Iowa to play Missouri in Music City Bowl in Nashville, TN

Just barely an hour after being named the No. 15 team in the (albeit meaningless) College Football Playoff rankings, Kirk Ferentz and his 6-2 Iowa Hawkeyes squad found out their bowl destination...Nashville, Tennessee for a matchup against the Missouri Tigers.

Oh.

At least Iowa will have a chance to get its bowl winning streak to four consecutive years without too much of a challenge. The game will kick off at 3 p.m. CT on December 30 on ESPN, just three days after Kirk Ferentz is currently scheduled to come out of quarantine after being diagnosed with COVID-19 earlier this week. How he will handle prep and coaching remotely for the new few weeks is something I’m sure is being discussed now as he meets virtually with the media. More to come on that, I’m sure.

The Tigers are 5-5 on the season and are barely 24 hours removed from a 51-31 absolute walloping at the hands of the 3-7 Mississippi State Bulldogs. To say this matchup (and this bowl selection, frankly) is absolutely boring is an understatement. Of all the teams out there, we land on Missouri? At least give us Iowa State or something, sheesh.

The game will be played with limited fans in attendance if you do want to go — the Tennessee Titans allow 14,000 fans per game, according to Hawk Central. Participation from both sides is also obviously contingent on a clean slate of COVID health, so who knows if this game will actually happen (and which players will decide to opt out, but that’s a different story).

“Congratulations to coach Kirk Ferentz and our football student-athletes and the entire staff, for a successful 2020 season and our invitation to the Music City Bowl,” Gary Barta said in the Iowa Athletics release. “Their success in winning six straight games is a tribute to their dedication to improving from week to week. The focus, togetherness, and willingness to adapt that they have displayed throughout the entire summer and fall has been remarkable. This opportunity to compete in the postseason once again is well deserved.”

For now I guess, we should just be excited we have one more opportunity to watch this team play, even if the matchup isn’t sexy on paper.