“Sometimes you just have to find a way to win.”

Kirk Ferentz searched for the right words to describe the Hawkeyes’ 13-10 victory over Nebraska football on Friday night. The Iowa football coach found it in his postgame comments in the form of a famous theoretical physicist.

“As I left the field, the quote from Albert Einstein kind of hit me: ‘Not everything that can be counted counts,’ and then: ‘Not everything that counts can be counted.'” I think that sometimes explains how things work in sports,” Ferentz said. “That’s the interesting thing about it, is that you want to analyze it, slice it, dice it, cut it into pieces and so on. I know stats are important, but sometimes you just have to find a way to win and our team did that.”

Iowa found a way to win on Friday and capture the Heroes Trophy from the Cornhuskers for the second straight year. Ferentz began by saying it was “a classic November Big Ten football game” between Nebraska and Iowa. He added that the Huskers “are a talented football team and played really hard and well.”

Despite the victory, Ferentz said some doubts crept in as Nebraska opened the game and took a 10-0 lead into halftime.

“Losing 10-0… I think our guys really dug in and played when it mattered most. That’s really what you have to do if you want to be successful. They kept working, it’s starting to happen and they believe in each other.” “Such big, big things,” Ferentz said.

He added that penalties and turnovers turned things around for the hometown Hawkeyes.

“I think we had a penalty tonight. They had four. “It wasn’t really a big factor, but the fact that we played without mistakes was definitely important,” Ferentz said. “Sales takeaway margin, for my entire time as coach, that’s the most important metric there is, and by that count we came out ahead by two, and that was obviously a big deal.”

Ferentz praised his experienced team for making the necessary plays when called upon. None was more crucial than Kaleb Johnson’s 72-yard touchdown dash that brought the game to a 10-10 tie early in the fourth quarter.

“There’s no better example of that than Kaleb’s play that got us back into the game. You can’t explain this move. It was just a phenomenal performance,” Ferentz said. “A lot of good things that got him started. The guys outside did a good job blocking, but what an incredible – just fantastic individual effort. But again, if you want to win a game like this, someone has to do it.” Get in there and do something.

The Iowa coach also expressed confidence in kicker Drew Stevens, praising the kicker for his ability to overcome an up-and-down season in 2023 and hit a game-winning 53-yard field goal as time expired.

“Just think of Drew a year ago. Basically, he was benched at the end of the Nebraska game last year. What a contrast to tonight, and we all had tremendous confidence,” Ferentz said. “Drew has done nothing but grow up. He worked hard. He deserved everything he got.”

Ferentz also defended his stance on Stevens’ first field goal when Iowa had a chance for a fourth-and-goal inside Nebraska’s five-yard line. Instead, Iowa kicked a 20-yard field goal. The coach said it’s about playing the long game for the Hawkeyes.

“Sometimes you can’t be a fan,” Ferentz said. You just have to think about what’s going on, how we’re playing and think the big picture. I mean, I’m going to be brutally honest. I had no confidence we could make it to fourth and one down. I know that if we don’t get points at this point it could be problematic. I hope something happens later in the half.

Ferentz was also asked about the “disrespect” shown to Iowa football players before the game, including a now-viral video of the Cornhuskers refusing to shake hands with the Iowa football captains. The coach was unaware of the situation but said he trusted his team would respond appropriately.

“I heard some things in the locker room, but I wasn’t out there. So I haven’t seen it and I really can’t say anything about it. There are certain rules of conduct before the game that most people follow, but I didn’t either.” “I see it. To be honest, I’m not too worried about it,” Ferentz said.

Before the end, Ferentz commented one last time on the statistical differences between the two teams in Saturday’s game.

“The odds are against you, right? The odds are against you, but that’s why you can’t believe in something like that. Football is still about finding a way to be successful in some way. No matter the sport, but this is what we do,” Ferentz said. “Statistics are important, but you know, when it comes to stats versus winning, there’s not even a bottom line – one is far ahead of the other When it comes to first and second place, no one remembers these statistics in December anyway. “It’s about finding a path to success and our guys did a good job at that.”

Iowa improved to 8-4 on the year, and Ferentz is now one win away from tying Woody Hayes in career wins as an active coach in the Big Ten Conference. Nebraska fell to 6-6 as both teams await their postseason bowl bids.

Listen to Kirk Ferentz’s full postgame comments below.

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