Hawkeyes looking to jet out of Tempe with another Insight Bowl title

The Insight Bowl isn’t a BCS bowl, nor is it the National Championship Game, but for Iowa it’s a game they have had recent success with, beating Missouri 27-24 in Tempe last December to gain the crown. 

This time they’ll take on 14^th ranked Oklahoma, who is looking to end the season on a positive note, after losing two of their last three games, with the most notable of the two being the Bedlam Game against Oklahoma State on Dec. 3. The Cowboys beat them 44-10 in that game. 

Ferentz was asked how he plans to stop quarterback Landry Jones and the Sooner offense, who is averaging 40 points per game. 

“We will have to play good team defense, because they have outstanding players out, but they have a lot of outstanding players still on their team that are going to be out there playing,” Ferentz said. 

Running back Markus Coker will not play in the game tomorrow night, due to his suspension for breaking an unspecified rule, so it will have to be “running back by committee” for Iowa, and Ferentz gave some insight as to who will play in Coker’s place. 

“It will be a committee effort,” Ferentz said. “We’ll have a role for Brad Rogers, we’ll have a role for [Jordan] Canzeri, for [Damon] Bullock and Jason White. I think I envision all four of those guys playing.” 

Senior offensive lineman Marcus Zusevics wasn’t available for interviews on Wednesday, due to a “24-hour type” sickness, according to Ferentz. Zusevics is well now and is with the team. 

On the injury front for the game, senior tight end Brad Herman will not play. According to Ferentz, Herman has a “bad foot sprain” that will keep him out of the game. 

Their freshman tight end, Ray Hamilton, is also out, due to an issue with his knee. 

Finally, freshman linebacker Quinton Alston will be held out as well. Ferentz said the team is relatively healthy otherwise. 

“We are eager to get to the game tomorrow night and play an outstanding team,” Ferentz said.

“It will be a challenge for us, but we are looking forward to it.”