By Jordan Hansen
Welcome to Tampa. It’s “Bowl Week, which means The Daily Iowan is going to have you covered throughout the week. To start things off on Dec. 28, Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz and Florida head coach Jim McElwain are having a joint press conference. Here’s what they had to say.
- Ferentz opens up by talking about how nice Tampa is and how good this bowl is. He has plenty of praise for McElwain as well.
- Both coaches are in a pretty good mood today. McElwain also had plenty of praise for Ferentz. Talked about how it was a program that people want to emulate.
- “This is a bonus game for us, a real challenge.” — Ferentz
- Lots of back-and-forth between the coaches. They’re both in pretty good moods.
- Each coach talked a lot about how important this game can be. The extra practice is huge, the extra time together with the team is huge. Responding at the end of the season is important.
- Both coaches got a question about punting. Each team has outstanding punting units, and field position will be huge in this game. McElwain talked about “hidden yards.”
- These guys sure are competitive: “Anytime you get the opportunity to compete — I don’t care if it’s in dominoes — I’m going to try to beat you.” — McElwain.
- Ferentz says Iowa’s going to have to be “opportunistic” to win the game. Mentions how good Florida is in its secondary.
- McElwain says, “Just like any game, stopping the run is going to be important.”
- Coaches end with a handshake.
