Iowa coach Hayden Fry shrugged off a suggestion in this newspaper that he consider retiring at the end of the year. Despite losing his last two games by a combined 62-20, Fry said Tuesday he’s enjoying coaching a young Hawkeyes team.
“I kind of chuckle when they say the pressure’s on me,” Fry said on the Big Ten’s weekly teleconference call. “I have a long-term contract that rolls over every year and my administration and athletic director (Bob Bowlsby) have been extremely kind to me.
“It’s my call. But I can assure you that if I don’t feel good about my own coaching, I will retire. I will get out.
“But one thing I will promise you also is that if I do leave, which I will at some time, obviously–I’m not going to be able to stay in it as long as Joe Paterno–I want to make sure that the Iowa program is in real good shape, that we have young men returning and they don’t have to start over like I have this year. I wouldn’t want to wish that on anyone.”
Boilermaker special: It might be asking a lot for sophomore quarterback Drew Brees to lead Purdue to its second straight victory Saturday over Notre Dame, a feat the Boilermakers haven’t accomplished since the final two seasons of the Gerry Faust era.
But Purdue coach Joe Tiller has great expectations for Brees, who has thrown for six touchdowns against three interceptions in his first three college starts.
“Drew Brees has a very good background,” Tiller said. “He’s really well-schooled in the fundamentals of the game. He has real good field presence and field awareness. He’s a real bright guy.
“He has won a whole lot of football games over the course of his lifetime,” Tiller said of Brees, who led his Texas high school team to a 28-0-1 record.
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If Purdue’s defense continues to improve, Brees might not have to be perfect against a banged-up Irish defense. But Tiller knows the Boilermakers will have to be more disciplined–they committed 10 penalties for 81 yards in Saturday’s 35-7 victory over Central Florida–to knock off the 23rd-ranked Fighting Irish on the road.
Agents of chaos: Michigan coach Lloyd Carr said Tuesday the university continues to investigate allegations that co-captain Marcus Ray had improper contact with an agent last summer.
Asked if he expected a quick resolution, Carr said, “I don’t think it’s going to take too long.”
Michigan is expected to turn over its findings to the NCAA, which would then decide on any penalties against the program.
Carr and Michigan State coach Nick Saban have voiced support for state legislation barring agents from campus. “There should be some kind of risk, penalty, whatever you like to call it, that they take when they do the wrong thing,” Saban said. “Right now there’s no consequence for the agent for doing the wrong thing.”
Sidelines: An example of how statistics lie: Wisconsin leads the Big Ten in passing efficiency, but the Badgers have completed only 36 passes in three games. Only three Big Ten teams have completed fewer passes. . . . An example of how statistics don’t lie: Iowa ranks 107th nationally in rushing, gaining 48 yards per game.
Is this really the Big Ten, the grind-it-out conference of Archie Griffin, Red Grange and Anthony Thompson? The conference has only one running back in the Top 20 nationally–Ohio State’s Michael Wiley, who rates fifth at 166.7 yards per game. And only five Big Ten backs are averaging at least 100 yards per game. Two of those–Steve Havard and Rocky Harvey–play for Illinois.