The Cheez-It Citrus Bowl wound up as another ugly loss versus a ranked foe for the Iowa Hawkeyes.
In fact, in each of the Hawkeyes’ games during the 2023 college football season versus ranked opponents, Iowa was shutout. Behind Volunteers freshman quarterback Nico Iamaleava’s four total touchdowns, Tennessee scored a blowout win over Iowa, 35-0.
Iamaleava passed for 151 yards and a score and rushed for another three touchdowns. Tennessee sophomore running back Dylan Sampson had a big day, rushing for 133 yards on 20 carries.
But, for most Iowa fans, this Citrus Bowl wasn’t about all of that. Instead, it was one final painful reminder of the Hawkeyes’ offensive ineptitude.
Sophomore quarterback Deacon Hill completed just 7-of-18 passes for 56 yards with a pair of interceptions. The first interception erased a surefire scoring chance for the Hawkeyes on their second possession of the day.
Then, his second was a pick-six where sophomore Tennessee defensive lineman James Pearce Jr. fooled Hill by dropping into coverage and raced 52 yards down the sideline for an easy score.
Hill also fumbled on a Pearce Jr. sack to set up Tennessee from the Iowa 2-yard line and one of Iamaleava’s rushing touchdowns.
Iowa freshman quarterback Marco Lainez did provide some sparks with his feet after he replaced Hill in the fourth quarter for the Hawkeyes’ final two drives. Lainez actually finished as Iowa’s leading rusher with 51 rushing yards on six carries.
The freshman finished just 2-of-7 passing for four yards, though, and each of his series ended with a turnover on downs.
Afterwards, Iowa head football coach Kirk Ferentz shared all of his postgame thoughts with the media from Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Fla.