Nov 22, 2014; Iowa City, IA, USA; Iowa Hawkeyes linebacker Reggie Spearman (6) tackles Wisconsin Badgers running back Melvin Gordon (25) at Kinnick Stadium. Wisconsin beat Iowa 26-24. Mandatory Credit: Reese Strickland-USA TODAY Sports
Who: Iowa Hawkeyes — Iowa City, IA
Distance From Knoxville: 724 miles
Head coach: Kirk Ferentz (16th season at Iowa, 115-84 overall, 68-60 Big Ten)
Conference: Big Ten
2014 Record: 7-5 (4-4)
Ranking: N/A
All time series: Series tied 1-1
Last meeting: Tennessee won 23-22 in East Rutherford, NJ in 1987
Leading Passer: Jake Rudock— 2,404 yards, 16 TDs, 5 INTs
Leading Rusher: Mark Weisman — 206 carries, 802 yards, 14 TDs
Leading Receiver: Tevaun Smith— 41 catches, 559 yards, 3 TDs
For the first time since 2010, the Tennessee football team is preparing to take on an opponent in late December for a bowl game. For three consecutive seasons, the Vols were left out of the bowl mania that takes over in early winter. But 2014 broke the drought, and Butch Jones and his young squad will gladly take the field in Jacksonville, FL for the Taxslayer Bowl on January 2nd.
Their opponent: The Iowa Hawkeyes out of the Big Ten Conference.
The Hawkeyes are led by Kirk Ferentz in his 16th season, but many fans are starting to believe he has overstayed his welcome in Iowa City. The Hawkeyes came into 2014 with aspirations of winning the West division in the Big Ten, but after losing three of their last four games and four of their last six, Iowa finished a disappointing 7-5 and 4th in the West.
After an abysmal first season in which the Hawkeyes went 1-10 in 1999, Ferentz led Iowa to an 11-2 record in just his 4th season as head coach in 2002. He followed that up with back-to-back 10-win seasons in 2003 and 2004, but since then the Hawkeyes have only experienced one other season of 10 or more wins and only two seasons of 9 or more victories. In fact, since 2004 Ferentz has gone just 41-39 in the Big Ten.
But enough of history. Let’s focus on the “now.”
On paper, Iowa and Tennessee look eerily similar. The two teams have very similar statistics in many categories, and both have nearly the same split when it comes to the number of times running the ball versus the number of times throwing it. Here is a comparison of some of the two teams’ 2014 statistics:
As you can see, both teams are extremely similar in almost all the stats given above. The only major departure comes in the turnover margin on the season, otherwise both teams are relatively even on offense and defense. Both are highly disciplined and rank in the top 10 of the NCAA in fewest penalties committed a game. But there are a few differences between both teams.
Say what you will about the Vols, but they don’t have a truly bad loss on the season. The worst loss the Vols suffered on the year was to a 6-5 Florida squad that somehow escaped Neyland Stadium with a 10-9 victory in October. Iowa, however, suffered an embarrassing 20-17 loss to in-state rival Iowa State at home back in early September. The Cyclones finished 2014 with a 2-10 record and were one of the worst FBS teams this season.
The Vols have had their ups and downs, but they have been surprisingly consistent in terms of beating teams they’re supposed to and losing to those they are perceived weaker than for a 6-6 team. The Hawkeyes have an ugly loss on their record and didn’t have to face any of the big 3 in the Big Ten (Ohio State, Michigan, Michigan State), but they weren’t able to capitalize on their fortune.
Iowa played one team ranked in the Top 25. The Vols played 5 such teams. The Hawkeyes had a total of 5 teams that finished with losing records on their schedule. Tennessee played only 2 teams that finished below .500 in 2014.
The Hawkeyes feature a balanced attack that, much like Tennessee, can make some big plays but usually is content with picking up smaller chunks and driving the ball down the field.
Running back Mark Weisman gets the bulk of the carries in the backfield, and he is a bruising runner that is dangerous in the red zone. Weisman has 14 touchdowns on the season, two less than the total amount of rushing scores the Vols have on the year. Jordan Canzeri is a good complementary back who will likely pick up a good workload as well. Weisman hasn’t scored in three consecutive games, however, and Canzeri has been held scoreless all season.
According to Iowa offensive coordinator Greg Davis, the Hawkeyes plan to use a two-quarterback system in the Taxslayer Bowl. Junior Jake Rudock has started 11 of Iowa’s 12 games this season, but sophomore and Franklin, TN native C.J. Beathard has looked promising in 7 appearances and 1 start this season, throwing for 500 yards and 3 scores. Both are decent mobile options, as Rudock has run for 154 yards and 3 scores and Beathard for 74 yards on just 20 carries, but Hawkeye fans have longed to see what Beathard can do with more opportunities.
The Hawkeyes possess a stable of tall receivers, led by the 6-2 Canadian Tevaun Smith. Jake Duzey is a 6-4, 245 lb. tight end that has been a valuable asset in Iowa’s passing game this season as well, hauling in 36 passes for 392 yards and 3 touchdowns with 210 of those yards coming in the final 3 games of the regular season.
Iowa’s defense features three All-Big Ten 2nd Team selections, and all 3 players are in the front seven of the defense. Defensive linemen Louis Trinca-Pasat and Carl Davis earned 2nd team honors on the line, and Quinton Alston earned 2nd team for the linebackers. Another match-up to watch will be Iowa’s All-American left tackle Brandon Scherff against Tennessee’s All-SEC Freshman defense end Derek Barnett.
The Taxslayer Bowl should certainly be one of the more interesting bowls to watch in the 2014-15 slate of bowl games. Both teams appear relatively even on paper, but both programs are moving in completely opposite directions. Iowa comes in losers of 4 of their last 6 games and with concerns growing over their head coach while the Vols enter as winners of 3 of their last 4 games and look to be hauling in a top 5 recruiting class for the current cycle.
The Vols may be the up-and-coming team when they take the field Friday afternoon, but Iowa absolutely owns Tennessee when it comes to bowl experience. While the Vols have played 23 true freshmen and started over half a dozen this season, Iowa’s current depth chart only lists 2 true freshmen as starters. Iowa has been to a bowl game twice in the past three years while the Vols have sat at home those three years.
Experienced or not, these Vols should be ready to take the next step for a program desperate to return to the winning ways of old. But Iowa will not go down without a fight, and they have enough weapons on both sides of the ball to defeat Tennessee in an intriguing bowl match-up.
All stats are taken from cfbstats.com. All series info taken from mcubed.net and collegefootball.bz