Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz spoke with media on Tuesday as the Hawkeyes get ready to leave for Pasadena Wednesday to play in the Rose Bowl.

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The Hawkeyes’ final game of the season will come against Stanford in the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1, 2016, at 4 p.m. CST.

• First words: Hello, everybody
• The Hawks will travel Wednesday; they’re excited about it.
• Starting to translate into game preparation, which mostly will start
  Wednesday.
• Excited about the all the benefits of a bowl. The stuff they get, the hotel, the whole experience.
• Feels this time between the end of the season and a bowl is a great time to get players healthy. Happy to give his guys a couple weeks to relax before they have to get back to football.
• Starting to move back into a serious football mindset.
• Krik Ferentz didn’t mention Stanford until last night
• Compares this year’s and last year’s bowl prep; last year was spent trying to “right the ship”
• Ferentz seems really excited about this bowl trip. Seems like he’s expecting a really good experience for him and the players.
• Wants things to be as much about the experience for the players than anything else.
• Sort of compares Christian McCaffrey to Barry Sanders.
• Compliments him a lot. “He’s a tremendous football player and seems like a tremendous young man on top of that.”
• On the Cardinal: “They’re a really good team. They play hard, play physical. You better have a good plan.”
• “They’re going to be two really good quarterbacks in this game.”
• Says there’s a ton of enthusiasm around the team.
• More on the Cardinal: “They’re a really good program with a lot of quality young men.”
• Jake Duzey apparently has looked better over the last few weeks.
• “These finals keep coming; 17th year in a row.” — Ferentz trying to be funny.
• Ferentz says the Northwestern game might have been one of the best moments all season. Happy with how the team played in that game.
• Wants all players to make informed decisions on the draft.
• Ferentz let loose a “Ho, Ho, Ho” when asked about practice on Christmas. “It’s a Wednesday practice for us.”