Iowa Football to Play Mississippi State in Outback Bowl

Your 8-4 Iowa Hawkeyes are going to the Outback Bowl in sunny Tampa.

Again. This will be the third time Iowa has played in the bowl in six years. This will be the sixth time Iowa’s appeared in the bowl in 16 years.

Iowa is taking on the Mississippi State Bulldogs, coached by former Penn State offensive coordinator Joe Moorhead. Moorhead just guided State to an 8-4 record in his first season at the helm in Starkville. The Bulldogs went 4-4 in conference, their most impressive win coming over then-No. 19 Texas A&M.

This is the first time these two teams have ever played! So that’s kind of a fun wrinkle to a bowl announcement that’ll probably be met with some fatigue. A second-straight bowl win would be a nice little cherry to what’s otherwise been kind of a lame duck of a season.

Miss State is led by Nick Fitzgerald, a dual-threat quarterback who’s rushed for over 1,000 yards and passed for just over 1,500. Iowa normally does great against dual-threat QBs! Overall, there will likely be very little offense to speak of in this game between either teams:

So Tampa! In January! Let’s have some fun.