Rose Bowl notes: Iowa has an injury to be named later

ANAHEIM, Calif. — The status of Iowa’s injured Jordans — Canzeri and Lomax — seem to be trending positively as the Jan. 1 Rose Bowl against Stanford approaches.

Canzeri, Iowa’s leading rusher, injured his right ankle in the Big Ten Conference championship game Dec.  5. He doesn’t expect to miss his final college game, against Stanford.

“I feel great. It’s definitely getting there,” he said Saturday from Disneyland. “We have six days left for me to get really there. So far I’ve been practicing really well.”

Lomax, Iowa’s starting free safety who ranks third on the team with 92 tackles, hurt his knee against the Spartans.

“I’m a lot better. It was a very tough game. A lot of guys got banged up,” Lomax said. “Everything’s going well right now. I’ve been practicing fine.”

Head coach Kirk Ferentz, though, referenced “a setback physically” to one player that he wasn’t ready to announce. He didn’t offer a timetable, but alluded to it being an offensive player. Iowa offensive coordinator Greg Davis and players C.J. Beathard, LeShun Daniels Jr., Henry Krieger Coble, Matt VandeBerg and Jordan Walsh are scheduled to meet Rose Bowl media at 9 a.m. PT Sunday.

Courtside seats

Tevaun Smith’s connection had a connection — and the result was courtside tickets to Friday’s Lakers-Clippers NBA game at the Staples Center.

Smith got his picture snapped with comedian Arsenio Hall and gained access to other players after the game, thanks to teammate Anthony Gair — who went to high school with Lakers big man Julius Randle. Smith, though, didn’t get to meet Lakers legend Kobe Bryant, who is in his final year as a player.

“I’m a huge basketball fan," Smith said. "It was great to see Kobe in his last Christmas game. It was a great experience.”

Iowa focused on Rose Bowl, despite the fun to be had

Sneaky weapon

Five Stanford players were available to the media at Disneyland on Saturday, including Heisman Trophy runner-up Christian McCaffrey.

Cardinal coach David Shaw introduced him jointly as a running back and return specialist — and no wonder, considering the 6-foot, 201-pound sophomore racked up 2,387 yards from scrimmage and 1,109 on returns.

“You watch him on film, and I can’t think of anything he doesn’t do well,” Ferentz said. “He runs strong. He’s fast. He can see things. He’s got great balance.”