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ROSE BOWL GAME: IOWA VS STANFORD

December 29, 2015

Joshua Garnett

Pasadena, California

Q. [On the Lawry's Beef Bowl...]
JOSHUA GARNETT: Lawry's went great. Actually, Brian Chaffin was the winner. He ate, I think it was, five or six prime ribs. I ate seven, my freshman year.

Q. How many did you do?
JOSHUA GARNETT: I did one this year. Couldn't eat too many. Showing some restraint. Just trying to be ready for the game. Not trying to be hurting at practice.

Q. Who won the Beef Bowl?
JOSHUA GARNETT: They might have. It's been a while since a Pac-12 team won the Beef Bowl, I heard.

Q. [On the best things about Coach Shaw...]
JOSHUA GARNETT: Just the way he's able to just command the team. Everyone respects him. When Coach Shaw says something, you listen to him. Really for a guy to go out there and who the team just loves to be around, team loves to hear him. The team loves to go out and practice. The team loves to work for Coach Shaw, and you definitely feel the excitement from him when you score or do anything.

To have a guy that's your commander-in-chief like that, that you can rally behind, really is what's made him so special. Aside from his play calling and the way he's able to steer the game.

Q. Does he ever surprise you?
JOSHUA GARNETT: Oh, no. When you've been around here enough, Coach Shaw definitely has tricks up his sleeve during the game, some calls, but he's always going to put you in the right situation.

Q. Even aside from play calls, is there a point in time in practice, or maybe after practice, when he'll say something to you, and you're like, oh, that's something new or really surprises you?
JOSHUA GARNETT: Sometimes. There's different things.

Q. Can you give me an example?
JOSHUA GARNETT: I just remember maybe during camp when we were breaking out after practice, and he said, hey, we're going to the movies, guys. Just things like that where you kind of get in a regimen, you kind of get in a schedule, and he'll kind of surprise you, kind of give you like a different feel, catch you off guard a little bit.

Q. What is your position?
JOSHUA GARNETT: Offensive line.

Q. You probably get this a lot. McCaffrey, I saw the first game of the season. I didn't think much of it. He was all right. But then, like, oh, this guy is amazing.
JOSHUA GARNETT: Oh, yeah. He's really good.

Q. How much do you think it was affected by the fact against 'SC the linebackers were out, or has he been doing that all year?
JOSHUA GARNETT: He's been doing that all year pretty much.

Q. It was just like pulling a rabbit out of a hat.
JOSHUA GARNETT: Exactly. He's a good player, a real good player.

Q. USC would have you guys in a tough situation like third and long, and all of a sudden, he's wide open?
JOSHUA GARNETT: Yeah, wide open.

Q. Is that a designed play, or does he improvise?
JOSHUA GARNETT: Just he gets open really easily.

Q. Does he have field vision?
JOSHUA GARNETT: Oh, yeah, great field vision. All that good stuff.

Q. So what was your biggest challenge during the year?
JOSHUA GARNETT: Every team had some pretty good guys. DeForest Buckner from Oregon was good. Guys from 'SC, Antwaun Williams was good. They had good guys. UCLA. Pretty much every team had a stud D-lineman most of the time.

Q. Now, the way it works, would you be the one matched up against that person most of the time, or would they move them around?
JOSHUA GARNETT: It would just depend. A lot of guys were defensive tackles we'd go against. Maybe ends or something like that. It was a good time, though.

Q. So what's your major?
JOSHUA GARNETT: Human biology.

Q. Interesting. What do you want to do with that?
JOSHUA GARNETT: I want to get into trauma, like emergency medicine, all that stuff. Work in emergency department as a trauma surgeon.

Q. Excellent. Hopefully, there's not such a need in the future.
JOSHUA GARNETT: Exactly, but there will be always be a need for them.

Q. Where are you from?
JOSHUA GARNETT: I'm from Washington, Washington State. Kind of Seattle area.

Q. Oh, yeah. What school?
JOSHUA GARNETT: Puyallup. Right up there.

Q. Were they good when you were there?
JOSHUA GARNETT: I mean, they were all right. Not as good as when Brock and Damon and all those guys were there, but we did all right.

Q. [On Coach Harbaugh...]
JOSHUA GARNETT: Exactly.

Q. Harbaugh is such a great coach, but there wasn't a big dropoff. Shaw just kept it going.
JOSHUA GARNETT: Yeah, he's kept it going. Great coach.

Q. I heard you have a pretty good Aziz impression.
JOSHUA GARNETT: Ronnie Harris has the best Aziz impression. Aziz is such a classy, well mannered, respectable man that I feel like I could not do an impression of him because I would not do it justice.

Q. No?
JOSHUA GARNETT: No, I cannot.

Q. What is the key to it?
JOSHUA GARNETT: The key to an Aziz impression is to be as perfect and manly and handsome as possible. That is the key to the Aziz impression.

Q. [On the game plan against Iowa...]
JOSHUA GARNETT: I think the key is to just kind of rely on your technique. With a team like Iowa, a great team like Iowa, with a really great defense, especially from offensive perspective, I think the key is just to rely on your technique and strength. A lot of times you'll see they'll finish until the whistle blows. So kind of matching that intensity with them and really making sure to stay on your blocks is going to be a key to success this week.

Q. [Continued...]
JOSHUA GARNETT: They're really technically sound. You never see them miss gap responsibilities. They're guys that are real physical, real tough at the point of attack. Great coverage, great run defense, and a team like ourself who kind of prides ourself on the run game, going against a team who gives up less than, I think, 120 yards of rushing a game definitely poses probably the biggest threat.

Q. [On the Rose Bowl experience...]
JOSHUA GARNETT: Oh, yeah, might be even more exciting to be a senior to know that you're going to start in the game and be in the game and have a dramatic impact on the game this year. Kind of just enjoying the last experience with your teammates is definitely exciting.

Q. What is your favorite part of the Rose Bowl?
JOSHUA GARNETT: I think just hanging out with my teammates and going to Disneyland one last time and hanging out with these guys who I won't be on the team with next year or hanging out in the hotel, playing Madden or video games or Rock Band in the players lounge and just kind of bonding with my teammates.

Q. You mentioned Disneyland. What was your favorite ride at Disneyland?
JOSHUA GARNETT: My favorite ride at Disneyland was most likely probably the Cars Land. Actually, myself, Ronnie Harris, Christian McCaffrey, Blake Martinez, Kevin Hogan were 2-0 at Cars Land, undefeated at Cars Land at Disneyland.

Q. So did you guys know you were going to beat Notre Dame?
JOSHUA GARNETT: Yeah, pretty much. I mean, we go into every game thinking we're going to win. So it's -- I mean, obviously, we want to win every game. We go in with that confidence and that mindset.

Q. It was pretty amazing the way that game broke down.
JOSHUA GARNETT: Oh, yeah. Two great offenses, two great defenses, I mean, it's going to come down to the wire. It came down to kind of the last play every time we play Notre Dame.

Q. Do you know people on their team?
JOSHUA GARNETT: Oh, yeah, going through recruiting, I know Ronnie, guys like Sheldon Day. You meet all those guys. We met in high school. Even though you don't go to the same place, you kind of know them and get excited for the matchup to go against them.

Q. So which matchup were you most excited about this year?
JOSHUA GARNETT: I was excited about them all. Every one brings kind of a different presence, different skill set for you. One guy might be a pass rusher. One guy might be a strong guy. So I was excited every time. Kind of got a new flavor of the week every week. It's definitely good.

Q. Was there much change in staff from Harbaugh to Shaw?
JOSHUA GARNETT: Not really, a couple of coaches. The majority of coaches are still here. Ogden, the guy who recruited here the last four years.

Q. That's helpful.
JOSHUA GARNETT: Real helpful.

Q. [On Iowa's defense...]
JOSHUA GARNETT: Always just how physical they are. You see guys who get off the ball, great technique, tight hands, really have a punch. A lot of times, a lot of linemen kind of catch or kind of like to play the ball at the line of scrimmage. Iowa's front seven kind of like to play on your side of the line of scrimmage. Guys that have a good punch and good steady technique. You can tell that line is well coached.

Q. They know how to take the ball away too. Do you think like, since you guys were written off pretty early in the season with the loss to Northwestern, do you think that both these teams haven't gotten the respect they deserve this season?
JOSHUA GARNETT: Definitely Iowa. You see guys who have maybe lost one game, a close game. The team is still a lot better than people think they are. They've given up less than 150 yards rushing per game. That's crazy. You think about defense like that, that's just unbelievable when you hear that stat.

Just what they've been able to do all year and the teams they've been able to beat, and the way their defense has been able to do things and the way their offense has been able to do things. It's awesome to see.

As a pure fan of football, when you're in the Pac-12 and you see a Big Ten team like Iowa, you think those guys are really good, and you definitely prepare yourself to play them.

Q. What were your top five schools?
JOSHUA GARNETT: Really wanted to go to Stanford. Once you get offered from Stanford, it's hard to say no. Just the way that they played football at that time, and you could kind of see that they were on the rise. I think it's like us, Alabama, and Oregon have like the most wins in the last like four years, which is crazy to think about.

We win this game, this will be our second -- third 12-win season in three years. How many teams can say that? The ability to come here and do all that stuff is awesome.

Q. You guys have been to three Rose Bowls in a row in such a short period of time. Not many teams get that opportunity. How do you keep it fresh? How do you keep the motivation going after being in the same destination for the last few years?
JOSHUA GARNETT: Being in a game like the Rose Bowl is different. You relish the opportunity. There's always new guys on the team every year who have never been in the Rose Bowl. It gives you a motivation to kind of stay fresh, stay locked in, when you can go to the Tournament of Roses and see all the history and notice things you didn't notice before and show these guys the framework, the blueprint of what it takes to get here and kind of show them what you do when you get here.

You can have fun, but when it's time to practice, it's time to practice. When it's football time, it's football time, and when it's time to have fun, it's time to have fun. But always keeping that chip on your shoulder and knowing you have a game on Friday.

Q. Kevin said the loss to Michigan State really got you guys' attention in terms of not taking this for granted, not thinking about other destinations, not worrying about the playoffs. Is that your experience as well?
JOSHUA GARNETT: It's definitely your experience. When you've won one at the Rose Bowl and lost one at the Rose Bowl, you definitely know the feeling. You know the feeling of standing at the end of the day and holding the trophy up on stage or walking back to the locker room.

Kind of just reiterating to those guys what the feeling was like. Even though a lot of these guys haven't experienced a loss in the Rose Bowl, the guys who have experienced a loss can kind of drive practice and drive the guys who don't want to have that feeling again.

Q. You've faced Big Ten defenses over the years. Is there any commonality to what they do, the simplicity or whatever? Or is that too simplistic a concept?
JOSHUA GARNETT: Yeah, it's too simple. Each team has their specific difficulties. We talk about Iowa's team. They've given up less than 150 rushing yards a game. That's crazy to think about a front seven who's big, strong, heavily sound up front who likes to play on your side of the line of scrimmage is definitely a challenge posed to a team like us who really likes to run the ball.

That's why I think it's going to be a great matchup because it gives us, an offensive line who prides ourselves on moving the ball, going against a great defensive line who really has tight hands and can strike, and if you're off balance, you see so many times on film, these guys will really shed you or they'll make a tackle at 1 yard. There's not many explosive runs against this defense. It definitely poses its own challenge certainly.

Q. You guys had a little run of success before you got here, but you really built into a perennial power during your years at the school. What's the -- how do you quantify the motivation of proving people wrong, people who think of Stanford as being not this place -- they didn't think of Stanford the same way they do now, five years ago, like a perennial power. And Iowa is kind of at this point they've just broken through, had this great undefeated regular season. What's the motivation like back then as opposed to you guys now? Is it the same kind of fire?
JOSHUA GARNETT: Coming to Stanford, you get used to kind of the -- growing up, oh, this guy's a smart guy. He can't play football. We use it as a team, and we rally around each other whereas we don't watch College Gameday the day of the games. We don't really listen to what the media outlets are saying about Stanford. At the end of the day, no one really understands what it takes to play at Stanford other than the guys at Stanford.

So when you can come together and really be a team and just blot out everything else and really focus on ourselves, that's what's made us so successful because we're able to play as a team and come together collectively.

Q. We talked after the Northwestern game, and it was obviously an extremely disappointing moment. But I asked you, because the run game didn't really work that well -- nothing really worked that well that day, but you were still very convicted that you guys were going to be a power running team, and, of course, it worked out perfectly. Where does that conviction come from? Talk about how hard it was to hold onto that in a moment like that.
JOSHUA GARNETT: As a team captain of this team, I understood there's going to be bumps in the road. You live by the sword, you die by the sword. In the run game, if things aren't working out in the run game, it's unfortunate, but I believed in the coaching, and I believed in the players that we have, and I believed in kind of the leadership role of people on our team. I knew that we were going to bounce back from this loss.

One loss didn't define this team. Just going back to practice that Monday, it could have gone two ways. We could have jumped ship, or we could kind of put our head down and chop wood, and that's exactly what we did. We kept working, trying to get that next win, trying to get that next win, and keep in the back of our mind what the Northwestern loss felt like. Throughout the season, we were able to be somewhat successful with the run game.

Q. As good as you guys were running the ball, it was a little bit more of a diversified run game than we've seen from Stanford. We saw a lot of different stuff. I'm pretty sure that all five of the starters pull at one point or another in the game. Is that something that you'd experienced before, or is that something kind of unique for the guys that you guys have?
JOSHUA GARNETT: I think it's just a testament to our coaching. Our coaches really put the players that we have in the best position to run the plays that we can run. When it's a time that you can pull all five of the guys at one point during the game or if we need to get big and have nine offensive linemen in the game, the coach is going to do whatever needs to be done to put us in the best position to win.

Q. And how are you guys feeling going into the game, your last game, January 1st?
JOSHUA GARNETT: We're excited to go against a great Iowa team offensively. We're excited to go against a great Iowa defense, who, as we pride ourselves in the run game, a team that is a great run defense, like I've been saying, giving up less than 150 yards, way less than 150 yards of rushing a game is unbelievable. To have that success all year on defense is just, like I said, unbelievable to think about.

To be able to match up, that's the teams you want to match up with, teams who are great on run defense. It really makes for an exciting, fun game.

Q. And finally, having No. 5 behind you when you guys line up, just talk about the feeling that you've gotten as the season's gone on watching the season that he's had.
JOSHUA GARNETT: Oh, yeah, he's a great player. At the beginning of last year, we all knew what kind of player he was. A lot of times -- people don't understand who watch the games, people don't give him the kind of respect he actually deserves even after he did go to New York and everything. He's got a lot left in the tank, and he's got a lot of tricks up his sleeve still that we've seen.

Just the way that he's been able to be successful and he's been able to stay humble throughout the process and the way he's been able to handle questions and interviews and still come back and be excited about football and excited about his team is just a testament to what kind of person he is.

Q. I know you guys obviously like to pump each other up for individual opportunities and awards. Let me ask you this question. Does a strong performance on January 1st, is that maybe the start for a player like Christian to get the more national recognition that I think we kind of both feel he deserves?
JOSHUA GARNETT: I think that a strong performance is to help the team out. I think kind of like what Christian talks about all the time. He'll be the first one to tell you that he wouldn't have been at the Heisman presentation if it wasn't for the offensive line. I'll be the first person to tell you that I wouldn't have won the Outland if it wasn't for the offensive line or for Christian or Kevin or our coaches putting me in the good position, like you said, to really utilize the players and utilize the kind of skill set that we have.

That's what I really love about our team is that we all feed off each other. All the individual accolades, the individual awards all stem from everyone working together and kind of pushing each other to get to the next level.

Q. Last question. When things were not going so great last year, Coach Shaw said one of his biggest concerns was it seemed like you guys kind of lost the joy of playing football. It seemed this year you guys certainly found it. How did the coaches and you guys as a team keep that joy through what is still a 13-game run?
JOSHUA GARNETT: Oh, yeah, it's definitely tough at times. Like I was saying at practice yesterday, I run over and say BYOJ, bring your own juice. You've got to come juiced to practice. You've got to come ready to play. You've got to come ready to compete.

When you have the mindset, this is a game, everything we do is game-like. We can't have mistakes on Tuesday and Wednesday. That's Monday stuff. Once you have that mindset and approach it like a game and approach it with that mentality, it's definitely a lot easier to go out there and play.

Especially when you're having fun, you can jaw with guys like Aziz Shittu or Brennan Scarlett, or those guys, and you can have fun in practice a little bit.

Q. Aziz doesn't seem like a very shy guy. Is he as talkative on the field as he is off the field?
JOSHUA GARNETT: Definitely. If you lose to Aziz one-on-one, you'll definitely hear about it. You'll definitely know you've lost. It's definitely a great testament to his character. When he can win and not just talk and be a great pass rusher. The guys we go against, how much knock back they get in the run game, it's definitely great for us.

Definitely, when they start talking a little smack, definitely gets everyone fired up and motivated and makes practice fun for us. Definitely we're good friends and get to know each other better.

Q. In a healthy way, do you guys keep tabs during the course of the season on who's getting over who?
JOSHUA GARNETT: I stopped keeping tabs with Brennan Scarlett in pass rush. I might get him one for every ten times he gets me. He's a great pass rusher. It's definitely made me a better player going against him every day, a guy who played outside linebacker at Cal and transferred here. He's so versatile that he can play inside, outside. The speed he has, the power he has, it's just awesome going against a player like that.

We definitely keep tabs. I'm definitely glad he stopped keeping tabs on how many times he's beaten me.

Q. The week of practice following the Northwestern game was really kind of a major turning point. What do you remember about that week?
JOSHUA GARNETT: It was coming off of camp. I know a lot of guys were kind of just itching to play in the game, and really kind of the first game mishaps can be pad level, a couple missed assignments, kind of technique you're going to miss with your hands, stuff like that.

I think in practice that first week, we weren't so worried about really the technical flaws that we're going to have in the first game or the first game flaws. After that, we kind of focused more on practice our techniques and kind of remembering what it felt like to lose to Northwestern and the things that we could fix and the things like that. I think it really helped us throughout the season.

Q. And then the USC game, the first one down here, I remember afterwards you mentioned that everybody in the locker room that's won a Pac-12 championship, he asked to stand up. What do you remember about that moment?
JOSHUA GARNETT: It was a great moment. I remember after the loss to Northwestern a lot of people wrote us off. To really go in and not worry about the media hype, not worry about anything else other than beating USC, coming down to the coliseum and trying to put together our best game and playing together for each other, I mean, it was really exciting and definitely a great moment for Stanford football.

Q. And you block out media hype, but I have to ask, Christian being a Heisman finalist and you winning the Outland Trophy and how the two go together. How much pride do you take individually knowing Christian is in the Heisman and knowing it's a manifestation of the work you guys put in up front.
JOSHUA GARNETT: Every year you want your running back or quarterback to go to New York for the Heisman presentation. Christian will be the first one to tell you he was in New York because of the guys up front. The way Kevin Hogan was able to throw the ball, set up the pass and the run game. The coaches were able to kind of utilize his skill set.

As we're talking about Christian, he's just such a humble guy, and a lot of times it would be so easy to kind of be not humble and distance yourself and just worry about yourself, especially when you're a Heisman guy, but for him to really kind of come together and him saying that he can't wait to be back to play football with his guys, it's a testament to his character and kind of why he has so much success on the football field.

Q. The tradition in golf, if you have a hole-in-one, you have to buy everybody in your group dinner. Had Christian won, was he going to hook you guys up on the offensive line, maybe take you out for dinner?
JOSHUA GARNETT: He would have hooked us up. We all work together. It's a group effort. He makes our blocks easy because he's so good, and we make his runs a little easier for him because we can get movement up front.

Q. [On the Rose Bowl experience...]
JOSHUA GARNETT: The experience has been great. For it being our third Rose Bowl in four years, you kind of notice something different each year. Whether it's different or historical things around Lawry's or maybe something you didn't notice, something new that popped up in L.A. on your drive to practice or kind of just enjoying the feel of the game instead of kind of focusing on other things when you're a freshman or a younger guy. Kind of just enjoying your time with your teammates, enjoying the experience, and doing all that.

I know playing Iowa -- we played Wisconsin, Michigan State, and Iowa, and they're all very different schematically and very different teams, even though they're all coming out of the Big Ten. To be able to go against and match up against an Iowa team, who has, offensively speaking, a great defensive run stopping regime going on, great defensive run stopping program, who's given up way less than 150 rushing yards per game, I mean, it's just unbelievable to think about and to be able to play a team like that and be able to go against one of the top teams in the nation, it's definitely something you wish for in the Rose Bowl and something you definitely look forward to in the Rose Bowl. We're all excited to go against that great Iowa team.

Q. [On Stanford's offensive line...]
JOSHUA GARNETT: I think just personally and offensive line-wise, we're going to have to use just great technique. Like I was saying, Iowa's front seven is real big, real strong, and their defensive line likes to play on your side of the line of scrimmage. Great technique, and they really take advantage of guys who use poor technique.

A lot of times you'll see them shed guys and make tackles in the backfield at the line of scrimmage. So I think really using good technique and staying in balance is really going to be helpful for us this week.

Q. [On maintaining focus throughout the season...]
JOSHUA GARNETT: Oh, yeah. Coach Shaw does a great job of kind of telling us don't listen to the media, what the media has to say about you guys. As with every team, when you're playing well, everyone's going to be behind you. When you're not playing well, everyone's going to write you off.

Like Coach Shaw tells us, no one understands what it takes to get into Stanford, what it takes to be a football player, a student-athlete at Stanford. Only people who go to Stanford and play football at Stanford understand student-athletes at Stanford. For us to really rally behind each other and believe in ourselves and really just focus on our inner circle and not be worried about what's gone on on the outside. It's really what helps us come together.

Coach Shaw's leadership through that and Mike Bloomgren, the offensive coordinator, inspiring the offense, really getting us to come out every dat and come to practice and really getting in that mindset has been helpful.

Q. [On Christian McCaffrey...]
JOSHUA GARNETT: He's definitely a great player. Everyone sees what he does on TV day in and day out. Just being able to block for a guy like that, a guy who can make plays at any time is definitely exciting for our team, our offense, and definitely gives the fans something exciting to watch.

Q. [On the atmosphere at Stanford...]
JOSHUA GARNETT: I think what makes it fun is how relentless guys are at practice. Kind of the attitude that guys have been bringing to practice, the fact that we're having fun because we're working each other hard. We're having fun because we're going as hard as we can, and at the end of the day, the offensive line and defensive line, every day we're banging ones versus ones because that's the only way for us to get better.

When you can go against a guy like Aziz Shittu, Brennan Scarlett, Solomon Thomas, guys who are going to work you and talk smack to you if you lose, it kind of gives you that drive and motivation to really not treat anything like practice. When you're going against guys like that, every rep is a game rep. If you act like it's a practice rep, you're going to get put on your back real quick on both sides of the ball.

So what makes it fun is the fact that guys are going so hard and going full speed and guys are chattering a little bit at the line of scrimmage and kind of just talking smack. The fact that we can do that and just be brothers after practice but really have that game-like mentality where the guy who I'm lining up against is a guy on the other team, it kind of is really what helps us out a lot.

Q. Talk about the matchup versus Iowa, Big Ten football, always pounding.
JOSHUA GARNETT: Iowa, for a defense that's given up way less than 150 rushing yards a game, that's just a testament to them. It's really easy to see why they're undefeated, talking about their defense from a defensive standpoint. We have a front seven who plays on your side of the line of scrimmage, who has great technique, great hands, great gap responsibilities. You never really see these guys out of their gaps. You don't see that many explosive runs against Iowa because guys are in their gaps. Guys are playing together. Guys are playing technical football.

Then you have a guy like Desmond King in the backfield, and all these guys, this secondary who is just great and who are ball hawks. When you put that together for a great defense and one of the best defenses I've seen all year watching film, I mean, it's definitely a great matchup, and we're definitely excited for that matchup on Friday against a team who prides themselves on running the ball and against a team who prides themselves on stopping the run. It's definitely going to be a great matchup, and we're definitely excited. I know they're definitely excited too.

Q. During this week of practice, how do you focus with the different events going on? How do you and the offensive line stick together and focus on the practice and then the game?
JOSHUA GARNETT: Oh, yeah. It's real easy to come to the Rose Bowl, come to L.A. and kind of get overwhelmed with the lights and the Disneyland and all that stuff. I think we've really done a good job of kind of having fun when we're having fun, but when we're practicing, we're practicing. When we're watching film, we're watching film. We're not worried about the Beef Bowl or Disneyland or anything like that when practice is going. But when Coach Shaw blows that whistle after stretch, it's time to relax a little bit.

As we know from our Michigan State loss, you can never really relax too much when you're at the Rose Bowl. All the time you have to have that chip on your shoulder. In the back of your head, you've got to think what's No. 99 from Iowa doing right now? What's 57 doing? I know those guys are definitely working hard. Those guys are definitely not out on their feet, not out all night. They're going to bed early and getting ready for the game, so we definitely have to be getting ready for the game.

You have to just know their guys are working hard. They're probably in the hotel lifting just like our guys are. They're recovering, getting sleep, eating right. So you have to know in the back of your head you want to be just as prepared as them.

For a team that has a great defense like that, you know they're doing everything they can to get prepared, and we have to do everything we can to get prepared.

Q. So you're a senior?
JOSHUA GARNETT: Yes.

Q. What is it like being in your senior year playing in the Rose Bowl?
JOSHUA GARNETT: It's definitely a different experience than freshman year. As a senior, you kind of have your last go round with your fellas, the guys you kind of have grown with the last four years.

You come in as an 18-year-old kid and you leave a 21-year-old man, and kind of that three years, that four years of maturity you've been able to have and the guys you've been around, to have one last game with them, to be able to experience Disneyland and Lawry's and a great week of practice with kind of the guys for the last time, this team you're going to be with for the last time has definitely been a great experience.

As a senior, it's kind of the things you cherish the most and the things you're going to remember during the game.

Q. How do you keep yourself focused? I know like with college games crowds are a big deal. How do you keep yourself focused in the game?
JOSHUA GARNETT: I think -- this is our third one in four years. So we kind of got used to the noise a little bit. As a sophomore, losing to Michigan State, as a freshman winning, beating Wisconsin, you kind of know kind of what the feeling is to win, what the feeling is to lose.

So it keeps you focused knowing what it feels like to lose that Rose Bowl and the difference between the mindsets and after the game, when you're holding the trophy, the Rose Bowl trophy on stage with the Rose Bowl committee and the people at the Tournament of Roses or walking back into the locker room after you lost, that definitely keeps you focused and keeps that chip on your shoulder to really try to experience what it feels like to win again at the Rose Bowl.

Q. So I'm assuming -- correct me if I'm wrong. You watched the Rose Bowl throughout your childhood. Explain to me that process of like watching it and then being able to be like a part of it.
JOSHUA GARNETT: It's definitely exciting. When I was growing up, my father played at the University of Washington in the '80s. He won a Rose Bowl. He actually played Iowa in the Rose Bowl. So it's kind of growing up and hearing my father talk about his experiences at the Rose Bowl and him talking about going to Disneyland and going to Lawry's Beef Bowl and just how exciting just the atmosphere was in Pasadena and watching the USC-Texas game, watching Oregon play in the Rose Bowls, Michigan play in the Rose Bowls, and finally get your opportunity to play in the Rose Bowl and give yourself experiences that you can tell your children one day.

It's cool to kind of go full circle, in my personal experience, from my dad to me is definitely exciting and definitely been a great opportunity we've had to come play in the Rose Bowl.

Q. I understand you won the Big Game against Cal Berkeley. What would you say -- what are lessons that you learned from that game that you'll use in the Rose Bowl?
JOSHUA GARNETT: The lesson that you learn going into the Big Game, a game that's one of the oldest in college football and one of the oldest rivalries in college football, you learn that, even though it's a big game, you've got to come in with great technique. You can't let the emotions overwhelm, and you can't try to come off the ball too hard or try to pancake somebody every play. You have to use your technique and rely on the coaching, and like I said, rely on the technique that you've learned all season.

You've kind of got to realize every game is a big game, and no game can outweigh another game just because it is the big game against Cal Berkeley or anything like that.

Q. Stanford and Iowa runs a different type of offense. So how do you guys plan on kind of like countering that?
JOSHUA GARNETT: Oh, yeah, specifically, Iowa's got a great defense. Great run stopping defense. We're a team that prides ourselves on run efficiency and run offense, it's definitely going to be a great matchup for us. It's going to be a good test for us, going against a team who has arguably the best defense in the nation, and the front seven with guys who are so explosive, so fast.

Desmond King and everyone in the secondary, some of the best DBs you've seen on tape and on paper, it's just going to be a great matchup for us and going to be a great test for us, for a team who prides ourselves on running the ball and going against a great front seven with great players up front.

Q. Desmond King said yesterday he'd pancake you out. What's your reaction to that?
JOSHUA GARNETT: I heard Desmond saying that, but at the end of the day, it comes down to this is a team game. It's not about individual players. It's not about individual people. It's about the team coming together collectively and playing the game. When you kind of make it about yourself or make it calling out another player, it kind of takes away from the atmosphere and takes away from kind of the team effort that Iowa came to have all season, that we came to have all season.

It's definitely bigger than myself and Desmond and Christian and Kevin. The game is bigger than any individual player, but it's not bigger than any individual team. To come together as a team and go out there and play is definitely going to be exciting for us.

Q. Who did you deputize to eat the most last night?
JOSHUA GARNETT: We tried to get the freshmen O-linemen to eat the most. David Bright ate seven prime ribs last night. So he matched my freshman record. In the sophomore year at the Rose Bowl, I played ogre a little bit. He's the new ogre. He's No. 98. He's a more athletic, more handsome version of me. He's actually doing real well with that role.

I'm proud of him to be able to balance between left tackle, left guard, ogre, really going, run some laps, and kind of take that role upon himself to just be that guy and kind of step into a role that I played and earn your stripes before you can really start on the offensive line.

Q. How valuable was that experience in playing the jumbo set stuff to get you ready for the next year when you moved into the starting lineup?
JOSHUA GARNETT: I can definitely tell you the experience that ogre gets you to kind of be able to fly off the ball and learn how to play in space with a lot of guys in the secondary. That's what it helped me the most with, especially my pulls or getting into open space with the linebackers or corners. When you're playing ogre, most of the time you're pulling or hitting corners, safeties, outside linebackers.

To kind of learn to go move your feet and what it takes to play in space with faster guys before you kind of get in and butt heads with bigger guys, it definitely helps.

Q. Is Remound the most natural short yardage runner you've ever seen?
JOSHUA GARNETT: Remound is definitely a great short yardage running back. He doesn't get credit for what he can do on the field just because we have so many backs, but short yardage-wise, it's hard to stop him. Anywhere on the field, from 1 yard line to 1 yard line, you put him in there, and he's a great running back. Put him on tape what he can do, and he definitely excelled in short yardage this year.

Q. How many times when you're looking at film the next Sunday, do you see and wonder how he got -- there are plays where it looks like he has no business getting that yard, and somehow he seems to always get it.
JOSHUA GARNETT: It's a testament to him. You look at Remound, big, strong, physical guy. You look at his legs, he's got bigger legs than me, and I'm 315 pounds. He's the hardest worker in the weight room, and he's a guy that's finishing first in the conditioning drills. He's strong, fast, physical.

So you give him the ball on the 1 yard line, you can expect him to score. You're not really surprised when one person tries to tackle him, arm tackle him, it's hard to bring that guy down with one arm tackle. You're going to need three, four, five guys to bring him down. That's just a testament to what kind of player he is and what he's able to do and work and really appreciate that role.

Q. How many times did you and your dad watch the Rose Bowl growing up?
JOSHUA GARNETT: Definitely. He was always showing me the tapes of the old Rose Bowl games he was playing in. To watch that and kind of aspire to be a guy who played in the Rose Bowl. Everyone wants to be like their dad and be able to come here and play in three Rose Bowls, and he played in two Rose Bowls. To be able to do that has just been awesome.

Q. Did your father play with Warren Moon?
JOSHUA GARNETT: I don't think Warren Moon. I'm not sure. It was in '80 and '82. They beat -- yeah, they won 28-0 against Iowa. That was something.

Q. Killed them.
JOSHUA GARNETT: It was a good game. It was a great game.

Q. What has he told you about that game?
JOSHUA GARNETT: Just really the motivation he's given me is kind of just block out the noise. No matter when it was the '80s or now, there was a lot of people at the Rose Bowl game. At the end of the day, it comes down to just going against the guy across from you no matter -- you play a lot of Pac-12 teams, and definitely going against a Big Ten team is different for you and causes kind of different difficulties when you're against a team who's so good in the run game and on the run defense while we're good in the run game. That definitely poses difficulties for you.

Guys who go against the run all year and play on your side of the line of scrimmage and are able to do what they do, and you can watch them on film and the ability for them to make plays in the pass game and the run game, it definitely poses a challenge for us.

Q. How impressed are you that Iowa was able to put down more than 600 pounds of prime rib?
JOSHUA GARNETT: That's crazy they were able to do that. I saw them, and they've got some big boys up front. They've got the Big Ten linemen, the big fast physical guys, and I'm not surprised they can put down so much prime rib. That's a lot of prime rib, 600 pounds.

Q. There's so much attention now given to the video game offenses in college football. What does it mean to you being in the trenches to have so much talk for this game about the game being decided in the trenches between the lines?
JOSHUA GARNETT: That's why you love -- even as a college football player, you love being able to sit down, if you have a bye week, and watch Iowa play and watch teams like that play who really pride themselves on running the ball between the tackles, who really pride themselves on the trenches, who pride themselves on run defense. And a team like us who likes to pride themselves on running the ball.

It's definitely one of those classic Rose Bowl games you always saw those matchups as the teams with the great offensive lines and the great defensive lines and the quarterbacks who can air it out and throw the ball also. To line up and match up against guys you've watched all season and have really enjoyed watching all season is definitely going to be a great experience for us.

Q. Since Iowa and Stanford are both such well-known college football teams, how surprised were you that the two teams have never met?
JOSHUA GARNETT: Oh, yeah, it definitely surprised me. I think it's definitely worked out well to play an Iowa team and be able to play a team of that caliber and be considered to be in the same set, or the same standing as a team as Iowa, who went undefeated in the regular season, and a team who's been so good on defense and has really held their own, has really done well in the Big Ten, one of the hardest conferences in college football.

It's just a testament to their program, their coaching, their players and everything.

Q. This game is basically held in your guys' backyard, but there's 60,000, 70,000 Iowa fans expected to be in the Rose Bowl. What kind of challenges does that present? Does that impress you at this point?
JOSHUA GARNETT: That's awesome. That's what you expect. You see Iowa's fan base. You see the success they've had all year. You see what they've been able to do, the tradition. Everyone knows about the Iowa tradition. You grow up watching Iowa. You grow up always knowing about Big Ten football. For them to bring that many people is just a testament to their football program, their coach, and their fan support.

As a college football player, as a college fan, that's what you want to see, and you're happy to see that. So many people rally behind the Iowa football team and rally behind Iowa, and they're excited to see them play. That's awesome to see. To have 40,000 people at a tailgate before the game, it's just awesome and unbelievable, and it's definitely going to have them hyped up and ready to go. It's exciting they can bring so many people.

It's awesome to run out there and see the sea of red but also see the sea of Iowa people out there. It's going to be a great experience to see. Definitely excited that their players can experience that, even coming all the way from Iowa to California, and for them to have their home fans behind them and be able to have their support behind them is definitely a great experience for them.

Q. What are some myths about Stanford football?
JOSHUA GARNETT: I think just the biggest myth is kind of just, oh, these guys go to Stanford, and they can't play football. They're smart guys, which as an argument doesn't really make sense at all. Why can't you be smart and play football at the same time? There's plenty of guys who are smart.

And just kind of what that says about football players and kind of what our society views as football players is kind of what bothers us the most is that they feel you have to be kind of this big rocks and jocks type guy who plays football.

For us to really go and kind of redefine that and kind of revolutionize what it means to be a football player, that you can go to three Rose Bowls in four years, you can win three Pac-12 Championships without having to kind of succumb to kind of what people believe football players have.

Q. You guys have held up the standard pretty high this last six years or so. Is Coach Shaw, is he sort of, I don't know, the kind of driving force? I mean, obviously, the head coach has a lot to say in how that goes.
JOSHUA GARNETT: Oh, yeah. Anything you do, talk about military and all that, the troops are going to follow the general. The troops are going to follow the guy who's in charge. When that guy in charge is Coach Shaw and you can really respect what he says and trust in what he says and be able to see a guy who's motivated to come out every day to practice, a guy who wants to be the best and wants to put you in the best situation, you can definitely rally behind that, and it really motivates you to go out and be the best player you can be.

David Bright actually ate eight prime ribs at Lawry's, a new Lawry's Beef Bowl record.

Q. How was the Beef Bowl this year?
JOSHUA GARNETT: The Beef Bowl was fun this year. I could only eat one this year, getting ready for practice today. But it was relegated to guys like Brian Chaffin, Nick Wilson, Dylan, the defensive line guys, big frame. For those guys to all go out and eat six prime ribs each, I told them we're going against Iowa, going to be big, and you have to be able to step up.

A guy like Dave Bright, who plays the ogre spot and can really put down some food, and for him to really take it upon himself to do what I did freshman year as an ogre and not only match my total, but actually beat my Beef Bowl total was great for Dave Bright as a testament to his character as a player and his character as a man in general.

Q. You were part of the effort. You saw some of the guys out there?
JOSHUA GARNETT: I was real proud of the effort. Brandon Austin, to go out there and make the first cut of meat -- it was actually funny because his name is actually Brendon Austin, but the guy from yesterday kept saying Brandon -- and kind of be the ogre offensive lineman that we all look up to as a father figure, that we all love and care about, to take us under his wing. When you're feeling sick, he'll go to CVS and buy you Nyquil. He'll get you some food. He'll get you water when you're thirsty, Gatorade, stuff like that.

To really have a guy like that cut the first piece of meat and for him to give it to the queen of the Rose Bowl Parade is definitely a testament to what kind of gentleman he is, gentleman and scholar, and just awesome guy he is.

Q. Absolutely. And I got to ask you, yesterday Desmond King said that in a Bowl game two years ago, he pancaked La'El Collins of LSU, and he says, if he ever meets you one-on-one, he will do the same thing. Do you have any comment on that?
JOSHUA GARNETT: Yeah. We all saw that, and we all had a good laugh about it. We're all excited for the game. We definitely all realize that, when you kind of call individual players out, it kind of takes away from the mystique of the game. It kind of takes away from the team atmosphere we built all year, kind of what we've done all year as a team to get here.

It's not about myself. It's not about Desmond. It's not about one-on-one matchups between guys. It's about the team. No one player, no one play is going to win the game. It's going to be a team effort. Yeah, that's pretty much it for that.

Q. In general, when you look at this Iowa front, what do you see out there on film that stands out to you?
JOSHUA GARNETT: When you look at Iowa, you see a team who gets great knock-backs, guys who like to play on your line of scrimmage. Guys with tight hands, tight physical hands. Great technique. Guys who are really great with their gap responsibilities and their gap schemes.

That's why you don't see that many explosive plays against Iowa, just because of how gap conscious they are and how they work together as a team.

Q. Throughout this whole Rose Bowl experience, has there been any one single evening event that has stood out to you the most as most memorable?
JOSHUA GARNETT: I think the most kind of event wasn't really an event but kind of just hanging out in the players lounge, hanging out with guys like Daniel Marx, Lucas Hinds, David Bright, Pat McFadden, Rollins Stallworth, Nick Davidson, Brendon Austin, Conner Crane, Johnny Caspers, like guys who you see them playing Rock Band and you would think they're actually in a rock band they were playing the drums so well, the guitar so well.

So just kind of the atmosphere with the team and kind of being able to hang out with your buddies has kind of been the best point all week.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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