Iowa pounds Kentucky 21-0 in the Music City Bowl to cap up-and-down season
By Pat Harty
This game was pretty much over by halftime.
Kentucky’s depleted offense stood absolutely no chance against Jack Campbell and his cohorts on the vaunted Iowa defense.
Iowa’s defense combined with Tory Taylor’s punting and the one-two punch at tight end with Sam LaPorta and Luke Lachey was more than enough firepower as Iowa cruised to a 21-0 victory over Kentucky in the Music City Bowl on Saturday at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee.
Iowa had two pick sixes in the first half by defensive backs Xavier Nwankpa and Cooper DeJean and led 21-0 at halftime.
“Our guys handled the month really well and obviously played hard today,” Kirk Ferentz said on the ABC post-game show.
Redshirt freshman Joey Labas made his first career start at quarterback for Iowa, and perhaps the best thing he did was protect the football, unlike Kentucky true freshman quarterback Destin Wade, who was also making his first start in Saturday’s game.
“I don’t mind telling you, I was a little nervous and I think all of us were,” Kirk Ferentz said. “But you can’t say enough about Joe. I thought he did a great job, and a great future.”
Labas completed 14-of-24 passes for 139 yards and one touchdown, and he also avoided committing any turnovers.
Saturday’s game was a rematch of the 2022 Citrus Bowl in which Kentucky prevailed 20-17 in Orlando, Florida behind quarterback Will Levis.
However, Levis opted out of playing the Music City Bowl, and that left Kentucky, whose head coach is former Iowa defensive back Mark Stoops, with no experience at quarterback and it showed as Wade struggled to make plays.
He was eventually replaced by Deuce Hogan, who started his career at Iowa.
This season will be remembered mostly for how poorly Iowa played on offense, and for wasting a great defense and rock-solid special teams.
But the players and coaches deserve credit for staying the course and for finishing the season in impressive fashion.
Iowa was locked in on defense as usual, while Taylor’s ability to shift field position helped Iowa seize the momentum and the lead early.
That combination is largely responsible for Iowa winning eight games this season despite having an offense that was ranked at or near the bottom nationally in total offense throughout the season.
The performance of the offense on Saturday still left much to be desired, especially the run blocking, but at least it didn’t get in the way of winning this time.
And what more can be said about Sam LaPorta that hasn’t already been said?

The play in which he eluded five or six defenders in the first half was vintage LaPorta as he turned a short underneath route into a long gain.
DeJean also capped a spectacular season by becoming the first Iowa player to have three pick sixes in a single season. His three pick sixes also ties the school record with Tom Knight, Desmond King and current teammate and fellow cornerback Riley Moss.
And DeJean, who was named the game’s most valuable player, is just a sophomore.
“For this whole month, we’ve been waiting for this moment,” DeJean said. “I couldn’t have gotten this award without all these guys.
“The defense, the offense, everybody did their part today. So, it was good to come out with the win.”
Iowa now enters the offseason with some momentum, but also with major concerns on offense.
This victory showed that Iowa still has a solid foundation under Kirk Ferentz, but also still has serious issues on offense that go way beyond just who plays quarterback.
Iowa only had 206 yards on offense, but senior quarterback Spencer Petras can’t be blamed for that because he was injured and didn’t play.
Petras certainly has his flaws, but he also has had to play under some tough circumstances due to all the deficiencies on offense.
The decision by former Michigan quarterback Cade McNamara to transfer to Iowa has certainly helped from a public relations standpoint.
But it remains to be seen how much of impact McNamara will have on offense.
He led Michigan to the college playoff in 2021, but he also had arguably the top offensive line in the country protecting him, along with three stud running backs.
McNamara won’t have that kind of supporting cast at Iowa.
But he should have another top-notch defense to help win games.
Iowa loses some key pieces on defense, mostly notably star linebacker Jack Campbell, but as long as Phil Parker is running the Iowa defense, it’s hard to see it ever being a weakness.
There is also a lot of talented players returning on defense, including junior safety Sebastian Castro, who made plays all over the field in the Music City Bowl.
And there could be more returning if some of the current senior starters such as linebacker Seth Benson and defensive linemen Noah Shannon and Joe Evans, decide to use their free Covid year.
Iowa was 3-4 after seven games and the season appeared to be unraveling, but then the Hawkeyes responded by winning four games in a row before losing to Nebraska on Senior Day.
The victory over Kentucky on Saturday showed that the foundation under Kirk Ferentz still is strong.
But it also showed that Iowa still has serious issues on offense as Kirk Ferentz concludes his 24th season as head coach.