SAN DIEGO — Iowa will be facing a Pac-12 team in Friday’s Holiday Bowl, when the Hawkeyes play USC.
Playing out West is fine for a bowl game, coach Kirk Ferentz said during Thursday’s press conference.
Playing out here for a regular-season game is something that likely isn’t going to happen any time soon for the Hawkeyes.
Iowa hasn’t played a Pac-12 team on the road in the regular season since a 34-27 loss to Arizona in a night game in 2010. Six years earlier, the Hawkeyes lost, 44-7, at Arizona State in a game that started 40 minutes late because of a lightning delay. Both games were night games, which meant the Hawkeyes didn’t get back to Iowa City until Sunday morning.
“As long as I have a voice at Iowa — hopefully I'll have it for a while — we're not playing out here (in) non-league games,” Ferentz said. “If they want to come to our place, that's fine. But traveling out here and doing the time change, and then you know we had a two-hour rain delay at Arizona State, we're not going down that road again, I can assure you that.”
The Hawkeyes arrived in San Diego on Saturday, giving them time to adjust to the two-hour time difference.
“Bowl game is a whole different deal because you have a chance to get out there and get acclimated a little bit,” Ferentz said.
Ferentz said it’s good the two conferences get to play in this game.
“I think it's outstanding because I think the conferences are very, very similar just in terms of their philosophy towards the game and towards academics. Not trying to get on a pedestal, but always felt like the Big Ten is the epitome of what college athletics should be about. And I think there's a reason with that association that's so long-standing with the Rose Bowl — I think there are a lot of parallels there.
“It's exciting for us and it's truly a foreign opponent because there aren't many crossover games, so when you come out, beginning of the month, you're starting from total scratch. Fortunately you have some time to get ready and just familiarize yourself a little bit with the roster, and all those kinds of things. It's real, truly a fresh approach every time.”
This is the last season for the Big Ten to be affiliated with this game. Iowa is 2-0-1 in the Holiday Bowl.
Ferentz was an assistant coach under former coach Hayden Fry for Iowa’s Holiday Bowl wins in 1986 and 1987.
“We were here in '86, '87, had just an unbelievable experience and it's even better now,” Ferentz said.
Iowa will be the home team on Friday night.
“Feels kind of strange to be the home team in California when we're playing Southern Cal,” Ferentz joked. “Their trip here is probably a little less eventful than ours.”
Roster moves
The days after the bowl game will likely mean some players from both teams will be moving on, either to enter the NFL draft or enter the NCAA transfer portal.
Ferentz said that subject isn’t a concern to him right now.
“It's pretty simple,” Ferentz said. “We'll just continue dialogue. We've already tried to present accurate information regarding the topic you're talking about, and we've given them all that. We'll go into more depth after the new year here.
“Right now our focus is on this game, quite frankly. We've asked the players to put it aside. They have done a great job of that. They get it. They are mature guys and they understand it's all about this game.”
Iowa defensive end A.J. Epenesa, offensive tackle Tristan Wirfs and safety Geno Stone have filled out paperwork for feedback on what their draft status could be if they decide to skip their final season. The three will play in Friday’s game.
“Plenty of time for everything else afterwards, and quite frankly, one nice thing about playing the 27th, we get a little bonus time to think about stuff and that will be one of the topics,” Ferentz said. “Right now I could care less. I'm just thinking about this football game. That's the beauty of football, don't have to worry about all that for the next 48 hours, whatever's left. That's one of the best things about it. We'll just kind of zone it out. Get to it when it's appropriate.”
Momentum with a win?
Iowa is 8-8 in bowl games under Ferentz.
The Hawkeyes have won an average of nine games in the season following a bowl win, 7 ½ games in a season after a bowl loss.
Ferentz said a win can help with offseason momentum, but it’s not a guarantee.
“It always helps to finish on a positive note, there's no denying that, but it's not the end of the world either,” Ferentz said. “It's not catastrophic if you lose. It's all about enjoying the game. Going out and playing as hard as you can like you do every week, and hoping that you play well enough to deserve to win and that's our goal for tomorrow.
“But we'll handle the circumstances either way. It's certainly not the end of the season and it certainly doesn't anoint you to a championship bid next year, either. There's no down side to winning, either. It's better to win.”
Ferentz’s first bowl as a head coach was the 2001 Alamo Bowl, a 19-16 win over Texas Tech. A year later, the Hawkeyes shared the Big Ten title and played in the Orange Bowl, losing to USC.
The Hawkeyes defeated South Carolina in the Outback Bowl after the 2008 season. They won their first nine games of the 2009 season, defeating Georgia Tech in the Orange Bowl to cap an 11-win season.
Iowa lost the TaxSlayer Bowl to Tennessee, 45-28, after the 2014 season. The Hawkeyes went 12-0 in the regular season in 2015, winning the Big Ten West Division before losing to Michigan State in the Big Ten championship game and then falling to Stanford in the Rose Bowl.
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Thursday Quotebook: Playing Out West Is Fine For The Hawkeyes ... In A Bowl Game - Sports Illustrated
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