As far as “things that suck in 2020” go, being the fan of a bad football team is well down the list; below surging COVID-19 numbers, the specter of civil unrest following a nasty election and a still shaky economy.

Still, most Hawkeye fans expected to get a little jolt of joy from the belated start of the college football season. If there was any joy, it evaporated quickly as Iowa sputtered in its opening two games, losing both in close fashion late, after the team did basically nothing of note in the second half of either contest.

Maybe calling Iowa “bad” is a small stretch. They had every opportunity to win both games, although the level of competition was average, not elite. But the 2020 Hawkeye team is most definitely not “good.” Good teams don’t get consistently outscored in the second half. Good teams don’t make critical mistakes at the most inopportune times. Good teams learn from past performances.

It is obvious Iowa and its coaches are incapable of learning from past debacles against Northwestern. Saturday’s slog looked like almost every Kirk Ferentz loss to Pat Fitzgerald – there are now 9 of them against the 5 wins he has managed – from the uninspired play calling to getting dinked and dunked on defense.

It hurts to say, but Ferentz looks a lot like Joe Paterno did against Iowa early in Kirk’s tenure. Now it is Ferentz that appears to be the stubborn and stodgy old mentor, getting upstaged and outcoached by a younger, fiery mentee.

In nearly every fact of the game, Iowa was out-toughed and out-thought by the Northwestern staff and players. You can sometimes overcome one, but never both.

What is particularly perplexing is the stagnation of the offense. Pundits felt this was finally a year where a young and untested Iowa defense might have to lean on a veteran and explosive offense for a change. But once again, even with a bunch of new starters, defense is the strength of this team. In the modern era of college football, giving up a little less than 24 points-per-game ought to be enough to win. But it’s not for Iowa.

It is becoming increasingly clear that offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz is in desperate need of finding an identity for the Iowa offense. What are they, exactly? Not a power run team. Iowa tried to chuck the ball all over the field with a spooked, inconsistent and inexperienced quarterback. They also bounced back and forth between taking deep shots, trying to get the tight ends involved and getting the receivers into the running game. At times it feels like the younger Ferentz just throws things against the wall to see what sticks. But nothing does. And this makes Iowa wildly inconsistent – and therefore toothless – on the offensive side of the ball.

In the past, Iowa has thrived best as a power running team. That typically opens up the passing game, particularly through play action, and keeps inexperienced quarterbacks comfortable by not putting the weight of the offense on their shoulders. Saturday, Iowa often tried play action passes, only to see Spencer Petras running for his life because Northwestern had zero fear of the Iowa running game. This is not a winning strategy.

There is a shadow of a silver lining, however

The other thing indisputably true about 2020 is that it will be a football season like no other. Already, coaches and star players are missing games and forcing cancellations. There are no out-of-conference games in the Big 10 and few elsewhere. Anyone, even Nebraska, can go to a bowl. I swear this isn’t sour grapes (and indeed, I said it long before Iowa even snapped a ball) but for all intents and purposes, 2020 college football is an exhibition season.

Now that 0-2 Iowa is effectively out of the Big 10 championship race, why not fully embrace that concept? I’m not giving up on Spencer Petras as a possible outstanding college quarterback, but why not put in Alex Padilla or even Deuce Hogan for a few series to see what you’ve got? Run some more exotic plays. Play some young guys. Shake things up.

This may not be the typical “Iowa way” but with the fans restless and the recent offseason travails still top of mind among many, it might be time to give folks a glimmer of hope for the long-term future.

If not, that term may end sooner than anyone wants.

Follow me on Twitter @ToryBrecht and @12Saturdays