You sometimes see Kirk Ferentz's wry smile, right?
You can imagine the Iowa football coach cracking that smile late in 2014 when Nebraska fired head coach Bo Pelini. Stay with me here. The Huskers had just beaten the Hawkeyes for the third time in four years under Pelini. Then came the quote that never seems to go away.
“Our kids showed great character and resiliency in a tough environment, so it did play a factor,” said then-Nebraska athletic director Shawn Eichorst, referring to Nebraska's 37-34 overtime win against Iowa in November of 2014 and whether it made it harder to fire Pelini with a 9-3 record.