Kirk Ferentz Believe Adults Have Screwed Up College Football

The Iowa Hawkeye football season has come and gone. The Hawkeyes saw their fair share of success this season, ending the year with a 10-4 record. They also saw their share of heartbreak. The offense continued to struggle for a second year in a row and who can forget the infamous "fair catch" call against the Minnesota Golden Gophers in October?

In some ways, this season was familiar to a lot of Hawkeye fans. The team was competitive, played great defense, and struggled on offense. Iowa's 35-0 loss to the Tennessee Volunteers in the Citrus Bowl will officially end the 2023 season their season.

Head Coach Kirk Ferentz and Tennessee Head Coach, Josh Heupel, joined each other on the podium for a pre-game interview 2 days ago, and they both spoke on the current state of college football. Neither Coach is a fan of where college football appears to be heading.

Adults Have Screwed Up College Football

At the 5:40 mark of this press conference, Kirk is asked about playing in the Citrus Bowl 2 years ago, the success of playing in another Citrus Bowl, as well as the state of college football. Kirk wasn't shy about sharing his thoughts on the game in its current state. During the press conference posted on Iowa's New Now YouTube page, he says

Sorry to say two years later, we are in worse shape than we were two years ago. I did not think that was possible. We, the adults, have done a lot to really screw this thing up. We have a great game, so I do, old guy in the room, I have got some concerns about what the future is going to look like. I think most people are aware that we have some real issues right now. I am not sure what we can come to agreement on what the remedies may be.

Bowl Games Have Become Devalued

It's no secret that playing in a college bowl game has lost a bit of luster. At one point, playing in the Citrus Bowl was a big deal and it was something coaches, players, and fans could be proud of. Winning a high-quality bowl game was a great tool to help recruit star players. Now, with the 4 team championship race, those are the only games the media appears to care about.

Kirk spoke about his disappointment in college football and the media, obsessing over the national championship race.

I have been just concerned about how our thirst for the national championship race, two teams, four teams, with all the focus going there with the public and the media, really diminishes some of the other bowls. Our first bowl game in 2001 was in San Antonio, the Alamo Bowl. It was like we won the Super Bowl. It was a really important game and an important year for us. Those games do mean a lot. I think right now there's a trend where it's like, it's not the whatever game, and it doesn't matter.

In today's college football landscape, football programs better be able to compete with NIL deals and navigate the transfer portal. Players are switching schools more than we've ever seen before. Athletes also have more power than ever before. In my opinion, this can be both a good and bad thing.

Kirk does admit he doesn't have all of the answers.

We always lead with what is best for the student-athletes, but we do not always practice that with some of the decisions we make. There is a lot of independent contracting right now, and it is really hard to get people to visit. I don't know what the remedies are. I'm not going to pretend I have all the answers.

Only time will tell what the future of college football looks like but right now, Kirk Ferentz isn't a fan of where it's headed.