[ColoradoTree]

It would be profoundly disappointing if our players weren't excited about playing in the Rose Bowl, no matter who the opponent was. I hope Shaw beats that attitude out of them over the next few weeks, and that it was an anomaly in the room. Iowa may not be a blue-blood, and they very well may not be the best B1G team we could have faced, but they will be motivated and come to play, and we need to match that.

Precisely this.  I'm confident that our coaching staff will make our players experts in what Iowa does well (and how well-coached they general are) over the next few weeks.  I expect our captains will do the same, and Hogan will know that he's in a great position to boost his draft stock with a good showing against a defense that seems vulnerable to the pass, especially in the middle of the field using TEs. 

If McCaffrey loses the Voldemort?  Going off on Iowa's stout run defense is a heck of a way to show he deserved it. 

Our DL and LBs tired of hearing that we're soft against the run?  Shut down a team built around running the ball down your throat. 

I'll forgive our players a little confusion or even disappointment when they first heard about the matchup, because Ohio State won it all last year and has tons of NFL-caliber talent on the roster, while Iowa isn't as well-known or explosive athletically.  I get that.  But knowing the caliber of men in our locker room and on our coaching staff, I'm guessing that momentary hesitation ends right now.  And if Coach Shaw detects a whiff of that in bowl practices, I'm guessing he'll run it out of them fairly quickly. 

[ColoradoTree]

It would be profoundly disappointing if our players weren't excited about playing in the Rose Bowl, no matter who the opponent was. I hope Shaw beats that attitude out of them over the next few weeks, and that it was an anomaly in the room. Iowa may not be a blue-blood, and they very well may not be the best B1G team we could have faced, but they will be motivated and come to play, and we need to match that.

Precisely this.  I'm confident that our coaching staff will make our players experts in what Iowa does well (and how well-coached they general are) over the next few weeks.  I expect our captains will do the same, and Hogan will know that he's in a great position to boost his draft stock with a good showing against a defense that seems vulnerable to the pass, especially in the middle of the field using TEs. 

If McCaffrey loses the Voldemort?  Going off on Iowa's stout run defense is a heck of a way to show he deserved it. 

Our DL and LBs tired of hearing that we're soft against the run?  Shut down a team built around running the ball down your throat. 

I'll forgive our players a little confusion or even disappointment when they first heard about the matchup, because Ohio State won it all last year and has tons of NFL-caliber talent on the roster, while Iowa isn't as well-known or explosive athletically.  I get that.  But knowing the caliber of men in our locker room and on our coaching staff, I'm guessing that momentary hesitation ends right now.  And if Coach Shaw detects a whiff of that in bowl practices, I'm guessing he'll run it out of them fairly quickly.