Hawks depart for Miami in 2 days

The Iowa Hawkeyes leave Thursday for Miami and their January 2nd Orange Bowl appearance against U-S-C. The Hawkeyes played 12 games this season, but still have had more than a month off since the regular season ended. Running back Fred Russell says the layoff won’t hurt the momentum they built late in the season. Russell says USC is in the same boat in terms of a layoff from action. If anything, Russell says the layoff has let him get healthy for the bowl game. One advantage the Hawkeyes expect to have is fan support. Estimates of the number of fans from Iowa who’ll travel to the game range from 40,000 to as high as 60,000. Russell says that’s important. Russell says the team has great fans. Russell is a junior from Michigan who earned all Big Ten honors this season.