year as season ticket holders when life interupted.

 

[52317Hawk]

View attachment 1304213

LOL. Awesome!

 

[Max Rebo]

0-1.

Absolutely ridiculous

Welp. This was the most predictable response of all time.

 

[83Hawk]

Part 2

2011-12:
James Vandenberg was named the starter in the spring before the 2011 season and was never in a QB battle or controversy. Well, internally he wasn't. While Vandenberg had a good statistical season in 2011, he struggled to adjust to Greg Davis' offense in 2012, and played very poorly. He finished with more INTs (8) than TDs (7). Fans clamored for backup RS FR Jake Ruddock to get at least get a look, but despite Iowa having their first losing season in 12 years (and the 13 years since) James Vandenberg took every single snap that season, with Kirk insisting he gave Iowa the best chance to win. Ruddock proved to be just ok in 2013, but he did beat Vandenberg's numbers in almost every category, and Iowa inversed their regular season record, going 8-4. I'm not convinced Vandenberg was really the best option.

Do you guys remember that firekirk.org petition website that popped up around this time? I think it got up to like a couple hundred thousand signatures at one point. I remember it was written like a crazy religious rant and had a bunch of pictures of urinals. Was actually pretty hilarious.

Stats:
2012
View attachment 1304075
2013
View attachment 1304076

Win or Loss:
I am going to give Kirk a loss for 2012. If Ruddock had gotten even 1 pass attempt, I don't think I would, it would probably look more like my 07 decision. I'm not sure what happened to him that year. Early in his career he was perfectly willing to bench an underperforming QB, but since this year he has been incredibly stubborn at moving off a starter. 2-4.

2013:
This might be the most interesting controversy of Kirk's tenure. There was a 3 way competition between Jake Rudock, CJ Beathard, and Cody Sokol. Sokol was never considered much of a threat though, it was really between Jake Rudock and CJ Beathard, Rudock was considered the heavy favorite all offseason. Despite this a starter was not declared until 8 days before week 1, with Rudock getting the nod. I said my piece about Rudock already. Beathard only went 5/20 with his cleanup opportunities. The thing was, he had 124 yards in only 5 completions. His first ever D1 pass was in garbage time against Western Michigan, a 54 yard bomb down the sideline. He also had 4 carries for 30 yards. This pretty much instantly stoked the flames of a QB controversy, at least among the fanbase. However, Beathard wouldn't get a real opportunity until week 10 against #22 Wisconsin. Down big, Kirk put in Beathard, who got 70 yards on only 4 completions. The problem was that he was 4/15 overall, and had -1 rushing yards on 4 attempts. But then came the Outback Bowl. Down 14-7 against #16 LSU in the 4th quarter, with only 129 total yards over 3 quarters, Kirk rolled the dice and put Beathard in with 13 mins left in the 4th. Iowa instantly increased their offensive production by 30%, going on a 36 yard drive before turning it over on downs. On the next drive, Iowa got 65 yards, including a 35 yard strike to Jake Duzey and an 11 yard scramble by Beathard. The drive got all the way inside the LSU 10 before Beathard threw a pick. LSU then went on a 6 play, 92 yard TD drive to seal the game. Iowa got some life with a kickoff return to the 4, where Beathard threw a TD pass to make it 14-21, but LSU ran out the clock on the next drive.

Win or Loss:
Beathard very obviously had way more potential than Rudock, as he proved later and is still proving now in the NFL. However, his completion percentage this season speaks for itself. Rudock probably was the better QB in the 2013 season. I am going to give Kirk a win here. 2014 will be different. 3-4.

2014: Peak Frustration

This was the year I found this community on Rivals, and y'all got TOXIC. The whole fanbase got pretty fed up this season, I think this is when that firekirk.org website I mentioned earlier reached its peak signature count.

After the Outback Bowl, the QB battle was in full swing, or so we thought. Rudock was declared the starter after Spring. If I remember correctly, the fanbase was pretty split on Beathard vs Rudock, but nobody was quite freaking out yet. That wouldn't happen until after the Pitt game.

Game 1: UNI, UNI gave Iowa a scare, but Rudock looked fine throwing for 250 yards and 2 touchdowns. Game 2: Ball State - I was at this game. And for the first 3.5 quarters, the stadium was NOT HAPPY. With 6 minutes left in the 4th, Iowa was losing 10-3, Rudock's yardage was fine at 237 yards, but he was 24/41, WAY too conservative at 5.7 YPA. It didn't help that Iowa was 1/4 on FGs and should have been winning. Rudock started the game with a 3 and out. Bethard had come in for the 2nd drive of the game, completed 2 passes for first downs, then had an incompletion on a 3rd and 9 and didn't touch the field again. The boo birds were out the entire second half every time Rudock trotted out there. But with 6 minutes left Rudock got aggressive and went 9/11 for 85 yards and 2TD passes for a comeback win. Game 3: Iowa St. Iowa lost to the Cyclones (who finished 2-10) in Kinnick 20-17, Rudock had 146 yards passing. Beathard did not appear. Game 4: Pitt - Iowa was down by 10 at half, with Rudock going 5/10 for 80 yards. And then Rudock got hurt. Beathard went 7/8 for 98 yards in a comeback win. Game 5: Purdue - Rudock was still hurt and Beathard got the start. He only played ok. 17/34 for 245 yards, 1 TD and 1 INT in a comfortable win. Rudock got his job back next week, and actually played pretty well for the most part in the next 3 weeks where Iowa went 2-1. Iowa then got absolutely destroyed by Minnesota, Beathard came in late but it was way out of hand at that point. Rudock started every game the rest of the way and Iowa went 1-3, Rudock played ok but was pretty conservative. Iowa would finish 7-5 after blowing a 24-7 lead against Nebraska in Kinnick. Iowa went down 28-0 to Tennessee in the Taxslayer Bowl in the first half, with Rudock going 2/8 for 32 yards. Beathard came in and racked up 4 TD drives, but Tennesse still crushed Iowa 28-45.

Iowa finished 7-6 and unranked for the 5th year in a row. The longest stretch since Hayden Fry was hired. I remember the fanbase being super toxic around this time. Attendance also dropped to the lowest level in over a decade.

Stats:
View attachment 1304078

Win or Loss?
Loss. Kirk declared Beathard the starter for 2015 on January 8th, 6 days after the Taxslayer Bowl. I would call that an admission of defeat. Rudock would transfer to Michigan. 3-5

2015/16: UNDEFEATED

As I mentioned earlier, Beathard was announced as the starter and Rudock transferred. There was no QB battle the next 2 seasons so no wins or losses will be assigned for these 2 seasons.

2017-19: A New ERA, THE BRIAN ERA

Nate Stanley and Tyler Weigers were in a battle for the starting job, with Stanley being announced as the starter 5 days before the first game. Stanley went on to be one of the more underrated QBs in Iowa history, Weigers would transfer after this season to Eastern Michigan where he was an ok MAC QB, but very clearly not up to Stanley's caliber.

Stanley Stats:
View attachment 1304077
Weigers Stats:
View attachment 1304080

Win or Loss?
Clear Win. 4-5

2020-2023: THE DOWNFALL OF BRIAN
I'm not going to bother doing a recap for these years. I would prefer to forget the offenses of these seasons. Petras, Padilla, Lianez, Labas, Mcnamara, and Hill, they all were not good enough to play in the Big Ten. Mcnamara at one point was, but by the time he got here injuries had cooked his legs and destroyed his hip rotation to create throw power. Also quit on the team. Labas went on to do ok in the MAC. Petras' 2020 season was actually pretty solid looking back at it, and his season at Utah State proved he was probably the best of the bunch. So I guess I'll give Kirk the win for the 2020 QB pick? 5-5.

2024: THE LESTER ERA

Coming into the fall, we started hearing the stories that Northwestern transfer Brendan Sullivan was pushing Mcnamara hard. Mcnamara ultimately won the job. He came under fire pretty much immediately after Iowa choked away a 2 TD lead against Iowa St in the second game of the season. Brendan Sullivan was put in for specialty packages, but was not handed the starting job until Mcnamara was injured against Northwestern. Although it is still commonly believed among Hawk fans that Cade actually was told he lost the starting job and quit on the team. Unfortunately, Sullivan got injured against UCLA, and Jackson Stratton, who started the season as a 5th string walk on QB was unable to get the Hawks over the finish line in that game. Although he did bounce back and help Iowa get 2 wins to end the season against Maryland and Nebraska.

Stats:
View attachment 1304079

Win or Loss?
Loss. Sullivan's legs were clearly a better fit for the Lester offense, and his completion percentage allowed Iowa to complement a great run game powered by Kaleb Johnson. 5-6

2025: GRONOWSKI
Gronowski was declared the starter in January and never faced any real threat of losing his job. We saw Hank Brown vs Indiana and Grownowski was clearly the correct choice for last year. Brown could always improve and be good next year if he wins the job, but he wasn't ready last year. Since the starter was declared in January no wins or losses will be added.


I got pretty lazy for the 2020's, but this took waaaaaaaay longer to write than I thought it would.


Final Total: 5-6


This Hecklinski vs Brown battle reminds me a lot of the Rudock vs Beathard one. Hopefully whoever wins the starting job is closer to Beathard than Rudock.

1-0. Absolutely brilliant!

 

[Grayhair1981]

Rudock leaving worked out for him and the Hawks. The Hawks wouldn't have had the 2015 season they had without CJB at QB and Rudock wouldn't have spent five years in the NFL if he hadn't gone to Michigan.

 

[KuwaitHawk]

Great articles with tons of work put into it.

 

[Hawk_4shur]

2008: CONTROVERSY

For the first time since 2000, there was real QB battle going on between Ricky Stanzi and Jake Christensen. Christensen would be named the game 1 starter after fall camp, but on a part time basis. Stanzi and Christensen would be splitting halves. In the first game against Maine, Stanzi out performed Christensen in the 2nd half, and got the nod for game 2 against FIU. Stanzi then lit it up in the first half of game 2, going 8-10, 162 yards, and 3 TDs. However, the competition was still kept open. Stanzi struggled against Iowa State, going 5/14 with 2 picks. Christensen was brought out to manage the end of the game. He went 4/5 for 27 yards as Iowa closed out the win. Christensen was given the nod for game 4 against Pitt, and it may have cost Iowa the game. Christensen got the first quarter, and wasn't very good going 2/6 with 15 yards. By the time Stanzi got in Iowa was down 14-3. Stanzi would lead a TD drive, and then get Iowa into FG range on the next drive, but Murray would miss the kick before half. He went 7/10 for 79 yards in the second quarter. For a reason I still don't understand to this very day, Christensen would come out in the 2nd half and play the rest of the game. To his credit, he played better, going 10/18 with 109 yards. Shone Greene would do Shone Greene things, and Iowa would almost win, but Christensen fumbled the game away on the last drive and Iowa lost 21-20. Stanzi was named the permanent starter the next week.

Stats: (Remember when McNutt was a QB?)
continue
Win or loss?
LOSS LOSS LOSS LOSS LOSS LOSS. Kirk went with Christensen in week 1, so it was already a loss. But this went on WAY too long. It should have been over after week 2 against FIU. Reading the play by play of the Pitt game on ESPN brought out dormant anger I had long forgotten about. 2-3.

I disagree with the 2008 debate.

From the accounts I've heard, including some from Stanzi himself, Ricky wasn't a serious football player in his freshman year. So, in his soph year he's battling an experienced incumbent in Jake. That is going to give Jake a leg up with most coaches.

We have no idea how they performed in practice.

They split time in the first 4 games -- a fair QB battle. The Pitt game was a tough loss, Would they have won if Ricky had played the whole game? IDK. Stanzi was named the starter after that game.

So, the Hawks were 3-1 at that time. With Stanzi at the helm the Hawks went on the lose their next 2 games to MSU and NW. Ricky had solid stats but threw two picks in those games that the Hawks lost by a total of 8 points. I don't remember how important those picks were.

KF conducted a fair QB battle. At the very worst it cost the Hawks the Pitt game, but that is not a given.

 

[MeetTheFerentzes]

0-1.

Absolutely ridiculous

WTF is your problem, dude?

 

[Grayhair1981]

WTF is your problem, dude?

I go back and forth between he is a brilliant troll or the dumbest MFer walking around. Lately I have been leaning towards the second possibility.

 

[EvilMonkeyInTheCloset]

0-1.

Absolutely ridiculous

Stfu IowaLaw.

 

[2D]

Excellent write up. Posts like these help pass the time during the off season.

Kirk's history with QB's is certainly tumultuous. This sadly, underlines his overall poor history of production on offense. With Brian's being the most miserable era, outside of that dreadful stretch of 2012-2014.

I think with Lester, we've got a better chance of picking the right QB this time. Whoever it is. Lester is still trying to dig us out of the hole Brian left us in, and statistically speaking, he's slowly getting us out of it.

Judging by some of the posts on here, looks like that moron Eyes is up to his usual nonsense. Here's the CSS code I made to remove him from view if anyone would like to use it! I made it using the Stylus chrome extension from the Chrome store. It also blocks his laugh reacts as well!

 

[85Bears]

Iowa is one of just four FBS programs—alongside Alabama, Georgia, and Ohio State—to win at least eight games in every completed season over the last decade. (This excludes the 2020 COVID-shortened year, where the Hawkeyes went 6-2). [1, 2]
Over this 10-year run of consistent success, head coach Kirk Ferentz has guided the Hawkeyes to a combined record of \(91-41\), which is a \(69\%\) winning percentage. This impressive consistency includes:[1]

• Multiple 10-win seasons (four since 2015).
• Nine bowl berths.

carry on with picking through cow poop, you might find a kernel of corn. Or go back to the OT forum.

 

[Grayhair1981]

Iowa is one of just four FBS programs—alongside Alabama, Georgia, and Ohio State—to win at least eight games in every completed season over the last decade. (This excludes the 2020 COVID-shortened year, where the Hawkeyes went 6-2). [1, 2]
Over this 10-year run of consistent success, head coach Kirk Ferentz has guided the Hawkeyes to a combined record of \(91-41\), which is a \(69\%\) winning percentage. This impressive consistency includes:[1]

• Multiple 10-win seasons (four since 2015).
• Nine bowl berths.

carry on with picking through cow poop, you might find a kernel of corn. Or go back to the OT forum.

And went six of those years without beating a team that finished the season ranked. Oh boy

 

[85Bears]

And went six of those years without beating a team that finished the season ranked. Oh boy

You have to be a moron to beech about a 91-41 record, go be a Ohio State T-shirt fan bluehair

 

[EvilMonkeyInTheCloset]

You have to be a moron to beech about a 91-41 record, go be a Ohio State T-shirt fan bluehair

So stay the same and change nothing and hope someday things just magically work in our favor again and we win a championship/make the CFP?



I don't think you actually enjoy that as much as you tell us you do...........

 

[Passing Is For COMMIES]

Iowa is one of just four FBS programs—alongside Alabama, Georgia, and Ohio State—to win at least eight games in every completed season over the last decade. (This excludes the 2020 COVID-shortened year, where the Hawkeyes went 6-2). [1, 2]
Over this 10-year run of consistent success, head coach Kirk Ferentz has guided the Hawkeyes to a combined record of \(91-41\), which is a \(69\%\) winning percentage. This impressive consistency includes:[1]

• Multiple 10-win seasons (four since 2015).
• Nine bowl berths.

Who asked?

 

[Passing Is For COMMIES]

Excellent write up. Posts like these help pass the time during the off season.

Kirk's history with QB's is certainly tumultuous. This sadly, underlines his overall poor history of production on offense. With Brian's being the most miserable era, outside of that dreadful stretch of 2012-2014.

I think with Lester, we've got a better chance of picking the right QB this time. Whoever it is. Lester is still trying to dig us out of the hole Brian left us in, and statistically speaking, he's slowly getting us out of it.

I was thinking on the drive home from work today about Lester’s play calling in big moments. The 1st play call on that late drive against Penn St, the play call to pick up the 1st down to win that game, the Oregon 4th down TD at the 2, (and probably others), they were all QB run plays.

If the competition is considered close I would bet that Lester wants Hecklinski because he favors wheels.

 

[eyesofhawk]

I was thinking on the drive home from work today about Lester’s play calling in big moments. The 1st play call on that late drive against Penn St, the play call to pick up the 1st down to win that game, the Oregon 4th down TD at the 2, (and probably others), they were all QB run plays.

If the competition is considered close I would bet that Lester wants Hecklinski because he favors wheels.

Except for the fact that almost no designed run will be called for Heck or Brown.

You would think someone who just wrote a book about coaching decisions would know that

 

[Herky T Hawk]

This is a good reminder that we had some good QBs and offenses under Ferentz. People forget about that with the offensive drought we had under Brian’s OC tenure.

But during those years we would have killed for a McCann, Beutjer, Banks, Chandler, Tate, Stanzi, or Beathard. Chandler is the worst of that bunch and yet he won 10 games including beating a good Michigan team at homecoming and beating the crap out of Florida in the Outback Bowl.

We led the Big Ten in scoring in 2001 and 2002. No idea why Ferentz decided that scoring so many points was scary over the last decade.

In terms of the scoring of the OP, I think you need to give Kirk credit for the first year of a multi-year starter. For instance, handing the reigns to a true-sophomore Drew Tate was a risky choice for a team coming off of back to back 10 win seasons with senior starting QBs both years. I get that you’re only considering fall QB battles, but he’s a year-round coach and picking a new starter coming out of spring ball is still a choice he made. Basically, he’s made more correct decisions on a season by season basis than he has bad decisions over a quarter century of coaching. It is just that the bad decisions are more noticeable.