While some on the Iowa football program will look to exact some level of revenge against Michigan for what it did to the Hawkeyes during last year's Big Ten championship game, one of those members that won't be doing so is head coach Kirk Ferentz.

Meeting with reporters this week, Ferentz was asked whether last season has come into his mind at all and whether the focus around the program has been to get revenge on the Wolverines.

After all, the Big Ten championship game was airing on televisions around the football facility when he was meeting with the media.

"It depends on the individual," Ferentz said. "Those words aren't coming out of my mouth. I'm not looking at it that way. But it is a reminder, what I was talking about earlier. If you aren't on top of things and you give up a couple of big plays, all of a sudden the hill gets pretty steep. When you're trying to ascend a hill like that against a team that's that talented, it's tough. It's tough, and then they've got you where they want you.

"The first thing you have to do is just keep it close and make sure every play is sound, and if they're going to get something, make them really work and earn it, and we didn't do that necessarily last year. If somebody has motivation that comes out of that, I think we all want to do better, needless to say. But it's not as simple as hey, let's go get these guys. I wish it was."

As for what it's going to take to pull off another massive upset over a Top-5 program, something Ferentz's program is no stranger with doing at Kinnick Stadium, it all goes back to the basics.

Sound, clean football in all three phases of the game.

"We're going to have to play really well in all three phases," Ferentz said. "Just a basic answer there, and every play. That's the biggest thing. Then hopefully we can get them to slip up or make a mistake or two, but they haven't made a lot of them this year, so it's going to be a challenge."