The DI Pregame staff spoke with Stanford Daily football columnist Do-Hyoung Park to talk about Iowa’s matchup with Stanford.
By DI Pregame Staff
[email protected]
The following is a Q&A between the DI Pregame staff and Stanford Dailyfootball columnist Do-Hyoung Park. The fifth-ranked Hawkeyes are set to take on No. 6 Stanford on Jan. 1, 2016, in the 102nd Rose Bowl game.
Park: Just from the standpoint of Stanford in general, I know a lot of people are disappointed we didn’t get Ohio State at first, but just looking into how much this Rose Bowl means to Iowa, as it means to your fans, and looking at the incredible season you guys are coming off, I know Stanford Nation is thrilled about matching up with the Hawkeyes. It’s going to be a great game.
DI: What can Iowa fans expect out there in Pasadena?
Park: Re-watching the Iowa-Michigan State game, Iowa reminds me a lot of Stanford from 2012 and 2013. That power-run based offense, throw-when-you-need-to, and that ridiculous front-seven. It reminds me so much of those Stanford teams of old. That’s what the Cardinal were trying to do over the last couple years.
This year they changed it up a bit because of Christian McCaffrey coming through. He can be a power back, he can also be more of a scat-back type. He goes out wide, catches passes, and quarterback Kevin Hogan has really opened up his game a lot more this year. It’s going to come down to whether Iowa can stop Stanford’s rushing attack or not. That battle is going to dictate this matchup.
DI: You noted the Iowa front seven and the Stanford front seven. A lot of times you don’t think of teams in the Pac-12 as really dominating, physical offensive lines as being a hallmark of their play, but Stanford has been a legitimate NFL lineman factory. Is that a big reason for success in the conference?
Park: It’s a pipeline, honestly. That’s what Jim Harbaugh set out to do when he got here however many years ago. He wanted to change Stanford from more of a finesse team into that power offense. Stanford is maybe the only team, other than USC to an extent, that does that and we’re incredibly proud of being that one, physical, hard-nosed program, and that’s something Stanford takes a lot of pride in. Nobody comes into a Stanford game thinking that it’s not going to be a physical matchup.
DI: Earlier you talked about Hogan, how does he stack up with the historically great quarterbacks Stanford has had? Do you see him as someone who can have success at the next level?
Park: It’s funny. I don’t necessarily think Hogan is going to be a great NFL quarterback. Putting things into perspective, he came into Stanford with the unenviable task of following Andrew Luck. Everybody was saying, “How are we going to fill the massive shoes left by Luck?” Hogan didn’t even start that year, he took over halfway through that year. The freshman nobody but nobody expected to come in. Sneakily, four years later, he first of all is kind of the second- or third-most efficient quarterbacks in the nation.
People don’t give him enough credit because he doesn’t throw a lot, but that’s not Stanford’s system. When he does throw the ball, he’s definitely accurate. He’s essentially a second offensive coordinator at times. I don’t know how many other teams in the country do this — and this is what Luck did — at the start of every play, David Shaw calls three or four different plays to bring into the huddle. He goes to the line and has the option to run any of those plays based on the defensive alignment. He can make up any play he wants to suit the situation. He has complete control of the offense. I don’t know if there’s any quarterback in the country who can play a mental game like he does.
