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Outback Bowl Features 8-4 Florida and Iowa

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The 2017 Outback Bowl will feature the Iowa Hawkeyes of the Big Ten and the Florida Gators of the SEC, continuing the trend of Big Ten-SEC matchups. Here’s what you need to know about Monday’s battle at Raymond James.

Iowa is back in the Outback Bowl for the first time since 2014.
Iowa is back in the Outback Bowl for the first time since 2014. Photo courtesy of Iowa Hawkeye Football.
  • Monday’s game marks only the sixth time in its history that the Outback Bowl will be played on Jan. 2, and the first time since 2012.
  • Florida enters at 8-4 with a 6-2 record in the SEC. Iowa also takes a 8-4 record into Monday’s game, with a 6-3 record in the Big Ten.
  • The Gators are ranked 17th in the final College Football Playoff Rankings, 20th in the Associated Press’ final poll, and 18th in the final Coaches’ Poll.
  • Iowa does not hold a ranking in the College Football Playoff poll, but they are 21st in the AP’s poll, and 25th in the Coaches’ Poll.
  • Florida enters after dropping their previous two games against Florida State and Alabama in the SEC Championship game.
  • The Gators allowed the ‘Noles and Crimson Tide a combined 85 points in those two losses.
  • Iowa was victorious in their final three games of the season against Michigan, Illinois, and Nebraska, upsetting two top 25 teams in that span.
  • The Hawkeyes were one of only three teams to defeat Michigan in 2016 – Ohio State and Florida State being the others.
  • The Big Ten is currently 2-5 in 2016 bowl games after Michigan, Nebraska and Ohio State’s losses over the weekend. Minnesota and Northwestern represent the two victories. The SEC stands at 5-5 with three teams still to play.
  • Florida stands as a three point favorite.
  • Both teams have appeared in the Outback Bowl four previous times, as they both stand at 2-2 all-time.
  • Big Ten teams have an 11-16 record in the Outback Bowl while SEC teams have faired better, at an 15-11 clip.
  • The Gator’s last appearance in the Outback Bowl was in 2011, when they defeated Penn State 37-24.
  • Iowa appeared in the Outback Bowl in 2014, when they were defeated by LSU 21-14. Their last victory came in 2008 against South Carolina.
  • Florida and Iowa have met two previous times in the Outback Bowl, once in 2004 and once in 2006, splitting the series. Iowa won 37-17 in ’04, Florida won 31-24 in ’06.
  • Florida leads the all-time series 2-1, thanks to a 14-6 victory in the 1983 Gator Bowl.
  • The Gators offense ranks at 116th in the country at 345.1 yards per game. Iowa checks in at 120th with 333.3 YPG.
  • UF senior quarterback Austin Appleby will start his sixth game of the season, already compiling 1,225 passing yards and eight touchdowns, with five interceptions. He’s completed his passes at a 61.4-percent rate.
  • Appleby threw for 261 yards against Alabama in the SEC Championship game but also threw three costly interceptions.
  • Iowa senior quarterback CJ Beathard has thrown for 1,874 passing yards and 17 touchdowns on the season, down almost 1,000 yards from his junior year.
  • In three games Beathard has thrown for 200-plus passing yards, however, the Hawkeyes have only won one of those contests.
  • Iowa ranks 67th in the FBS in rushing offense with 171.9 per game, with LeShun Daniels Jr. rushing for 1,013 yards and Akrum Wadley for 966. Both have ten rushing touchdowns.
  • Florida’s leading rusher is Jordan Scarlett with 795 yards and six touchdowns in 2016.
  • Florida’s defense ranks sixth in the FBS with only 298.6 yards allowed per game.
  • Iowa’s defense ranks at 26th with 352.8 yards allowed per game.
  • Junior linebacker Josey Jewell leads the Hawkeyes in tackles with 105 tackles (47 solo) on the season.
  • Junior defensive back Marcell Harris leads Florida in tackles with 64 tackles (36 solo).
  • Florida’s Jalen Tabor has four interceptions on the year, a team high, and is a possible first-round draft pick in the 2017 NFL Draft. Quincy Wilson has three for the Gators in 2016.
  • Desmond King has two interceptions for Iowa and is also seen as a potential first-round NFL draft pick by CBS Sports.

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Quotable: 

“They’ve got an NFL back end. That’s a challenge. We’re not exactly NFL stature on the outside necessarily. Their linebackers are really good. They’ve had injuries, and the guys that have stepped in have done a nice job. You always like to have your starting guys in there, but they’ve got several guys that play very well, and then up front, they’ve got a lot of guys who are very active and very talented.” – Iowa Head Coach Kirk Ferentz on Florida’s tough defense.

“It’s a dead period so you can’t really do anything anyway. But I think just our logo being on local television and being out there the way it is, it obviously is something that helps. I know this has been — since we’ve gotten here, a big priority for us is this area.” – Florida Head Coach Jim McElwain on recruiting in Tampa.

“He played pretty well against us last year quite frankly, so I’m not real enthusiastic about seeing him again. It’s not like we’ve got a great memory from last year’s game, unfortunately, so no.” – Ferentz on whether Iowa has an advantage on seeing Purdue-transfer Austin Appleby again for Florida.

“Anybody that is involved with the football organization, it’s a chance for those families, the coaches’ wives and the coaches’ families to come and really enjoy in this case the great place that Tampa is. Yet at the same time what you do with your guys is say, look, here’s the period of time you need to be locked in. Guys, this is time, we’re trusting you, and you find out the trust of your team. You find out the leadership of your team. But when you’re in that football environment for those hours, man, it’s locked in and ready to roll.” – McElwain on balancing fun versus game plan in preparation for the game.