Relive the Moment: The Day Kirk Ferentz Became Iowa’s Winningest Coach

Iowa Hawkeyes tears up as he is congratulated by his son, offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz after the match-up against the Northern Illinois Huskies on September 1, 2018 at Kinnick Stadium, in Iowa City, Iowa. The win made Ferentz the winningest coach in Iowa football

Welcome back to Relive the Moment, our summer series cracking open the tape on memorable games in Iowa Hawkeye history. With Northern Illinois headed to Kinnick on September 5 to open the 2026 season, we figured we’d revisit the last time we saw the Huskies in Iowa City — a slow-burn season opener that ended up putting Kirk Ferentz alone at the top of Iowa’s all-time wins list.
City

Iowa opened its 2018 season with two big questions hanging over Kinnick. The first was about the offensive line. Starting tackles Tristan Wirfs (an OWI arrest in the offseason) and Alaric Jackson (violation of team rules) were both serving one-game suspensions, along with defensive tackle Cedrick Lattimore. That meant backup tackles Dalton Ferguson, Levi Paulsen, and Mark Kallenberger had to step into the most important offensive line in the program with no warm-up reps.

The second question was about Kirk Ferentz himself. Ferentz entered the day tied with his mentor and predecessor Hayden Fry at 143 career wins at Iowa. One more victory would put him alone at the top of the program’s all-time wins list. Beat Northern Illinois — a MAC opponent that had given several Power Five teams trouble in recent years and was coached by Rod Carey — and the Ferentz coaching tree would have a new branch carved into it. Lose, and the storyline would shift to “what’s wrong with Iowa” before the calendar even flipped to Iowa State week.

The pregame mood at Kinnick was a strange mix of celebration-ready anticipation and “please just be efficient.” Iowa was a 21.5-point favorite. NIU was breaking in a new starting quarterback in Marcus Childers. Everyone in the press box thought this would be over by halftime.

The first half was a grind. Iowa’s makeshift offensive line struggled to establish anything in the run game. Nate Stanley, in his first start of the year, looked uneasy — he’d finish the day 11-of-23 for just 108 yards with one touchdown and one interception. The Hawkeyes managed exactly one Miguel Recinos field goal in the first 30 minutes. The halftime score: Iowa 3, Northern Illinois 0. The fanbase was, to put it charitably, unsettled.

Then everything broke loose. Iowa came out of the locker room and hit the gas pedal in a way the first half had given absolutely no preview of. The Hawkeyes scored 30 unanswered points across the third and fourth quarters and turned a tense afternoon into the kind of opener fans drove home from feeling fine about.

The third quarter is where the day flipped. Stanley found tight end Noah Fant in the back of the end zone for a 1-yard touchdown to make it 10-0. A few possessions later, Ivory Kelly-Martin punched in a 2-yard rushing score to extend the lead to 17-0.

Iowa was finally running it. The backups up front had settled in. The defense had pitched a shutout for nearly 40 minutes of game clock while also putting their own points on the board.

The fourth quarter added the exclamation points. Toren Young capped a long drive with a 6-yard touchdown run — he’d finish with a team-high 84 rushing yards on the day. Backup quarterback Peyton Mansell got into the game late and snuck in for a 1-yard score. By the time NIU finally found the end zone — Childers connected on a 1-yard touchdown pass with the game already decided — Kinnick was already in celebration mode.

Final: Iowa 33, Northern Illinois 7. The 30-0 second half was the kind of statement performance that, even after a sluggish opening 30 minutes, told you exactly what kind of team Iowa was going to be.

The headline of the day didn’t happen on a single snap. It happened when the clock hit triple zero and Kirk Ferentz walked off the field with his 144th career victory at Iowa, surpassing Hayden Fry’s program record of 143 wins. The man who’d taken over from Fry in 1999 and weathered a brutal 1-10 first season had now coached more wins at Iowa than anybody in school history.

Ferentz, being Ferentz, deflected. “I’ve just enjoyed coaching,” he said in the postgame, “there’s a lot of luck involved.” He spent more time crediting Fry, his assistants, and the players around him than acknowledging the milestone itself. That’s the Ferentz brand. The record-breaking moment was treated like a normal Saturday in September. The historians will treat it like the dividing line it was.

For longtime Hawkeye fans, this was the day Iowa football’s identity formally transferred from the “Fry era” to the “Ferentz era.” Fry built the program from rubble in the late 1970s and 80s. Ferentz extended and stabilized it into the 21st century. After this game, every Iowa win would be a Ferentz-era record win. Every Iowa win still is.

• Final score: Iowa 33, Northern Illinois 7. Iowa scored 30 unanswered to start the second half.

• Nate Stanley: 11-of-23 for 108 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT — not pretty, but enough.

• Iowa team rushing: 209 yards. Toren Young (84/1 TD), Ivory Kelly-Martin (62/1 TD), Mekhi Sargent (40 yards).

• T.J. Hockenson: 4 catches for 64 yards — a quiet preview of what was about to be a Mackey Award-caliber season.

• Noah Fant: The 1-yard receiving touchdown that broke the third-quarter logjam.

• Marcus Childers (NIU QB): 105 passing yards, 1 TD pass, no real answers.

• Ferentz’s career record: Now 144-89 at Iowa, alone at the top.

• Iowa’s record after Game 1: 1-0. The Hawkeyes would finish 9-4 with an Outback Bowl win over Mississippi State.

Final score: Iowa 33, Northern Illinois 7. Iowa scored 30 unanswered to start the second half.

Nate Stanley: 11-of-23 for 108 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT — not pretty, but enough.

Iowa team rushing: 209 yards. Toren Young (84/1 TD), Ivory Kelly-Martin (62/1 TD), Mekhi Sargent (40 yards).

T.J. Hockenson: 4 catches for 64 yards — a quiet preview of what was about to be a Mackey Award-caliber season.

Noah Fant: The 1-yard receiving touchdown that broke the third-quarter logjam.

Marcus Childers (NIU QB): 105 passing yards, 1 TD pass, no real answers.

Ferentz’s career record: Now 144-89 at Iowa, alone at the top.

Iowa’s record after Game 1: 1-0. The Hawkeyes would finish 9-4 with an Outback Bowl win over Mississippi State.

The 2018 season opener featured a roster that scattered into one of the more memorable NFL classes in Iowa history. Eight years later, the cast list reads like a tight end and offensive line hall of fame:

• Tristan Wirfs (suspended for this game, returned the next week vs. Iowa State) — Drafted 13th overall by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2020. Has since become a multi-time first-team All-Pro left tackle, a Super Bowl LV champion, and one of the best offensive linemen in football. Easily the most decorated player to come out of this team.

• T.J. Hockenson — Drafted 8th overall by the Detroit Lions in 2019, traded to the Minnesota Vikings in 2022. Hockenson restructured his contract with the Vikings ahead of 2026 and remains one of the better tight ends in football.

• Noah Fant — Drafted 20th overall by the Denver Broncos in 2019. After stops with the Seattle Seahawks and Cincinnati Bengals, Fant signed a two-year deal with the New Orleans Saints in March 2026. Seven NFL seasons, 334 career receptions, 18 receiving touchdowns and counting.

• Nate Stanley — Drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in the seventh round in 2020. Spent time on practice squads but never made a regular-season appearance. He officially retired from football in 2023 and is now teaching and coaching.

• Anthony Nelson (DE) — Drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, has carved out a long career as a rotational pass-rusher and run defender.

• Amani Hooker (S) — Drafted by the Tennessee Titans, where he’s been a steady starter at safety for years.

• A.J. Epenesa (then a freshman defensive end) — Drafted by the Buffalo Bills in 2020 and has stuck around as a quality edge rotation piece.

• Kirk Ferentz — Still on the Kinnick sideline as Iowa’s head coach, more than 70 wins past the record he set that day.

Tristan Wirfs (suspended for this game, returned the next week vs. Iowa State) — Drafted 13th overall by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2020. Has since become a multi-time first-team All-Pro left tackle, a Super Bowl LV champion, and one of the best offensive linemen in football. Easily the most decorated player to come out of this team.

T.J. Hockenson — Drafted 8th overall by the Detroit Lions in 2019, traded to the Minnesota Vikings in 2022. Hockenson restructured his contract with the Vikings ahead of 2026 and remains one of the better tight ends in football.

Noah Fant — Drafted 20th overall by the Denver Broncos in 2019. After stops with the Seattle Seahawks and Cincinnati Bengals, Fant signed a two-year deal with the New Orleans Saints in March 2026. Seven NFL seasons, 334 career receptions, 18 receiving touchdowns and counting.

Nate Stanley — Drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in the seventh round in 2020. Spent time on practice squads but never made a regular-season appearance. He officially retired from football in 2023 and is now teaching and coaching.

Anthony Nelson (DE) — Drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, has carved out a long career as a rotational pass-rusher and run defender.

Amani Hooker (S) — Drafted by the Tennessee Titans, where he’s been a steady starter at safety for years.

A.J. Epenesa (then a freshman defensive end) — Drafted by the Buffalo Bills in 2020 and has stuck around as a quality edge rotation piece.

Kirk Ferentz — Still on the Kinnick sideline as Iowa’s head coach, more than 70 wins past the record he set that day.

Here’s the official Big Ten Network highlight package from the 33-7 win: