Underdog Iowa: Underestimated? : Rose Bowl: After losing two of last three, feeling is Hawkeyes can’t match up to Washington.

The football coaches of the University of Washington and the University of Iowa were in Pasadena Wednesday, exchanging courtesies and quips about their New Year’s Day date in the Rose Bowl.

“I think every bowl game we have played, we have gone in as the underdogs, and it concerns me a little bit that we’re favored in this game,” said Don James, whose Huskies have an 8-3 bowl record.

“And you are the big favorite,” Hawkeye Coach Hayden Fry drawled.

Regardless of which team is favored, this matchup is not considered a favorite to watch.

Each team absorbed defeats late in the season. Iowa lost two of its final three games, and Washington blew a chance for a national title when it was beaten by UCLA, 25-22, Nov. 10 in Seattle.

“Just because we dropped a few games late in the season doesn’t mean it isn’t going to be a great game,” Fry said.

Iowa, 8-3 overall and 6-2 in the Big Ten, is ranked No. 18. Washington, 9-2 and 7-1 in the Pacific 10, is No. 9. The Rose Bowl matches the two conference champions.

Until three weeks ago, Iowa’s only loss was to Miami, 48-21, early in the season. Then the Hawkeyes were beaten by Ohio State on Nov. 10 and by Minnesota last Saturday. If Ohio State had defeated Michigan Saturday, the Buckeyes would be playing in the Rose Bowl.

“We feel this way: we tied with three other wonderful teams from the Big Ten--Michigan, Michigan State and Illinois,” Fry said. “The reason we are here is because we beat the other teams.”

Washington’s other loss was to Colorado, 20-14.

“We came down here in 1977 and we were the reject team, with a 7-4 record, and were supposed to be a terrible team,” James said. “And that game against Michigan was one of the most exciting games I have ever been involved with in my life, and we didn’t have the best ranking or the best team.”

Washington won, 27-20.

He said it was too early to determine if Greg Lewis will play at full speed. Lewis, who rushed for 1,279 yards this season, underwent arthroscopic knee surgery two weeks ago.

The last time either team played in the Rose Bowl was in 1982, when Washington routed Iowa, 28-0.

“Hayden was all drugged up and made a couple of (play) calls that gave us a chance,” James said.

Fry, who said he has a convenient memory, has a good excuse for not remembering that game. “I had pneumonia seven or eight days before the game and struggled through the workouts,” he said. “So, the day of the game, I really don’t recall too much about it.”

The Huskies will arrive in the Southland on Dec. 15, staying in Orange County. The Hawkeyes have not announced their plans.