Quick press conference notes (Ferentz, Stanzi videos)

-- Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said Tuesday that Iowa OL Bryan Bulaga, TE Tony Moeaki and WR Derrell Johnson-Koulianos remain "day-to-day" and he wasn't optimistic on their status for Saturday's game at No. 5 Penn State.

Bulaga (undisclosed illness) hasn't been cleared to play, Ferentz said.

"Once he's cleared, he'll be back out there," Ferentz said. "He's moving in the right direction, everything's good, but, you know, not great."

Ferentz said Bulaga was able to lift, run and ride the stationary bike late in the week last week.

"Everything's being monitored right now," Ferentz said. "We're just making sure everything is fine."

In the staff's medical meeting, Ferentz asked what was out there on the internet.

"For the record, he doesn't have an infected tattoo," Ferentz said. "Doesn't have an infected tattoo, his life's not at risk. I think I made that point pretty clear the first time. This is just something that's got to pass.

"Believe me, if he had a debilitating injury or something like that, we'd share it with you. If his career was in danger, and more importantly, if his life were in danger, way more importantly, then I'd say something. It's really not that dramatic.

"The only other thing I'd say, it's just unfortunate that this didn't happen in February. It'd be a non-issue. The timing could be better. That's not how it works. That seems to be the pattern this year."

-- None of the three practiced Sunday. Moeaki (ankle) and DJK (hamstring) haven't seen the field now since the Iowa State game.

"Let me think about this for a minute," Ferentz said, pondering what the three actually did on Sunday. "They all did some stuff, but not full speed. I don't know how optimistic I am, quite frankly."

-- The message was loud in clear -- the Hawkeyes will prepare for their biggest stage of the season as though Bulaga, Moeaki and DJK won't be there. If they are, OK. But the message before Tuesday's practice was a strong "moving on" from Ferentz.

"I think clearly they weren't there Saturday, and I think once that's been determined, then you just get the mindset that they're not going to be there, and if they're there, that's a bonus. That's always nice," Ferentz said. "But we haven't had any Christmas presents yet this year. So we'll just kind of play it like they're not going to be with us."

-- Asked to clarify his level of optimism for the three to return this week, Ferentz said:

"I've given up being optimistic," he said. "I'm normally an optimistic guy, but I'll be optimistic after I see them playing."

-- Asked if they were practicing today, Ferentz said, "Not really." But it is early in the week. Iowa has two more full-practice days (Wednesday and Thursday).

"I think they're they're probably assuming they're not going to play," Ferentz said. "I'd like to be pleasantly surprised, but I'm beyond that point. I'm sure they want their linebackers to play too. It's part of the game. If they show up, they show up. If they don't, they don't. One thing we all know is that they've missed some time already, so they're not going to be as effective as they would've been if they'd been playing. We all know that."

-- Bulaga hasn't practiced since Sept. 8, when he was hospitalized with his illness. Moeaki hasn't practiced since his ankle was rolled by an Iowa offensive linemen during the Iowa State game. Johnson-Koulianos hasn't seen the field since Iowa State, when he was a gametime decision with the hamstring injury. 

-- Ferentz was asked if an opponent's health is something they consider going into a game week.

"I've been in that situation where you worry about if this guy is playing or not playing," Ferentz said. "And then he doesn't play and you get you butt kicked. I've been through that a couples times. To me, it's a non-issue. If they show up, they show up. Same thing with our guys. We're playing as if they're not there and if we get them, that's great.

"We're not going to sit around waiting on it. We can't. We've got to get other guys ready."

And so yeah, that's the message. You can't put a percentage on this, but Ferentz clearly wants his team moving forward with the mindset that Bulaga, Moeaki and DJK won't be there.

-- Penn State's virally successful "white out" or "white house" will be in full effect Saturday night. Ferentz said the Hawkeyes and Iowa coaching staff will happily join in on the festivities, wearing the road whites and the coaches in white polos on the sidelines.

-- Ferentz was sort of loosey-goosey Tuesday. He wondered aloud about how the Big Ten schedule, which is done by computer, always starts Iowa's conference schedule on the road. And, adding insult to injury this season, Iowa goes to Penn State and Ohio State.

"I know what they can do with their computer . . . trade it in," he said. "You thought I was going to say something else. Maybe they should go for an upgrade. We'll sell them one."

 -- Ferentz was asked if Moeaki is just plain unlucky. He said an Iowa OL fell on his ankle during the ISU game and so, yeah, Moeaki was unucky with this one. He didn't characterize the ankle as a "high sprain." He said Moeaki's ankle deteriorated last week.

-- Iowa recruited several Penn State players, including star linebacker Sean Lee, who attended the same high school Ferentz did, Upper Saint Clair. Iowa has recruited several Nittany Lions and they're Nittany Lions. Ferent ticked off the names of PSU players who visited Iowa and then went to Penn State.

"Does it sound like I have a complex"? Ferentz joked. "They didn't recruit me, either, dammit!"

-- On WR Colin Sandeman, who missed all of camp with a hamstring injury and then showed up last week to lead the Hawkeyes with five receptions for 47 yards in the Arizona win.

"He was definitely on the milk cartons. We hadn't seen him in quite some time," Ferentz said. "Hopefully, now he's getting back in shape a little bit."

-- On QB Ricky Stanzi: "He's not a bad player," Ferentz said. "We're all kind of focused on his hiccups right now, but I think his overall production is something we'd all take. I'm very confident he's going to keep improving because he's a quality guy."

-- By the way, you know that Big Ten Network show, "The Journey"? The BTN asked Ferentz and he said no thanks, as you'd probably expect. The Big Ten Network recruiting commercial? Ferentz said all five of his kids voted him as No. 11 on his appearance.

Coach Ferentz - 9 22 09