Ferentz and "Dome Football"

Sept. 5, 2006

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• The Schedule: 2006 and beyond
• Cruise with Kirk

Kirk Ferentz isn’t a big fan of “Dome Football” – particularly when the facility is not air conditioned – but, as he said Tuesday when he met the media, “it’s part of the deal” this week when the nationally ranked Iowa Hawkeyes travel to Syracuse for a date with the Orangemen inside the Carrier Dome.

Game time is set for shortly after 2:30 p.m. Iowa time and the game will be televised live to a regional audience by ABC-TV.

“It’s going to be a warm and muggy game for both teams….just part of the deal,” said Ferentz, who recalled having visited the Carrier Dome in 1980 as a graduate assistant coach.

Will Iowa move indoors to the UI’s “Bubble” in preparation for their second game of 2006? No.

“We’ll be outdoors. We want to take as fresh a team as possible into the game,” said Ferentz. “We’ll work hard to keep ourselves well rested and well hydrated on game day and leading up to the game.”

Syracuse has not enjoyed a lot of success over the last year-plus and lost its season opener at Wake Forest last week, but that doesn’t mean this week’s game will be a walk in the park for the Hawkeyes.

“I think we’re going to be playing a football team that’s a little better than people on the outside think. We’re going to be playing a team that is improving. We need to be ready, ” said Ferentz.

Ferentz added that it’s also a road game – the first road game of the season – and that usually creates a little anxiety among the staff. “You watch closely to see how the team reacts,” said Ferentz.

Ferentz said defense lineman Kenny Iwebema and wide receiver Herb Grigsby will play and play a lot Saturday after having sat out the season opener for disciplinary reasons.

“They’re done with everything associated with discipline. Whether they start and how much playing time they’ll see will be 100 percent a reflection of how they practice this week,” Ferentz said.

As expected, Ferentz said he saw good things and things to work on when he and the coaching staff reviewed the tape on Sunday.

“Generally, our tempo improved as the game progressed as did our overall cohesiveness and timing. But, as I said after the game, there is plenty of stuff to be cleaned up.”

One thing that doesn’t need to be cleaned up is the play of running back Albert Young. Ferentz compared the senior to former Hawkeye Ronnie Harmon. “Like Ronnie, we’re going to ride Albert. We’re going to lean on him all season long,” said Ferentz.

Ferentz said he expects Kyle Schlicher to be available for action Saturday. Iowa’s veteran placekicker was sidelined Saturday. “We expect him to kick today and all week,” said Iowa’s head coach.

Ferentz opened his weekly visit with the media with a tip of the hat to everyone involved in the renovation of historic Kinnick Stadium. “Tremendous. Fantastic. The stadium looks great,” he said, noting that the walk from Melrose Avenue to the stadium through the Krause Family Plaza is already an “outstanding tradition.”

Saturday’s game is the third in the series between the two schools. The series is tied, 1-1. Syracuse defeated Iowa (10-7) on Sept. 20, 1975 at Syracuse, while the Hawkeyes downed the Orange (41-3) on Sept. 18, 1976 in Kinnick Stadium. Saturday will be Iowa’s first game in the Carrier Dome, as the arena opened its doors in 1980.

Iowa has only played six games against teams currently in the Big East Conference. The Hawkeyes are 3-3 against the Big East (Cincinnati, 1-0; Pittsburgh, 1-2; Syracuse, 1-1). The Hawkeyes will entertain Syracuse in 2007 and play at Pittsburgh in 2008.

Pink Caps Are Red Hot
Sales of the pink baseball caps that are the centerpiece for “United for a Cure,” the joint effort between the University of Iowa and American Family Insurance, were brisk, very brisk at historic Kinnick Stadium last Saturday. Virtually all of the original order of 300-plus caps by the Official Iowa Hawk Shop have been sold and, at $5 a sale, more than $1,500 has already been generated to support breast cancer research. The Hawk Shop , gearing up for the next home game of the Hawkeyes – this year’s Hy-Vee Cy-Hawk Series meeting on the gridiron between Iowa and Iowa State on Sept. 16 – has placed a second order for another 500 caps. To learn more about the program, click HERE.

Iowa-Illinois Television Set
Iowa’s 2006 Big Ten Conference season opener Saturday, Sept. 23, at Illinois will be televised by ESPN Plus beginning shortly after 11 a.m. The UI Department of Intercollegiate Athletics will distribute a comprehensive list of television stations and cable systems across the state, Midwest and country that will broadcast that game when it becomes available from the Big Ten Conference.