[bears9]

Kirk Ferentz faced a handful of questions earlier this week about the various motivational factors in play for his Iowa football team.

The incentives are clearly identifiable for the Hawkeyes.

They can clinch a winning season, top last year's victory total and give their 12 seniors a successful home send-off by beating Western Michigan today. They can finish the regular season with a four-game winning streak, and they would like to do so with a complete-game performance.

But no reward for Iowa is greater than the opportunity to play beyond tomorrow. The Hawkeyes (6-5) can earn another game and another bowl ticket with a victory against the Broncos (3-7).

``That's just added motivation,'' Iowa running back Albert Young said. ``Even though it was a bumpy road and we had some losses here and there, it was still like we had something to play for and fight for (all along) just to try to get to a bowl game. This is really crucial to determine where we want to be.''

Hawkeyes playing with bowl in mind