Iowa headed back to Tampa for yet another Outback Bowl experience
By Pat Harty
IOWA CITY, Iowa – For the Iowa football team, the only certainty heading into Sunday's bowl announcement was that its season would end somewhere warm.
That place is Tampa, Fla., home of the Outback Bowl, which should be familiar to Hawkeye fans by now.
Iowa will make its fifth appearance in the Outback Bowl since the 2003 season and will face Florida for the third time in the bowl on Jan. 2 in Tampa. The teams split the first two games, with Iowa winning 37-17 in 2004 and Florida prevailing 31-24 in 2006.
Iowa lost to Louisiana State 21-14 in its most recent appearance in the Outback Bowl, which came after the 2013 regular season.
Florida will bring an 8-4 record into the Outback Bowl after losing to Alabama 54-16 in the SEC title game on Saturday. The Gators are coached by Jim McElwain.
"We are excited and honored to be selected to participate in the 2017 Outback Bowl, said Iowa Athletic Director Gary Barta in a release. “Coach Kirk Ferentz, his entire staff, and our student-athletes closed the season with three impressive victories, and their hard work and commitment to the program has been rewarded. With the end of season performances, our team certainly earned its way to this exciting bowl event.
"Iowa football has a strong history with the Outback Bowl, and the city of Tampa, and we are excited to have Tampa as the destination for the loyal and supportive fans of our program. Our passionate fan base always plays a part in our bowl selection and destination. As always, we know we will face a very strong opponent from the Southeastern Conference and we are looking forward to another outstanding Outback Bowl experience.”
Iowa's bowl status became more clear this past Tuesday when Barta said on the radio at halftime of the men's basketball game at Notre Dame that the Holiday Bowl and the Outback Bowl were the top two possibilities, followed by the Music City Bowl, which Barta said was inching out of the picture.
The Hawkeyes apparently became more attractive to the Outback Bowl after pounding Nebraska 40-10 in the regular-season finale on Nov. 25 at Kinnick Stadium. The Cornhuskers finished with a better overall record at 9-3, but Iowa won the head-to-head matchup in convincing fashion to excite its fan base, which is key in selecting teams for bowl games.
Nebraska now will face Tennessee in the Music City Bowl in Nashville, Tenn.
Iowa has achieved bowl eligibility in 15 of the last 16 seasons under head coach Kirk Ferentz. The Hawkeyes have won six bowl games under Ferentz, and only Ohio State has more bowl wins (8) than Iowa since 2001.
Iowa's season was in danger of unraveling after a 41-14 loss at Penn State on Nov. 5 in which Penn State running back Saquon Barkley more or less accused the Iowa players of quitting.
His accusation served as sort of a wakeup call, considering Iowa closed the regular season with three consecutive wins, highlighted by the 14-13 victory over Michigan on Nov. 12 at Kinnick Stadium.
The Iowa defense has led the late-season charge by allowing only 23 points and two touchdowns combined in the last three games.
None of the Iowa players have won a bowl game. Iowa's last victory in a bowl game came against Missouri in the 2010 insight Bowl by a score of 27-24.
Ticket information: Fans interested in purchasing tickets to the game are encouraged to make their request through the UI Athletics Ticket Office. Outback Bowl tickets can be purchased for $80 and can be ordered online at http://bit.ly/2fUdFom.
Current I-Club annual contributors at the Champion Hawk, Kinnick Society, and Kinnick Society Gold level are eligible to purchase club tickets at $170 per seat. There is a limit of 10 tickets for all orders. If demand exceeds supply, orders will be filled based on customers priority points totals.
The priority points deadline is Friday, Dec. 9, at 4 p.m. CT. To guarantee your priority points apply towards your seating and ticket allocation, you must submit your request prior to the priority points deadline. Bowl tickets will be shipped via UPS. The UI will require a street address for all ticket mailings, tickets will not be shipped to a PO Box address.
UI students will be able to order online at http://bit.ly/1hkTz5m, and signing into their student account. There is not a student discount for Outback Bowl tickets, and student orders are also limited to 10 tickets per order.
In partnership with Winebrenner Red Carpet Travel and the University of Iowa Alumni Association, the official bowl tour will offer alumni and fans an outstanding bowl travel experience with packages to fit any budget. To sign up or for more information visit http://www.iowalum.com/athletictours.
For more information visit: Outbackbowl.com