By Jordan Hansen
For the fifth time under head coach Kirk Ferentz, the Iowa football team will play in the Outback Bowl.
The Hawkeyes will take on Florida on Jan. 2 in Tampa, Florida. It will be the third time Iowa has faced the Gators in the Outback Bowl, with the teams splitting the previous two games.
“We’re not only thrilled, we’re honored to be selected to the Outback Bowl,” Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz said. “As we close out on this thing, as I look at it, it’s one more opportunity for the 2016 team to be together for another four weeks, have a chance to compete.”
The Hawkeyes got the bowl bid on the heels of a three-game winning streak, with two of the victories coming against ranked opponents. A thrashing of Nebraska in the last game of the season certainly helped Iowa’s cause for a good bowl.
And really, it is the best-case scenario of the Hawkeyes. It’s the first bowl on Jan. 2 and the only non-New Year’s Six bowl played on that day.
“The athletics director, the students and the coaches, and I’m sure all of our fans are excited to get this invitation,” Iowa Athletics Director Gary Barta said. “Obviously, we’re familiar with the Outback Bowl … its board goes over the top to take care of us.”
Now, however, comes the second part of the challenge — winning a bowl game. It was a stated goal for the team at the beginning of the season and something the Hawkeyes haven’t done in a while.
In fact, Iowa is currently on a four-bowl losing streak and hasn’t had a postseason victory since beating Missouri in the Insight Bowl six years ago. Last season’s loss in the Rose Bowl prompted Ferentz to consider some changes to his bowl preparation.
On Sunday night, he said the team would leave for the bowl later than it has in the past, which seems to be the biggest change. But regardless of the pre-bowl stuff, the team desperately wants to end the streak.
“[Winning a bowl game] was definitely one of our top-three goals coming into the off-season,” senior defensive tackle Jaleel Johnson said. “Since I’ve been here, my incoming class, we’ve never won a bowl game. My first year, we didn’t even go to a bowl game.
“Being able to go back the Outback Bowl, against another good opponent, there’s nothing more you could really ask for.”
