Hawkeyes wake up and find themselves in Pasadena

IOWA CITY — The bus to and from the airport this morning was dead silent. Iowa played its 13th football game in 14 weeks, fell one yard and one win short of the College Football Playoff final four and was understandably devastated.

At least two of the Hawkeyes who spoke at Sunday night's news conference were asleep when the new of No. 5 Iowa's Rose Bowl bid was announced.

'I was actually sleeping when the selection show came on,' senior center Austin Blythe said. 'I woke up to a couple of texts.'

Quarterback C.J. Beathard was asleep, too. He woke up to find out that the Hawkeyes' 25-year Rose Bowl drought is over. He'll also be the third Beathard to either play or coach in the game. His great uncle Pete was quarterbacked USC to a national title in 1962 and an epic Rose Bowl victory over Wisconsin in '63. His uncle, Kurt, was wide receivers coach at Illinois in 2008.

'I dreamed of playing in that stadium and now I am getting the opportunity to do that,' Beathard said.

Suddenly, the pain from last Saturday night's 16-13 loss to Michigan State in the final minute of the Big Ten championship game subsided. It didn't completely go away, but, hey, Rose Bowl.

The No. 5 Hawkeyes (12-1) will meet No. 6 Stanford (11-2), which pounded USC 41-22 to claim the Pac-12 championship last night, for a 4 p.m. ESPN kickoff on Friday, Jan, 1 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif. It's the Hawkeyes first Rose Bowl since 1991, snapping a 25-year Rose Bowl absence, third longest in the Big Ten.

Let all of that sink in for a moment.

'Certainly, last night was a tough night for us and this news is good medicine, I think, for all of us, just to ease the tough outcome,' Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz said.

Ferentz thought he had Iowa in the 2003 Rose Bowl, following the Hawkeyes 8-0 run through the Big Ten season in 2002. But the Orange Bowl swooped in and picked the Hawkeyes, so its been a hole on Ferentz's resume. Now, it's perhaps the most brilliant jewel on a gold crown of a season.

'It's been 30 years on the button since last time I was there,' said Ferentz, who was Hayden Fry's offensive line coach for two Rose Bowls. 'We lost to UCLA. I remember coming back to the hotel, I was kind of down in the dumps and my wife (Mary) kind of put me back and in shape, she has a way of doing that, reminding me what a great year it was even though it was a tough loss.'

Iowa athletics director Gary Barta has a good idea on Iowa's bowl destination early on selection Sunday. This time, he didn't receive direct confirmation from the Rose Bowl until the Hawkeyes were announced as the No. 5 team in the College Football Playoff rankings Sunday afternoon on ESPN.

The CFP process keeps the info tight. Barta said he heard positive bits and pieces, but didn't receive a phone call from Rose Bowl management committee chair Scott Jenkins until minutes after ESPN announced it.

'All the bowls respected our team, they all know we travel great,' said Barta, who added that Iowa's Rose Bowl ticket allotment is 22,000. 'But it came down to that group this morning sitting around a table ranking everybody. When we came out fifth, it was the point where the Rose Bowl wanted to take the highest ranked team, thrilled that it worked out.'

The Hawkeyes dropped one spot to No. 5 in the final CFP rankings, two spots ahead of No. 7 Ohio State, which had a chance to jump the Hawkeyes for the Rose if it would've been ranked higher than Iowa in the final poll. In the end, the CFP committee gave Iowa credit and, really, respect for their season and for a losing effort against Michigan State.

The Hawkeyes' effort against Michigan State held sway with the committee, chairman Jeff Long told ESPN. The Spartans put together an epic 22-play, 82-yard and 9:04 drive that ended when freshman RB L.J. Scott held the ball over the goal line for a nanosecond with 27 seconds left and for a 16-13 victory.

'I had my questions about Iowa all year,' ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit said during the CFP telecast. 'It wasn't necessarily about them but it was more about who they have beaten and are they that good. I probably gained more respect [for them] in the Big Ten Championship than in the previous 12 games they played.'

So, in the end, Iowa won by losing. The Hawkeyes went 12-0 and endured an ocean of skepticism all season. They lose by a yard in the B1G title game and suddenly everyone is patting them on the back.

'I think this team's proven it week in and week out, going back to our first ballgame,' said Ferentz, who added that running back Jordan Canzeri suffered an ankle sprain against Michigan State and will try to return for the bowl. 'Going into the game last night I certainly didn't feel compelled to defend our team for anything. I don't know why we would have to.'

If Ferentz was looking for that chip to place on his team's shoulders for the next three weeks, there it is.

'It feels good to have that respect,' center Austin Blythe said. 'It's kind of ironic we had to lose a game to get that respect.'

Because Iowa didn't know it was in the Rose until Sunday afternoon, the turnaround was too quick to festoon the Hansen Performance Center in roses. The only red roses you could find were the small embroidered patch that a few adminstrators wore.

Someone found them in a box in a desk drawer. They had been sitting around since 1991 and finally were put to use.

l Comments: (319) 398-8256; marc.morehouse@thegazette.com