(Iowa City, IA) – The Iowa Hawkeyes take the field today for the awaited contest against the Tennessee Volunteers in the 2024 Cheez-It Citrus Bowl. The Hawkeyes are 1-2 against Tennessee in program history as Tennessee won the only bowl game between the two in 2015 with a final score of 45-28.
Looking at Iowa, they are led by Deacon Hill in the passing game with 1,096 passing yards with five touchdowns and six interceptions through 12 games played this season. The top receiver for Iowa is Nico Ragaini with 252 receiving yards for second on the team behind injured receiver Erick All. Iowa is led in the rushing game by Leshon Williams as he has rushed for 830 yards and one touchdown in 13 games played this season. Iowa’s offense ranks 130th out of 133 Bowl teams in scoring offense with just 16.6 points per game and total offense sits in dead last at 238.8 yards per game.
On the defensive side, the Hawkeyes are led by All-Big Ten first-team selection Jay Higgins with 155 tackles as he ranks first in the Big Ten and is in the top ten in the nation in tackles this season. Nick Jackson sits right behind him with 99 tackles with four sacks. Sebastian Castro has played a crucial role this season in the secondary with three interceptions and eight pass breakups. The defense has been one of the top in the country as they rank 5th in the nation with just 274.8 yards allowed per game and rank first in the nation in yards allowed per play this season. The Hawkeyes also tie with Michigan in touchdowns allowed this season with 14.
On the opposite end, quarterback Joe Minton III will not be playing in the game for Tennessee, rather we will see Nico Iamaleva start in his place. Iamaleva has gone 16-26 for 163 yards and one touchdown. We will also not see top runningback Jaylen Wright in the game but rather Jabari Small and Dylan Sampson who have both rushed for over 470 yards each. Sampson has put in seven touchdowns while Small has brought in two. The Volunteers will be with their top receivers Squirrel White and Ramel Keyton who have combined for well over 1,000 receiving yards each. Without the transfers and injured players, the Tennessee offense ranks 17th in the nation with 453.5 yards per game.
Defensively, the Volunteers are led by Elijah Herring in tackles with 76. Behind Herrig is Aaron Beasley with 67 tackles and three sacks for 26 yards lost. James Pearce Jr. leads the team in sacks with 8.5 for 51 yards lost. The Volunteer defense ranks 38th in the country with 348.7 yards allowed per game. Tennessee also allows just 5.13 yards per play this year as well.
Iowa is just one of nine FBS schools with an active bowl appearance streak over the last 10 years. The Hawkeyes are also 7-6 in bowl games against Southeastern Conference (SEC) opponents.
In total, Tennessee will be without 16 players due to the transfer portal, opting out, or injury. Even with Joe Minton III being out for the game, the line only went from -8 to -6. The big key is that the Tennessee defense will be missing six key players due to the transfer portal in this game today. Iowa will be without 10 players on the roster, mostly due to injuries seen this season.
Tennessee sits at six-point favorites according to SportsLine. The game is set to kick off today at noon.
