It's A Quick Bowl Prep For The Hawkeyes

There isn't much time for Iowa to prepare for the Holiday Bowl against USC.

Kirk Ferentz remembered the last time Iowa prepared for a bowl game against USC.

The Hawkeyes played the Trojans in the 2003 Orange Bowl, a game that was played on Jan. 2. Iowa closed the 2002 season with a win at Minnesota in a game played on Nov. 16.

"We had about 12 weeks to get ready for that one," Ferentz joked on Monday.

It's not the same this time. Iowa plays USC in the Dec. 27 Holiday Bowl in San Diego with not a lot of time to prepare.

Iowa's last game was on Nov. 29 against Nebraska. The Hawkeyes got the bowl invitation on Dec. 8.

Complicating the bowl preparation time was the late Thanksgiving this season — Iowa and the rest of the Big Ten teams had two bye weeks this season — and the fact that the Hawkeyes are going through finals week.

The last day of finals is Friday, and the Hawkeyes will be heading to San Diego over the weekend.

"(It) really is going to require some flexibility, already has, because it's unusual in terms of the calendar setup," Ferentz said. "Thanksgiving fell late this year. We're in finals right now. This is not a week of preparation for us, a clean week. We're just trying to get an hour here, an hour there.

"We'll really kind of start in earnest Friday afternoon or almost Friday evening. It's really atypical, really feels more like we had a double bye than it does getting ready for a bowl prep. Everything we've done in the past, threw that out, started from scratch."

Bowl preparation is also about getting players who haven't played as much or at all some extra work. That hasn't happened this time, Ferentz said.

"That's a big part of it, sure it is," Ferentz said. "That's disappointing because we're a developmental program. Whatever it may be, those calendar hours, we just can't make them up. That's the way it goes. Have to do a better job in the spring."

The usual plan is for the Hawkeyes to have all of the preparation for the opponent done before heading to the bowl site, just because of all of the distractions that come with a postseason game.

The Hawkeyes will tour the USS Roosevelt and visit the San Diego Zoo as part of the promotional part of the trip.

"A lot of really nice things," Ferentz said.

But there is a game to be played against the Trojans (8-4). And time is running out to get ready.

"Bottom line is we're going to have to do a great job of utilizing what time we do have," Ferentz said. "When we're practicing, as limited as it may be, we have to be spot on with our practice and preparation so we can go out and play to the best of our ability. It's going to take every chance of that to have a chance to play successfully against a team like this."

Ferentz, though, appreciates the test.

"There's always a great challenge, great thing about sport, always things to learn, contemplate, think about," he said. "This whole schedule has made us give a lot of thought, make sure we're not screwing this thing up. We'll know more in about two weeks.

"That's part of the fun, it is really stimulating trying to put the puzzles together sometimes."