Kirk Ferentz on the Last Time Oregon Played at Kinnick: "I remember it didn't go well."

The Ducks are on the road this week headed to Iowa City. It will be a huge Big Ten battle as both teams are gearing up for a key run in November.

On Tuesday, Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz met with media to discuss the big game. You can read his top comments below or watch the full 30 minute video.

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Opening Statement:

“Afternoon. Good to see everybody again. Hope everybody had a good bye week. It was, I think, productive for us. Gave us a chance to recharge a little bit and just kind of regroup and get ready for this last four-week block here. It was positive for our team to move along a little bit.

I think we did some positive work certainly the last three games out, by week to by week. This is always an important stretch for everybody in college football. Bracing up for a four-game block here as we move forward. And then, you know, on that topic, obviously a lot of respect. Certainly everybody here has got great respect for the Oregon program and what they’ve done, specifically the team that they’re putting on the field this year.

They’ve done a great job off to a great start. So, pertaining to that game, our captains were kind of settled in. The same four guys get Hercut and then Tringer defensively and then Gronowski and Logan Jones on the offensive side. So those are our four guys. Injury-wise, really nothing new to speak of.
And I think we’re in pretty good shape relatively for this time of year. No big deal there. And football really tapes your resume. And if you know, football really tapes your resume. And if you look at Oregon on tape or watch them on TV, obviously they’re just a really good football team in all three phases, do a great job.

And I think the bottom line is they’re a really aggressive football team. They’re very sound and very, very talented, very well coached. Coach Lanning’s done a great job there in a short period of time. Specifically, you look back the last two years, there aren’t many losses on their resume. So they’ve been really playing at a high level.

That’s with some new players this year too, and that’s been impressive too. They’ve recruited extremely well. They’ve got a veteran team, but they’ve also got a lot of young guys that are involved too, especially in the back end, skilled positions, guys that are freshmen that are playing big, big roles and doing a really good job. So it’s just an impressive mix and array offensively. I don’t even know where you start. They’re really good up front, which allows them to do a lot of things, good quarterback play, good line play. And then they’ve got good skilled positions, the tight ends. They got it too deep there. It’s really impressive.
Receiver core is extremely talented. Then they’ve got three backs that are really clipping right along, and they’re doing a great job there.

Defensively, they’re really a disruptive team, very, very aggressive, very talented, and very disruptive. Again, well coached on that thing.

Then special teams, they do a great job. They’re a good specialist and a lot of good core players that clearly take a lot of pride in what they’re doing. So it’ll be a big challenge for us, certainly, and look forward to that coming up on Saturday.”

On the Youth/Medical Captain:

“We’ve got Harper Atkinson is with us from Wapello. Harper and her twin brother, Knox, were born over in Stead Family Hospital a couple years back. And both of them, you know, great young kids. Knox was born with cerebral palsy. So that, you know, certainly was a tough diagnosis. And then about two years later, Harper started undergoing. She just had spontaneous bone breaking, and they diagnosed her with a rare bone disease. So that’s what her situation is.

She’s had 11 surgeries, several procedures, spent a lot of time over there, but is really doing well as a fourth grader. I’m told she’s very active, loves school, loves riding horses, piano, singing, all those things and just a great, great personality. So it would be really good to have her and her family with us on Saturday. Look forward to that.

And just wrapping it up here, obviously a big week this week for everybody. A lot of interest in this game certainly on the outside, and I think the key for us is trying to keep our focus really where it needs to be, and we’ve got our hands more than full just trying to get ready for Oregon.

On Motivating the Team/Leadership:

“Yeah, two things on that front. You’re right. I think we’ve had really good leadership over the years here, and it’s been really you know, really interesting. But this year especially, because we’ve lost some really dynamic guys the last couple years. So you go back to January, we got started, and this group just kind of collectively has really done a great job. And it’s been that way January on. They’ve just kind of built on that. So it’s really kind of been diffused in my mind. And a lot of other guys have joined.

You know, Mark wasn’t with us last year, but, you know, obviously he’s been a great addition. Some of the newer guys joined right in there. So, yeah, it’s really been more of a collective type of thing.
And, you know, in a game like this, there’s not a lot I need to say. Quite frankly, all the guys have to do is look at the film, look at the numbers, and that gets your attention. So we know what we’re up against here in terms of a challenge and I think the biggest thing right now my job is to try to keep them focused on what we’re doing and not all the other stuff going on and there is a lot going on I’m sure but you know the challenge for us is on the field right now it’s on the film.”

On Last Meeting with Oregon at Kinnick: (1989)

“I remember it didn’t go well, but I’m glad you teed it up for me. I’ll burn some clock on this one. So what I really remember though, and I’ve shared this with people, I didn’t know much about Oregon in 1989. None of us really did. A handful of us, I guess about three of us I think went out to Southern Cal and spent a couple days basically to watch them practice in the spring but also to learn about Oregon because obviously same conference and at that time I would compare them like to me and I can’t give you the year but when Don James went to Washington all of a sudden that program ascended it was like wow, how’d that happen? You know, where’d that come from? And they were really good.

And then Oregon at that time was not, you know, it was before Nike and all that stuff, the uniforms, all that stuff. None of that was going on. But what we found on that trip was just how good they are and how good they had been quietly. And then we found out firsthand it was a really good football team.
I think Rich Brooks was the guy who was kind of the coach of that organization, got them going. And, you know, they were good through the 90s, and then they’ve just exploded this, you know, last 25 years.

The common denominator, they’ve had really good coaches and really good players. They’ve recruited well. And, you know, the Nike, all that stuff gives them a little bit more of a national recognition they didn’t have maybe 30 years ago, 40 years ago. But they were a good team right then. They had some really good players. I remember that. It’s just grown since then. They’re really an impressive outfit. There’s a reason they’ve lost two games the last two years.”