Kirk Ferentz ices Iowa State kicker Cole Netten and strategy backfires
Kirk Ferentz out-thought himself in his Hawkeyes’ 20-17 loss to Iowa State on Saturday.
Iowa State had a 4th-and-1 at Iowa’s 24 with two seconds left in a 17-17 game. Ferentz decided to try icing Iowa State kicker Cole Netten on a last-second field goal attempt. Netten’s kick barely hooked wide left, which would have resulted in the game going to overtime. Luckily for the Cyclones, the timeout gave Netten another shot at the kick. This time he kicked it right down the middle to give Iowa State a 20-17 win.
Data studies have shown that kickers have a higher success rate after the opposing team attempts to ice them. When will coaches figure that out?
