Tennessee football vs. Iowa in Citrus Bowl: Score prediction, scouting report
No. 21 Tennessee football will play in the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl against No. 17 Iowa, which touts one of college football’s best defenses but worst offenses.
The game will be played Jan. 1 (1 p.m., ABC) at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida.
The teams took different paths to the Citrus Bowl.
Tennessee (8-4) had the sixth best record in the SEC. But it benefitted from the SEC getting four teams total in the College Football Playoff and New Year’s Six Bowls. And LSU (9-3) played in the Citrus Bowl last season, so the Vols became a more attractive option.
Iowa (10-3) won the Big Ten West title. But it lost 26-0 to Michigan in the Big Ten championship game.
Here are three takeaways about the Vols’ opponent and a Citrus Bowl prediction.
Kirk Ferentz beat Vols, Reggie White 41 years ago
Kirk Ferentz is in his 25th season as Iowa head coach, the longest tenured in Division I. Before that, he was the offensive line coach for the Hawkeyes in the 1980s.
Ferentz was on Iowa's staff when it beat Tennessee 28-22 in the 1982 Peach Bowl.
"My first experience playing Tennessee was in 1982 in the Peach Bowl," Ferentz said. "One guy I remember is Reggie White. They had Mike Cofer, that linebacker. So those were two really good players on defense. And then the sprinter was their receiver, Willie Gault."
Ferentz's offensive line had its hands full with White, who had eight tackles, two sacks and a forced fumble in that Peach Bowl.
This Citrus Bowl marks the third time these teams have faced off in a bowl game. The Vols beat the Hawkeyes 45-28 in the 2014 Gator Bowl. They also met in the 1987 season opener, which Tennessee won 23-22.
Iowa has a very stingy defense
Iowa has allowed only 13.2 points per game, ranked fourth nationally in scoring defense.
The Hawkeyes lost 31-0 to Penn State and 26-0 to Michigan. They didn’t allow more than 22 points in any other game this season. Their other loss was a 12-10 defeat to Minnesota.
Iowa ranks No. 5 in total defense, allowing 274.8 yards per game.
The unit was led by cornerback Cooper DeJean. a finalist for the Jim Thorpe Award and Bronko Nagurski Trophy. But he was lost to a season-ending leg injury in November.
But Iowa is strong at every level of its defense with five players on the All-Big Ten team.
Iowa offense is very stagnant
As good as Iowa’s defense is, its offense is equally bad.
Statistically, the Hawkeyes have perhaps the worst offense in the nation. They rank last among 133 FBS teams in total offense, averaging 238.8 yards per game. And they rank No. 130 in scoring offense at 16.6 points per game.
Iowa won low-scoring close games because it was strong on defense and special teams, and it commits very few penalties. It scored fewer than 20 points in Big Ten wins over Wisconsin (15-6), Northwestern (10-7), Illinois (15-13) and Nebraska (13-10).
It’s not all bad. Typical of Iowa teams, there’s muscle up front, where three offensive linemen earned All-Big Ten honors.
Quarterback Deacon Hill has completed only 49.4% of his passes for 1,096 yards, five TDs and six interceptions. Running back Leshon Williams has rushed for 804 yards.
ADAMS If a 13-0 Tennessee missed CFP, Vols fans would have made Schiano Sunday look like a picnic
Prediction
Tennessee 28, Iowa 20
Adam Sparks is the Tennessee football beat reporter. Email adam.sparks@knoxnews.com. X, formerly known as Twitter@AdamSparks. Support strong local journalism by subscribing at knoxnews.com/subscribe.
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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Tennessee football vs. Iowa in Citrus Bowl: Score prediction, scouting report
