Tennessee football will face off with No. 17 Iowa in the Citrus Bowl, as announced on Sunday. The game is slated for New Year’s Day at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida.
As bowl season approached, Tennessee was projected to land in the Gator Bowl and was widely projected to play N.C. State. However, the committee ranked Ole Miss No. 11 and Missouri No. 9 and granted both New Year’s Six Bowls. Thus, that bumped up the Vols.
Looking around the SEC, Alabama snuck into the College Football Playoff at No. 4 with Florida State finishing No. 5. Georgia finished No. 6 and will play in the Orange Bowl.
Tennessee finished No. 21 in the College Football Playoff Poll. Thanks to some dominoes falling, Tennessee will travel to Orlando and face off with the Hawkeyes. Iowa finished unranked in the final CFP poll.
Tennessee last played in the Citrus Bowl in the 2001 season with head coach Phillip Fulmer defeating Michigan 45-17. This will be the Vols’ fifth appearance in the bowl game.
Previewing Iowa
Iowa had one of the worst offenses in recent memory during the 2023 season. The Hawkeyes finished the year 10-3 (7-3 Big Ten) while averaging under 17 points per game. Iowa’s defense often bailed them out with points.
Iowa has played two ranked teams this season and has lost by a combined 57-0. One of those losses was the No. 1 Michigan in the Big Ten Championship Game on Saturday. Iowa finished the season with 1,039 more punt yards this season than yards on offense.
The Hawkeyes punter, Tory Taylor, is just 20 yards away from setting the single-season record for punt yardage.
Tennessee’s defense should have a field day against Iowa’s lackluster offense. The Hawkeyes are slated to not retain their offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz following the 2023 season. All in all, it will be the battle of opposite mentalities in Orlando.
The game is slated to kickoff at 1 p.m. ET on Jan. 1.
One Response
I’d rather we played Florida again at a neutral site/Nashville, anyone?