Tennessee will gear up over the next month in preparation to take on No. 17 Iowa in the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl on New Year’s Day. The 21st-ranked Volunteers finished the season with a record of 8-4 while the Hawkeyes wrapped up at 10-3 after a loss to now-No. 1 Michigan in the Big Ten Championship game.
Prior to the announcement that Tennessee would be playing Iowa in the bowl game, many projections around the country had Tennessee taking on some high-powered offensive teams including North Carolina (No. 4 in total offense), Notre Dame (No. 29), and North Carolina State (No. 96).
Tennessee will instead take on Iowa, who ranks No. 130 in total offense.
Iowa punter Tory Taylor had an astounding 86 punts on the year. In comparison to give some context, Tennessee punter Jackson Ross had 48 punts. In total, Iowa’s 87 punts went for 4,156 yards according to the team website.
Iowa’s offense gained 3,105 yards on the season, which is 1,051 fewer yards than they punted for.
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Citrus Bowl Prep: A Quick Look At The Iowa Hawkeyes
USA Today’s Doug Farrar was the first to report on the hard-to-believe statistic.
Iowa’s offense gained 238.8 yards per game this past season while Tennessee’s defense ranks in the top 40 in total defense while holding opponents to 348.7 yards per game.
Tennessee ranks three spots higher in total defense than Northwestern at the No. 42 spot in a comparable position. The Wildcats played the Hawkeyes this past year in the ninth game of the season and only allowed 10 points in a 10-7 losing effort.
Where the Hawkeyes struggle on offense, though, the Iowa defense makes up for it. The Hawkeyes reached their 10-2 regular season record thanks to a strong defense that ranks No. 5 in the country and only gave up 15 touchdowns across 13 contests.
What’s perhaps more intriguing is the fact that while Iowa has had 87 total punts on the year, the Hawkeyes’ defense has also forced their opponents to punt 87 times.
Tennessee and Josh Heupel’s offense won’t need to score 30 points to win this ballgame, but the points they do find will be well-earned against a stout Iowa defense.
No. 21 Tennessee will take on No. 17 Iowa in the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl at 1:00 p.m. ET on New Year’s Day. The game will be played in Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida.
