Both Iowa and Minnesota have struggled to score points this season, as the Hawkeyes entered Saturday's match up ranked 114th nationally in scoring and the Gophers came in at 110th.
The official over/under point total from a number of popular betting institutions put the point total at 30.5, making it the lowest total ever for a college football game.
What oddsmakers had no way of telling, was just how electric of an ending this one would turn out to be, despite being a low-scoring affair.
Down 12-10, with three timeouts in their pocket and two minutes left, Iowa decided to punt from their own 41 yard line facing a 4th and 10.
After a run on first down for just a yard, Minnesota ran a play action roll out on second down that went incomplete, allowing the Hawkeyes to pocket a first down.
Fleck and the Gophers ran the ball for a few yards on third down, forcing Iowa to take their second timeout.
The ensuing punt was fielded at about the 50-yard line, and after tip-toeing up the sideline, and reversing the field, Cooper DeJean - the Big Ten's best return man - took it to the house, and Kinnick Stadium went nuts.
But that's where things took a turn...
After an official review that seemed to be focused on whether DeJean stayed in bounds, officials concluded that DeJean made a waving motion with his left hand that was too similar to a fair catch signal, resulting in a penalty.
Here's that moment - which I think (nearly) all of us can agree was actually DeJean telling his teammates to get away from the ball...not in any way a signal over his head for a fair catch.
Refs rule this was a fair-catch call, which negates Iowa’s go-ahead punt return touchdown with 90 seconds left in the game. pic.twitter.com/0wER8ryyYN
— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) October 21, 2023
After game personnel had to clear off the field because Iowa fans were throwing garbage on the field after that call, Iowa took at about the -45 yard line needing a couple first downs and a field goal for the win.
After a sack and then an incompletion, the Hawkeyes faced a daunting 3rd and 17 and quarterback Deacon Hill threw an interception on a deep curl route to an outside receiver to end the game.
For PJ Fleck, the win over the Hawkeyes marked his first in six tries against Iowa since his arrival in Minnesota.
That controversial review will be talked about for years to come, as it not only wiped away the electric kick return that likely would have sealed the game, but it also ended up costing Iowa the critical 7th win needed as part of Brian Ferentz's contract objectives.
It also took critical points off the board as the other key objective called for Brian's offense to average 25 points per game - a mark that looks to be a huge uphill climb at this point with the injuries the Hawkeyes have had piled up the last several weeks to key players including quarterback Cade McNamara and tight end Erick All.
So far this season, the Hawkeyes have posted point totals of:
24 (Utah State)
20 (Iowa State)
41 (Western Michigan)
0 (Penn State)
26 (Michigan State)
20 (Purdue)
15 (Wisconsin)
10 (Minnesota)
Through seven games Hawkeyes have averaged over 25 points per game at just one point - following their 41 point explosion against Western Michigan. Combined with a 24-point outing at Utah State, and a 20-point day against Iowa State the Hawkeyes were sitting at 28 points per game.
With games remaining with Northwestern, Rutgers, Illinois and Nebraska, Brian needs one more win to hit the 7-win mark outlined in his contract.
We've said it time and time again the past few weeks, but it bears repeating again - the contract former AD Gary Barta worked up for Brian Ferentz to perform to this year is as unpopular as perhaps any contract in the history of the coaching profession. To have those objectives is one thing, but to publicly put it out there for public consumption in the way they did ensures there's really no winners in this whole deal, regardless of how it plays out.
New athletic director Beth Goetz and the rest of the Hawkeye administration will ultimately have a decision to make when that time comes, but there's unanimous agreement in the coaching community that this should have been handled very, very differently.
Here's a look at where things stand after week 8 for Brian's contract.
