Head coach Kirk Ferentz was burned two years ago when he took his team to the Orange Bowl against powerful USC and saw his Hawkeyes take a 38-17 beating.

Last year, Iowa was much better prepared when it went to the Outback Bowl against Florida. In order to get his team ready for the postseason, he had each of his assistants call coaches who had been involved with winning postseason teams to find out how they had prepared.

After his assistants compiled their ideas, Ferentz used the best of them to get his team ready for Florida. The result was a 37-17 victory.

Ferentz will need to use every trick he knows when the Hawkeyes play in the Capital One Bowl against LSU. Tiger coach Nick Saban is one of the bright stars in coaching -- always mentioned as an NFL possibility -- and he is capable of devising a game plan that could shut down Iowa's passing game.

If that happens, the Hawkeyes will be in major trouble.

Because their running game is the worst in the country.

Iowa has been tormented by injuries at running back and were down to their No. 6 RB at one point this season. Backup Marques Simmons has a good chance of playing against LSU, and his versatility will help quite a bit. If Iowa can get just a little bit of a push from its running game, that will keep the Tigers from loading up against QB Drew Tate and the passing game.

With the game falling on New Year's Day and first semester grades due to come out Dec. 28, Ferentz could find himself without a player or two as a result of academic deficiencies.

"We've never had that concern before, because grades have always come out after Jan. 1 -- and after we got back from the bowl game," said Fred Mims, Iowa's associate athletic director. "Grades are out earlier this year, because that's just how it fell on the 2004 calendar."

Ferentz is hopeful that all his players will remain eligible and has had no indications of any problems. But he won't know for sure until he gets the official grades.

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