By Brendan Stiles
brendan-stiles@uiowa.edu
After two grueling weeks consisting of practices, contact drills, and final exams, the No. 10 Iowa Hawkeyes have now fully turned their attention to the 2010 FedEx Orange Bowl, where they will face the No. 9 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets.
On the defensive side of the football, the players have been hearing for the past couple of weeks about Georgia Tech’s “spread option attack.” On Sunday, they got a chance to not only examine it more closely on film, but even go up against it in practice.
While junior defensive end Adrian Clayborn said he is starting to get the Yellow Jacket offense down, he also knows in order for the Hawkeyes to be successful, he, along with the rest of the defensive line, have to stay focused for the whole 60 minutes.
“If I don’t do my job right, our defense is screwed,” Clayborn said. “I’m just taking it formation by formation.”
One observation senior linebacker Pat Angerer said he made from watching film was how much the offensive linemen of Georgia Tech like to cut when they go to block defenders.
“They’re cutting guys every play,” Angerer said. “Their O-Line is real fast and real physical, and everybody’s getting cut. Everybody on defense is getting cut every play, so we definitely got to keep our legs free.”
Knowing how much the Yellow Jackets like to run the ball, players on the offensive side of the ball for Iowa that time of possession and limiting turnovers are two things that will be critical in the Hawkeyes emerging victorious.
Iowa will have the luxury of not only getting back junior quarterback Ricky Stanzi from an ankle injury, but both freshman running backs Adam Robinson and Brandon Wegher look as though they will be good to go on Jan. 5.
“It’s very important to have a good running game, and we got some very good running backs back there who have proven themselves, who are very young,” Stanzi said. “You don’t really know their importance until they’re called upon to have a big game.
“Having a good run game is just important overall to our style of offense.”
While running the ball will be among the list of priorities for the Hawkeyes, they also hope to attack through the air when the opportunities arise, especially given the amount of eight-man boxes that senior tight end Tony Moeaki said he noticed on film while studying Georgia Tech’s defense.
“They move a lot up front, so it’s going to be a challenge for us in our schemes to get everything under control,” senior center Rafael Eubanks said.

Orange Bowl coverage
Starting Dec. 30, *The Daily Iowan* will have complete coverage of the 2010 FedEx Orange Bowl between Iowa and Georgia Tech. Be sure to visit dailyiowan.com throughout the week leading up, as well as after the Orange Bowl concludes for stories, blog posts, photo and multimedia slide shows, Daily Iowan TV webcasts and *Daily Iowan* Football Forums from South Florida.