The Hawkeyes' impressive success in the past three years has had an impact on out-of-state recruiting.

The highest-rated prep player in the state of Minnesota -- center Rafael Eubanks -- recently committed to the Hawkeyes. Elijah Hodge, the brother of star LB Abdul Hodge, is reportedly very close to committing to Iowa as well.

Eubanks said he has built a personal relationship with head coach Kirk Ferentz and has been very impressed with the job he has done.

"He's a coach I can envision myself fighting for," Eubanks said.

"For Iowa to come out with a share of the Big Ten Conference title -- with a walk-on running the ball and with an offensive line that wasn't consistently healthy at the beginning of the season -- that shows how they were able to scrap and dig deep to win. That represents what Iowa Hawkeye football is all about. They're not flashy, but somehow they just get it done."

Ferentz knows the base of his recruiting will always be from the state of Iowa. However, if the Hawkeyes can consistently go across the borders and sign upper-echelon talent, the Hawkeyes will almost certainly maintain their status as an upper-echelon team.

Ferentz will get a unique personnel challenge in the Capital One Bowl against LSU and head coach Nick Saban. The Tiger coach 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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