IOWA HAWKEYES NOTES:
HAWKEYES | 1st & 10
• The Hawkeyes accepted an invitation to the 2024 Cheez-It Citrus Bowl for the third time in program history. It is Iowa’s 18th January bowl game, including the 13th under head coach Kirk Ferentz. • Iowa is one of only nine FBS programs with an active bowl game appearance streak of 10+ years. • The Hawkeyes won its third Big Ten West Division crown under Ferentz in 2023 (2015, 2021, 2023). • Iowa won 10 games in the regular season for the seventh time (five under Ferentz) and it is the 11th 10-win season in program history (eight under Ferentz). • With a victory in the Citrus Bowl, Iowa can reach the 11th win mark for the fourth time in program history (2002, 2009, 2015). • Woody, Amos & Kirk… Ferentz’s has 196 career wins as a member of the Big Ten Conference, the third-most all-time, trailing only Woody Hayes (205) and Amos Alonzo Stagg (1999). Iowa’s win over Illinois in November moved Ferentz past Michigan’s Bo Schembechler. • Defensive coordinator Phil Parker is the recipient of the Frank Broyles Award and the AFCA Assistant Coach of the Year. He is the first Hawkeye to win the Broyles and the third to earn the top AFCA honor. • Ferentz has 10 career bowl game victories, which are tied with Joe Paterno for the most bowl wins as a member of the Big Ten Conference. • Senior Tory Taylor was named the recipient of the Ray Guy Award as the nation’s top punter. He is the first Hawkeye to earn the honor. • CONSENSUS… DB Cooper DeJean and P Tory Taylor are consensus All-Americans — the 30th and 31st in school history. Iowa has had a unanimous first-team All-American in four straight seasons and the Hawkeyes are the only school nationally with a consensus All-American in each of the last five seasons. • Iowa had 20 players earn All-Big Ten honors, including first-team selections Jay Higgins (LB), Cooper DeJean (DB and RS) and Taylor (P). DeJean was the recipient of the Tatum-Woodson Big Ten Defensive Back of the Year and the Rodgers-Dwight Big Ten Return Specialist of the Year, while Taylor was tabbed as the Eddleman-Fields Punter of the Year. • CLUTCH… The Hawkeyes are 5-1 in 2023 in games decided by seven points or less. • RB Leshon Williams has a career-best three 100-yard games during the 2023 season. He leads the team with 804 yards on 164 attempts with one touchdown. • P Tory Taylor broke the single season punting yardage record for a third consecutive season. He has 86 punts for a record 4,119 yards in 2023. • What a duo… LB Jay Higgins has 155 tackles — the most by a Power 5 player — and the fourth-most in a single season in Iowa history. LB Nick Jackson has 99 tackles — one tackle shy of posting his fourth straight 100-tackle season. Higgins’ 90 tackle assists are a school record. • Iowa’s defense ranks fourth nationally, giving up 13.2 points per game. The Hawkeyes have allowed five touchdowns over their last 28 quarters, seven touchdowns over the past 36 periods and 15 total touchdowns in 2023. • The 13.2 scoring average would be the best for the Iowa program since 2008 (13.0 points). • The Hawkeye rushing defense has allowed just four rushing touchdowns in 2023, which are the second fewest in the nation. • SAFETY! Iowa’s defense recorded its third safety on a Joe Evans forced fumble against Illinois. It is the first time since 2018 Iowa has had three safeties in a single season. Iowa’s defense has scored 12 points in 2023. • Iowa > 400. Iowa’s defense has allowed fewer than 400 yards in 27 consecutive games — the longest active streak nationally. Iowa limited second-ranked Michigan to 213 yards — its lowest output of the season and 182 below its season average. • The Hawkeyes have allowed 14 or fewer points in 18 of their last 26 games and the defense has held nine teams without a touchdown since the start of the 2022 season. The unit has allowed one touchdown or less in 10 of 13 games in 2023 and in 19 of the last 26 games. • Since the start of the 2015 season, Iowa is 71-2 when leading by eight points at any point in a game.
IOWA TO MEET VOLS IN 2024 CHEEZ-IT CITRUS BOWL
The 17th-ranked University of Iowa football team will face No. 21 Tennessee in the 2024 Cheez-It Citrus Bowl on Jan. 1 in Orlando, Florida. Kickoff is set for noon (CT) from Camping World Stadium and the game will be televised on ABC. • The Hawkeyes will be making their 36th bowl game appearance and their third Citrus Bowl appearance. This marks the fourth time in five seasons Iowa will play a school from the SEC in a bowl game. • Iowa is 1-1 all-time at the Citrus Bowl. The Hawkeyes defeated No. 11 LSU, 30-25, on an improbable Drew Tate-toWarren Holloway 56-yard touchdown pass as time expired on Jan. 1, 2005. Kentucky scored the go-ahead touchdown with 1:48 remaining in the fourth quarter to down Iowa, 20-17, on Jan. 1, 2022. • The Hawkeyes have won four of their last five bowl games, including a 21-0 shutout of Kentucky in the 2022 Music City Bowl. Iowa is 18-16-1 all-time in bowl games. • Iowa is bowl eligible for the 22nd time in the last 23 seasons under head coach Kirk Ferentz. Iowa is 10-9 in bowl games under Ferentz, including a 21-0 victory over Kentucky in the Music City Bowl. Since 2001, only Ohio State and Wisconsin have won more bowl games (including the FBS championship game), than Iowa.
THE SERIES
• The Hawkeyes are 1-2 against the Volunteers in program history. Tennessee won the only bowl meeting, winning 45-28 in the 2015 TaxSlayer Bowl in Jacksonville. • Iowa won the first ever meeting in 1982, winning 28-22 in Atlanta and the Volunteers were victorious, 23-22, in East Rutherford, New Jersey in 1987. • Iowa is 7-6 all-time in bowl games against current Southeastern Conference opponents.
B1G WEST DIVISION CHAMPIONS
The Hawkeyes clinched an outright Big Ten West Division title and a trip to Indianapolis for the Big Ten Championship Game with a 15-13 victory over Illinois on Nov. 18 in Kinnick Stadium. It is the third Big Ten West Division crown in program history and its second in three seasons (2015, 2021, 2023).
10 & COUNTING
The Hawkeyes notched their 10th victory in the 13-10 walkoff road win at Nebraska on Nov. 24. It was the seventh time the Hawkeyes have recorded their 10th victory during the regular season, including five under head coach Kirk Ferentz. • It is the 11th time in program history that the team has reached the 10-win mark (1985, 1987, 1991, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2009, 2015, 2019, 2021, 2023). • The Hawkeyes finished the regular season with a 7-2 Big Ten record. It is the fifth time Iowa has won at least seven league contests under Ferentz (2002, 2004, 2015, 2021, 2023). • Iowa will join an exclusive list if it can hoist the Citrus Bowl trophy on Jan. 1 in Orlando. The Hawkeyes would become just the fourth team in program history to reach the 11-win mark, joining the 2002, 2009 and 2015 teams.
IOWA’S DEFENSE…
• has allowed just five touchdowns in their last 28 quarters and seven touchdowns over their last 36 quarters (eight games). • has given up 15 touchdowns in 13 games, which are the third fewest in the nation. • is giving up 3.99 yards per play — the second-lowest figure in the nation (Penn State). • has given up one touchdown or less in 10 of 13 games this season. The unit has allowed one touchdown or less in 19 of the last 26 contests and has held nine teams without a touchdown since the start of the 2022 season. • posted its third shutout since the start of the 2022 season on Nov. 11 against Rutgers. • allowed six points in the road win at Wisconsin. The Hawkeyes shut out the Badgers in the first half and it marked just the fourth time in the last 20 years for Wisconsin to be shutout in the first half at home. • has allowed four rushing touchdowns in 13 games — the second fewest in the nation. • held two straight opponents under 100 yards passing (Northwestern 81, Rutgers 93). It was the first time this happened in consecutive games since 1995. • has held seven of its last eight opponents under 100 yards rushing, including Rutgers to a season-low 37 yards. Iowa has held eight opponents under 100 yards this season. • is fourth nationally in scoring defense, surrendering 13.2 points per game. • is fifth in total defense (274.8) and team passing efficiency defense (100.46), 12th in red zone defense (.750), 13th in rushing defense (102.5), 16th in first downs defense (205) and 19th in third-down conversion defense (.316).
OFFENSE BREAKS THROUGH
After averaging 225.3 yards over its first nine games, Iowa’s offense erupted for 402 yards against the nation’s 10th-ranked Rutgers defense on Nov. 11. It was the first 400-yard game in the last 32 contests (Maryland, 2021). • The Hawkeyes had 223 passing and 173 rushing yards — the first 200+ passing and 100+ rushing game since Northwestern in 2022. • QB Deacon Hill passed for a career-high 223 yards, completing a season-high 20 passes. • Seven different receivers caught at least one pass and three running backs had 53 or more yards. • Iowa didn’t have a three-and-out in the game, had a season-high 21 first downs and punter Tory Taylor had just three punts — a season low. • The offensive unit was 9-of-18 on third downs and 2-of-2 on fourth downs in the game and controlled the time of possession to the tune of 38:22 — the seventh-best all-time under Kirk Ferentz.
ROAD GRINDERS
The Hawkeye rushing attack churned out 381 yards in consecutive victories over Purdue and Wisconsin — the most in a two-game stretch since 2020 (226 vs. Michigan State, 235 vs. Minnesota). Iowa’s 200 yards against the Badgers are the most since 2008. • Iowa finished with 179 yards against Rutgers on Nov. 11 against the nation’s 10th-ranked defense and 163 yards against the Huskers’ fifth-ranked rushing defense. Nebraska entered the game allowing 86.5 yards per game. • The Hawkeyes rushed for 254 yards against Western Michigan on Sept. 16 — the most for the program since 2019 versus Middle Tennessee State (351 yards).
TENNESSEE VOLUNTEERS NOTES:
STORYLINES
• CITRUS BOWL FINALE:
No. 21 Tennessee makes its first Cheez-It Citrus Bowl appearance in over two decades as the Volunteers take on Big Ten West champion No. 17 Iowa at 1 p.m. ET on New Year’s Day in Camping World Stadium. Tennessee secured a third-place finish in the final SEC East standings and posted a .500 or better SEC record (4-4) for the third straight season, a first for the program since it did it 16 straight seasons from 1989-2004. The Vols own a 2-1 record all-time vs. Iowa, and the two are meeting for the first time since UT beat the Hawkeyes, 45-28, in the 2015 TaxSlayer Gator Bowl. Tennessee is seeking back-to-back seasons of at least nine victories for the first time since 2014-15. It’s the winningest two-year stretch for the program since claiming 19 victories from 2006-07. A win vs. Iowa would give the Vols 20 victories since the start of the 2022 season, the most over a two-year span for UT since 2003-04 (20). • BOWL FACTS: This is Tennessee’s 55th all-time bowl game appearance (29-25), which ranks fifth nationally. Note: The Vols’ 2020 Gator Bowl appearance was vacated by the NCAA COI. UT is making its sixth Citrus Bowl appearance, and the Vols are 4-1 in the bowl. In its last appearance, offensive MVP QB Casey Clausen accounted for five touchdowns – three passing and two rushing – to lead UT past Michigan, 45-17, on Jan 1, 2002. TE Jason Witten caught six passes for 125 yards, including a 64-yarder in the third quarter, and DT John Henderson was named the defensive MVP. The Vols also own Citrus Bowl victories over Maryland (1983), Ohio State (1996) and Northwestern (1997). RB Jay Graham was the MVP in the 1996 contest, and QB Peyton Manning earned the honor in 1997 after throwing for 408 yards and four touchdowns. This is Tennessee’s second straight Florida bowl appearance. The Vols played in their first Orange Bowl since January 1998 last season, besting ACC champion Clemson, 31-14, to finish No. 6 in the final polls. Tennessee has won its last five Florida bowl appearances on the field dating back to the 2008 Outback Bowl.
HEUPEL ERA:
Josh Heupel, the 2022 AP SEC Coach of the Year, is in his third season at the helm. Since taking over a program that was 3-7 prior to his arrival, Heupel owns a 26-12 record and has won 21 of his last 28 games. He owned a 28-8 overall record at UCF prior to UT, and Heupel returns to Orlando for the Citrus Bowl. Since 2018, he ranks eighth nationally among active FBS head coaches in victories with 54. Heupel’s UT teams (2021-pres.) have averaged 39.0 points per game (third in the FBS) and 484.5 yards of total offense per game (second in the FBS). Heupel’s 19 wins since the start of the 2022 season are thirdmost in the SEC. Heupel joins Phillip Fulmer (1993-95) and Bill Battle (1970-72) as the only Vol coaches to lead UT to bowl berths in each of his first three seasons. Heupel owns a 7-8 record vs. ranked teams at UT. He owned a 16-2 record in games played in Orlando as head coach at UCF. • MILTON’S SEASON: QB Joe Milton III has completed 229-of-354 passes for 2,813 yards and 20 touchdowns with five interceptions this season. He’s added 299 yards and a team-high seven rushing TDs on the ground. For the first time in school history, Tennessee has produced a player with over 3,000 yards of total offense for three straight seasons. After Hendon Hooker did it in 2021 and 2022, Milton produced 3,112 yards this year. Milton was a member of the 2019 UM team that beat Iowa 10-3, but he did not play in the game as a RS freshman. Milton prepped at Olympia High School in Orlando, which is 10 miles northeast of Camping World Stadium. Milton is one of 12 “super” seniors, whose careers will come to an end in Orlando, joining S Jaylen McCollough, LB Aaron Beasley, WR Ramel Keyton, PK Charles Campbell, DE Roman Harrison, TE Jacob Warren, TE McCallan Castles, OL Jeremiah Crawford, OL Ollie Lane, DT Kurott Garland, DL Austin Lewis.
BY THE NUMBERS
36
sacks by UT, which is third in the SEC and tied for 11th in the nation (at least 1 sack in 16 straight games dating back to 2022)
22
games producing 200 rushing yards in the Josh Heupel era, including 7 of 12 this year (20-2 record when doing so, 7-0 in 2023)
93
tackles for loss by UT, which is second in the SEC and ninth in the nation (at least 4.0 in 24 straight games dating back to 2022)
50
career starts by S Jaylen McCollough, tying the school record held by CB Jonathan Hefney, who started 50 from 2004-07
NOTING THE TENNESSEE-IOWA SERIES
•Tennessee and Iowa are meeting for just the fourth time and the first time since the 2015 TaxSlayer Gator Bowl. The Vols won that contest 45-28 to culminate Butch Jones’ second season. Current UT secondary coach Willie Martinez was the Vols’ secondary coach in that game. Johnny Majors was UT’s head coach in the other two meetings vs. the Hawkeyes. •Josh Heupel has never faced Iowa as a head coach. Heupel, however, was the cooffensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Oklahoma when the Sooners beat Iowa, 31-14, in the 2011 Insight Bowl. •This is the 18th time that the Vols will face a Big Ten opponent in a bowl game. UT owns an 11-6 on-field record in those contests, including a 48-45 overtime loss to Purdue in the 2021 Music City Bowl vs. its last Big Ten foe in Heupel’s first season. (note: previous meetings include conference at time of meeting) •The last time Tennessee played a Big Ten opponent during the regular season was the 1987 season opener against Iowa in East Rutherford, N.J. The Vols downed the Hawkeyes, 23-22, in the Kickoff Classic with Keith Jackson calling the game on ABC. Reggie Cobb was rushed for 138 yards, including 100 in the second half. • UT defensive coordinator Tim Banks is familiar with Iowa. Banks spent the 2016-20 seasons as the co-DC at Penn State. He was 4-1 vs. the Hawkeyes there. Banks was also the DC at Illinois from 2012-15. He was 0-2 vs. Iowa there. • Tennessee RS freshman punter Jackson Ross was high school teammates with Iowa senior All-American punter and Ray Guy winner Tory Taylor. Both are from Melbourne, Australia, and attended Haileybury College prior to college.
EPIC STARTS
• Tennessee outscores opponents 441-169 in the first quarter under Josh Heupel, including 190-51 in 2021, 141-72 in 2022 and 110-46 this season. The Vols have scored at least one touchdown in the first quarter in 33 of 38 games under Heupel with the 2022 season games against Florida and Georgia and this season’s Austin Peay and Missouri games being the only exceptions. • Josh Heupel teams are known for quick starts. In 74 games as a head coach, Heupel’s squads have outscored opponents 887-383 in the first quarter (441-169 at UT, 447-214 at UCF). No active FBS head coach scores more points per first quarter in a career than Heupel since 2018 (12.00). Oklahoma’s Brent Venables is second (11.16). via SportSource (min. at least one season coached) • In the last three seasons combined under Heupel, the Vols are first in the nation in first-quarter scoring at 11.61 points per game. Oklahoma is second at 10.05. • In the last three seasons combined under Heupel, Tennessee is first in the FBS in first-quarter scoring differential (+7.16). Georgia is second at +6.14. • Since the start of the 2018 season, Josh Heupel ranks second among all FBS coaches in first-quarter scoring differential (+6.82). Alabama’s Nick Saban is first (+6.88). via SportSource (min. at least one season coached) • Heupel’s teams have scored at least one touchdown in the first quarter in 66 of the 74 games he has coached. • In 2023, Tennessee has scored on its first offensive drive in nine out of the 12 games it has played with all nine of those resulting in touchdowns. The Austin Peay, Texas A&M and Missouri games were the only times it did not score on the first drive. • Tennessee is averaging 9.17 points per first quarter this season, which is third among SEC teams. The Vols are second in the SEC in first-quarter scoring differential this season at 5.33, while Ole Miss is first at 6.58.
