Written by Garin Turner
Another Big Ten vs. SEC is on tap as the Iowa Hawkeyes take on #18 Mississippi State Bulldogs in the Outback Bowl in Tampa, Florida on January 1 at noon EST time on ESPN 2. This is the first meeting between the two teams. The Hawkeyes are 11-14 all-time against the SEC. Iowa has a 15-15-1 record in bowl games. The Bulldogs are making its 22nd trip to a bowl game. They hold a 13-8 record in bowl games.
For Iowa, they enter the game at 8-4. They have the 7th ranked defense with 289.6 yards a game. The Hawkeyes started the season on a three-game winning streak before dropping a game to Wisconsin (18th at the time). They came back and won three straight before losing three straight to Penn State (17th at the time), Purdue, and Northwestern. The Hawkeyes finished strong by defeating Illinois and Nebraska.
Nate Stanley has 23 touchdown passes on the year for Iowa and 2,638 yards passing. Mekhi Sargent has 748 yards on 152 carries and nine touchdowns. T.J. Hockenson has 46 receptions for 717 yards and six touchdowns.
The Bulldogs also finished the regular season 8-4. The Bulldogs started 3-0 before dropping its next two to Kentucky and Florida. They followed that up by beating Auburn (8th at the time) before losing to Texas A&M (16th at the time). They lost to number one Alabama before winning its last two games against Arkansas and Ole Miss. All four of the Bulldog loses came at the hands of teams that finished in the final top 15. In its eight wins, all of them were by double-digits.
Nick Fitzgerald has done it through the air and on his feet for the Bulldogs. He’s 131/249 for 1,615 yards with 15 touchdowns. He’s the leading rusher with 201 carries for 1,018 yards and 12 touchdowns. Kylin Hill has added 105 carries for 691 yards and four scores.
