As exam week winds down the Iowa football team returns to the practice field to resume preparations for the January second Taxslayer Bowl against Tennessee. Senior linebacker Quinton Alston says the time between the end of the regular season and the bowl game allows them to return to the basics. “During the season it’s a lot of game plan, schemes, but bowl prep, it pretty much takes you back to the basics,” Alston says. He says that extra month of the basic drills helps.
Iowa dropped its final two games to finish a disappointing 7-5 but senior defensive lineman Louis Trina-Pasat says the Hawks have put the regular season behind them after they went over the everything and they now are focused on getting better and the next opponent.
Senior offensive tackle Brandon Scherff was named Iowa’s fourth winner of the Outland Trophy last week and he is looking forward to playing one more game in a Hawkeye uniform. “Alll those accolades, they wouldn’t happen if it wasn’t for the rest of the team…it’s nice, but we’ve got a job to do down in Florida,” Scherff says.
Tennessee is preparing for its first bowl game since 2010. The Volunteers finished the regular season with a record of 6-6.