As the Ohio State Buckeyes prepare to start the 2024 college football season on August 31, one of their rivals has a head coach who could make history.
Iowa Hawkeyes head coach Kirk Ferentz has been one of the best in the business for years, but he hasn’t received the hype that many other top coaches in college football have received.
He has been Iowa’s head coach since the 1999 season. During that time, he has led the Hawkeyes to many very successful seasons. Unfortunately, he has yet to win a national championship.
Although he has not won a championship, Ferentz has worked his way up the all-time list of Big Ten head coaches.
As Big Ten Football on X announced, Ferentz has 196 wins. He has a very real chance to pass both Amos Alonzo Stagg and Woody Hayes this season to become the record holder for all Big Ten coaches.
Do you mean @hawkeyefootball Will head coach Kirk Ferentz overtake Woody Hayes this season?#B1GFootball pic.twitter.com/4cnDFeaMi4
— Big Ten Football (@B1Gfootball) 17 August 2024
Nine wins would tie him with Hayes, Ohio State’s all-time legendary head coach, and ten wins would be his own record.
Iowa is ranked 25th nationally at the start of the season and is expected to be a very good and competitive football team this season.
Are they good enough to win 10 games? That remains to be seen. But he has a chance.
Looking at the schedule, the Hawkeyes’ toughest game is against the Buckeyes. That game is on October 5th. Aside from that game, every matchup on their schedule is very winnable.
They don’t have much room for error, but the schedule suggests Ferentz could well break the record. It will be interesting to see if he can do it in the end.
