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Kirk Ferentz is known to tell a story every now and then, but no one in the assembled press could've expected the story he told during his weekly press conference on Tuesday afternoon. 

Ferentz had plenty to say about No. 20 Iowa's (4-1, 1-1) key Big Ten matchup against Washington (3-2, 0-2) in Seattle on Friday (8:00 p.m. CDT, FOX or FS1). Every head coach has a good idea of what they'll be asked by the media each week, but there was one question that Ferentz has been preparing for since the summer. 

It took awhile for the question to surface, but once KWWL's Mark Woodley asked Ferentz his thoughts about traveling to Washington on a short week, Ferentz's answer was locked and loaded. 

Ferentz has openly expressed his disdain for traveling to regular season games on the West Coast, especially since his Hawkeyes haven't won a regular season game west of Lincoln, Nebraska since 1987. The last time Iowa scheduled a regular season game out west was back in 2010 (an upset loss to Arizona), but conference expansion to USC, UCLA, Washington, and Oregon leaves the Hawkeyes no choice but to make a West Coast trip every year. 

Iowa has dropped both of its West Coast Big Ten road trips since league expansion – 2024 to UCLA and 2025 to USC – and though Ferentz probably isn't happy the once-Midwestern conference has expanded to both coastlines, but he says the travel isn't a big deal. 

While the Hawkeyes' flight to Seattle is four hours, Ferentz says it hardly feels like a trip. Players can spend that time by watching film or movies on their laptops and iPads, so the long flight goes by in an instant. 

Besides, Friday's game will kick at 6:00 PDT – far earlier than games at Arizona State in 2004 (7:30 MDT) and the 2010 clash against Arizona (7:30 MDT). 

"Think about when Washington came here [two years ago] and had to play us at 11 o'clock in the morning. Talk about being screwed up. Like that's the worst end of the deal. Good news is we're not near as bad this time," Ferentz said. 

Game time aside, Ferentz is just thankful his team is able to travel to Seattle via a charter plane. As he was reading Frosty Westering's book "Make the Big Time Where You Are" over the summer, Ferentz couldn't help but remember a story he read that described a Division III school in Seattle called Pacific Lutheran, where Westering served as head coach for 32 seasons. 

Due to Pacific Lutheran's Pacific Northwest location, the football program was forced to travel 15,000 miles across five consecutive road games. Despite the adversity, the Lutes secured the 1999 national championship. 

Ferentz himself instantly related to the story, as he led his Maine program on a 5,100-mile trip to Hawaii in 1990 – the longest trip for an away team in college football history. The Black Bears were defeated soundly by the Rainbow Warriors, 44-3, but the experience was certainly one to remember. 

"Good stuff comes out of that. So long story short, it isn’t that big of a deal. We're not taking a Greyhound bus. We're not taking a train. We're going to fly there in four hours," Ferentz said. 

Ferentz said the primary factor for his team to leave the Emerald City victorious on Friday will be to have a good attitude. Instead of worrying about the long trip, he tells his team to think about the tough opponent on deck. 

The Hawkeyes can prepare for Washington with film, but one thing they can't prepare for is the noise inside Husky Stadium. No Iowa player or coach has ever stepped foot into one of the most picturesque settings in college football. 

While Ferentz acknowledged Husky Stadium's proud history compared to the ill-fated Kingdome (Ferentz called the now-demolished stadium a dump), the challenge again remains to beat the Huskies and enter the bye week 5-1. 

"The biggest thing is the opponent we're playing," Ferentz said. "They're a good team, and they're hungry for a win, just like we are." 

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HawkeyeRoundtable publisher Brad Schultz has covered the Iowa Hawkeyes since 2023. To send him story ideas, scoops, or criticize his writing, reach him at bradschultz@roundtable.io

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