Stanford players lavish Hawkeyes with praise

LOS ANGELES — If Iowa's football team wants bulletin board material this week, it needs to invent some.

From what I've heard the last two days, Stanford's squad is about as respectful toward its Rose Bowl opponent as any bowl foe the Hawkeyes have come across.

Stanford offensive guard Joshua Garnett sounded like an agent for the Hawkeyes' defense Monday at a Rose Bowl press conference.

'They don't have many missed responsibilities,' Garnett said. 'You know that they're well-coached. They know where to be at all times.

'At the end of the day they're physical, real physical guys. You never see them with bad hands. They're really getting their hands right. You don't see their defensive linemen on the ground. Great movement. Just together, playing well as a team.'

Michigan State had a 22-play touchdown drive that beat Iowa in the Big Ten championship game. Garnett watched that drive and saw only positives from the Hawkeyes.

'Iowa was getting after the guys on Michigan State's team,' he said. 'They had great pad level, great hands. They didn't have any missed gap assignments. Just a testament to Iowa's team.

'You could tell why the only game they lost was in the Big Ten championship, because of how well they played as a team.'

Garnett is a senior who will make his third Rose Bowl appearance. Cardinal quarterback Kevin Hogan will be making his third Rose Bowl start. They're the champions of the Pacific-12 Conference. But overconfidence isn't in their game plan.

'We're very comfortable,' Hogan said, 'but it's a good kind of comfortable, not complacency.

'You can't take anything for granted. We know we have a great opponent on our hands and it will be an exciting challenge.'