Written by Erik Slaby
Tampa, FL – It started slow but then things got going in a hurry. On a sunny, gorgeous day in Tampa, in front of a crowd of 40,518 people at Raymond James Stadium, the Iowa Hawkeyes defeated the Mississippi State Bulldogs, 27-22 to win the Outback Bowl. With this victory, Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz moves to 3-3 all-time with Iowa in the Outback Bowl. He spoke after the game about the win.
“It’s great to be playing football on New Year’s, I can tell you that,” said Ferentz. “We came into this game knowing Mississippi State was a very tough, talented and veteran team. They have been that way, really, from the start of the season, so we knew this would be a really tough, hard-fought game and it would take our best effort and that’s what it really boiled down to.” He added, “I think as much as anything, they played together today, and they certainly were, you know, relentless out there and resilient, and they had to be against this opponent. So bottom line is I just think we played tough football. We played clean football and we played smart football, and played, you know, team football, opportunistic football. For us to win, that’s what it requires.”
The first half was highlighted by inconsistent play from both teams and big plays from Iowa. The game started off slow with both teams struggling to advance the ball but Mississippi State was able to get things rolling first, with back-to-back field goal by kicker Jake Christman. Iowa started to find life offensively after that, scoring 17 unanswered points before halftime. The highlight of this run was Iowa’s first touchdown of the game.
On first down from their 25-yard line, on the first play of the drive, Iowa quarterback Nate Stanley threw a perfect pass to wide receiver Nick Easley, who was wide open. Easley sprinted 75 yards down the field for the touchdown. That play was such a huge momentum changer for Iowa as it gave them the lead for the first time and brought the crowd, the majority of it Iowa fans, back into the game.
On the next drive for Mississippi State, Iowa was able to create even more momentum by sacking quarterback Nick Fitzgerald, forcing a fumble and then recovering it deep in Mississippi State territory. Two plays later, Iowa scored on a 15-yard pass from Stanley to wide receiver Ihmir Smith-Marsette. By now, the crowd was really into it. This gave them a 17-6 lead heading into halftime.
The start of the third quarter did not go as well for Iowa as Stanley was intercepted on the fourth play of the quarter by Mississippi State linebacker Willie Gay Jr. and was returned 46 yards. This gave Mississippi State fantastic field position at the Iowa 6-yard line. Three plays later, Fitzgerald completed a short 1-yard pass to running back Kylin Hill for the score. After that score, the momentum seemed to shift Mississippi State’s way as their special teams forced Smith-Marsette to fumble the ball and they recovered it on the Iowa 33-yard line. On the very next play, Fitzgerald kept the ball and ran down the right side of the sideline for a 33-yard touchdown. This gave Mississippi State a 19-17 lead.
Iowa was unable to get anything going offensively on their next drive but their defense stepped up and proved to be clutch as Iowa defensive end Chauncey Golson intercepted Fitzgerald in Mississippi State territory. This turnover gave Iowa the ball on the Mississippi State 32-yard line and they promptly took advantage with and eight-yard touchdown pass from Stanley to Easley. This gave Iowa a 24-19 lead over Mississippi State and they would hold on to that lead for the rest of the game.
Iowa was led by Easley who finished with eight catches for 104 yards and two touchdowns. With these numbers, he finished with over 100 career catches at Iowa. For his effort’s, he was also named MVP of the game. Stanley also contributed by completing 21-31 passes for 214 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. Easley spoke after the game about when he found out he had over 100 catches.
“Honestly I had no idea,” said Easley with a smile. “When I’m out there, I’m pretty unaware of how many yards. When someone told me I had a hundred yards, honestly I had no idea. Just a testament to my teammates and how hard we’ve worked day-in and day-out, my fellow receivers, the offensive line; Nate for always putting the ball on me. Just really proud of this team.”
With this victory, Iowa finishes the season with a 9-4 overall record and Mississippi State finishes with an 8-5 record. Mississippi State will now have a chance to reset and regroup heading into next season and a second season under new head coach Joe Moorhead. Iowa will hopefully be able to take this bowl victory and use it to help them get to their goal of winning a BIG 10 Championship.
