By Tom Layberger

TAMPA, Florida – During a joint press conference with Vanderbilt coach Clark Lea on Tuesday afternoon, Hawkeyes’ coach Kirk Ferentz stated that defending Commodores quarterback Diego Pavia would be comparable to “walking on ice in some ways.”

Trailing 7-0 before he took field to a chorus boos coming from many Hawkeyes fans among the 35,382 in attendance at Raymond James Stadium, the Heisman finalist seemed to be the one treading an unsteady surface. That was certainly the case when senior linebacker Karson Sharar doubled his season sack total to terminate Vandy’s first two possessions.

Phil Parker’s unit continued to bring heat on a chilly, but sun-splashed day at the ReliaQuest Bowl. Pavia was sacked four times in the first half and held to 112 total yards, including only two on the ground thanks in large part to losing 32 yards on the sacks. The second half was a different story as Pavia accounted for 271 yards and three touchdowns. Iowa saw an 18-point lead dwindle to seven before holding on, 34-27.

“They’re a really explosive and dynamic team offensively,” said Ferentz. “It wasn’t a great first half for (Pavia). To their credit they made some adjustments and they came out with a little tempo at times and got us on our heels a bit. It was a tale of two halves.”

Sharar, an Iowa Falls native playing his final game, and the defense pretty much had its way during the first 30 minutes as rhe Hawkeyes took a 14-3 lead into the locker room.

“Our game plan coming in was to try to limit what he can do because he is so talented that he can really do whatever he wants,” said Sharar, who finished the season with four sacks. “We wanted to have enough eyes on him at all times and just make sure we limit what he does. I was able to help out and hit him a few times, so it was a good feeling.”

Vandy had to make do without Pavia’s pitch-and-catch partner and John Mackey Award winner (nation’s best tight end), Eli Stowers, who opted out of the bowl after finishing second nationally in receptions (62) among tight ends. The Commodores had one play as long as 15 yards in the first half thanks in no small part to Iowa taking away the run game and forcing Pavia to get it done through the air. They had just 10 rushing yards in the first half and 51 for the game.

“I think we did a great job in the run game,” said Sharar, who had five total tackles. “We knew they would try to run Pavia quite a bit, so we wanted to load up the box, be in the right spot and keep your eyes right.”

Pavia had his eyes set downfield in the second half when his performance often mirrored that of his season. His right arm and legs powered Vandy to three touchdown drives that had a combined time of possession of just 4:26.

“That second, well, Pavia is a really good quarterback who can do a lot of things and they have some playmakers out there,” said senior safety Xavier Nwankpa, who recorded seven tackles in his final collegiate game. “We held them in check really well in the first half. They made some adjustments and he was able to use his feet more in the second half. He gave us some fits out there, but we were able to overcome those and come away with the ‘W.’”

That is all that matters. During the regular season, the Hawkeyes held Iowa State (Rocco Becht), Indiana (Heisman winner Fernando Mendoza), UCLA (Dante Moore) and USC (Jordan Maiava) to their season low or second-lowest scoring output while losing to all four teams by a combined 15 points.

“We had some tough losses this year,” said Ferentz, whose team snapped a 13-game losing streak against ranked opponents by beating one that was firmly in the College Football Playoff hunt until the final ranking revealed the Commodores were No. 14. “Really proud of our guys, the effort they exerted out there, the way they competed.”

On Wednesday in Tampa, it was the Hawkeyes who held on to win the close one and against a Heisman finalist who entered the game second nationally in total offense behind USF’s Byrum Brown, who, ironically, called Raymond James Stadium his home the past four years.

“Pavia is a great player,” said Sharar. “But I am proud of the guys, excited for this team and happy we got the win.”