Inside The Hawkeyes

Iowa Preparing For First-Ever Game Against Vanderbilt

Shockingly, this is the first time in program history the Iowa Hawkeyes will be facing Vanderbilt.
Jordon Lawrenz|
Nov 22, 2025; Iowa City, Iowa, USA; Iowa Hawkeyes wide receiver Kaden Wetjen (21) reacts with wide receiver Alex Eichmann (17) and teammates after scoring a touchdown on a punt return against the Michigan State Spartans during the second quarter at Kinnick Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images
Nov 22, 2025; Iowa City, Iowa, USA; Iowa Hawkeyes wide receiver Kaden Wetjen (21) reacts with wide receiver Alex Eichmann (17) and teammates after scoring a touchdown on a punt return against the Michigan State Spartans during the second quarter at Kinnick Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images | Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images

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Iowa Hawkeyes

The Iowa Hawkeyes haven't had a ton of success against the SEC, but they'll look to change that on New Years Eve. Raymond James Stadium is the location as Iowa is set to square off with Vanderbilt for the first time ever in the ReliaQuest Bowl.

It's far from Iowa's first appearance in this bowl game, so it's shocking they've never stood face-to-face with the Commodores. Coming off arguably their best season of all time, Iowa couldn't have picked a worse time to face Vandy.

With the bowl selection being out of their control, Iowa must prepare to face a Heisman finalist. It's going to be far from easy to pull out a win, but there's no doubt Hawkeyes fans made the trip to Tampa to cheer on their squad.

Iowa Is 8-10 vs. SEC in Bowl Games

Recent bowl game history hasn't been too kind to head coach Kirk Ferentz. His last win in a bowl game at the end of the 2022 season as they shutout Kentucky, 21-0. Iowa finished that season just 7-5, so it isn't surprising that they shut out a Wildcat team that isn't too known for being a football school.

With just one bowl game win in his past four seasons (excluding the cancelled game in 2020), the Hawkeyes are hungry to get back on track. Winning a bowl game isn't the end of the world, but no team wants to get embarrased, 35-0, like Iowa did to Tennessee two years ago in the Citrus Cheez-It Bowl.

This marks the first time Iowa is returning to Florida since that incident. The Volunteers were ranked No. 21 that year, so it's even more of a challenge now knowing they have to face No. 14 Vanderbilt. These Commodores were one win away from making the playoffs, so this will be a true test for Ferentz's squad.

Iowa Must Avoid Another Blowout

Last year, Iowa was three points shy of taking down No. 19 Missouri in the Music City Bowl. 27-24 was the final score of that game, a game the Hawkeyes would love to have back. That's been the story of their life, this season specifically. Ending the year at 8-4, all four of those losses came by a combined 15 points.

Playing quarterback Diego Pavia will be no joke. He's without his All-American tight end, but that doesn't change the fact that Pavia was a few votes away from winning the Heisman. He's a much better dual-threat QB than Mark Gronowski, so this Iowa defense must be prepared for anything as he looks to make a statement with the NFL draft on his mind.

Don't forget to bookmark Iowa Hawkeyes on SI for the latest news. exclusive interviews, recruiting coverage and more!

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Jordon Lawrenz
JORDON LAWRENZ

Jordon Lawrenz serves as the Eastern United States College Recruiting beat writer On SI. Jordon is an accomplished writer covering the NFL, MLB, and college football/basketball. He has contributed to PFSN’s and Heavy’s NFL coverage. Having graduated from the University of Wisconsin - Green Bay with a Sports Communication and Journalism degree, Jordon fully embraced the sports writing lifestyle upon his relocation to Florida.

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