Holiday Bowl: Preview, Notes, and Bets
The Hawkeyes are making their 33rd bowl game appearance and fourth Holiday Bowl appearance -- the first since 1991. Iowa is 2-0-1 all-time in the Holiday Bowl, defeating San Diego State (39-38) in 1986, Wyoming (20-19) in 1987, and tying Brigham Young (13-13), in 1991.
The Hawkeyes are 2-7 all-time against USC, beating the Trojans in 1950 (20-14) and 1961 (35-34) in Los Angeles. USC won the last meeng, 38-17, in the 2003 Orange Bowl.
Iowa owns a 3-7 against the Pac-12 Conference in bowl games. The Hawkeyes last played a Pac-12 team in the 2016 Rose Bowl -- a 45-16 loss to No. 6 Stanford. The last Hawkeye victory over a Pac-12 opponent came against Washington (38-18) in the 1995 Sun Bowl.
The Hawkeyes closed out the 2019 season with three straight victories to post a nine- win regular season. Iowa finished third in the Big Ten West Division with a 6-3 record. The Hawkeyes’ three losses came against No. 18 Michigan, No. 10 Penn State, and No. 16 Wisconsin by 14 combined points.
- USC-- Micheal Pittman Jr. is a senior captain receiver for the Trojans. He has 94 catches this season for 1,222 yards and 11 TDs. He is 13th all time in single season catches among USC receivers (including 3 behind Keyshawn Johnson's 1995 season.
- Iowa-- Nate Stanley has started the last 38 games at quarterback (26-12), and the Hawkeyes have averaged 27.8 points per game in those starts. His streak of 38 consecuve starts at quarterback ranks second in school history to Long (47). He has 14 touchdown passes this season and 66 in his career, second all-me in program history. He needs just 204 yard to pass Drew Tate (8,292) for 2nd most career passing yards.
The University of Iowa announced Monday that it will remove the Tigerhawk from its helmet in honor of Hayden Fry when the Hawkeyes play USC on Friday at the Holiday Bowl.
It is the third time both Tigerhawks have been removed from the helmet for a football game. The first was Nov. 2, 1991, the day after six lives were lost in a shooting on the UI campus. The second was the 1996 Alamo Bowl, when Diane Mitchell, the mother of Iowa linebacker Mark Mitchell, was killed in a car crash on the way to San Antonio, Texas.
Fry, who passed at age 90 earlier this month, was Iowa's head football coach from 1979-98. He won three Big Ten Conference championships, took the Hawkeyes to 14 bowl games, and introduced the Tigerhawk logo to the athletics department, a logo that has become one of the most recognizable symbols in sports.
The Hawkeye helmet will be without the Tigerhawk, but it will include a decal honoring former UI Athletics Director Bump Elliott. Elliott was Iowa's director of athletics from 1970-91. He passed away Dec. 7, 2019 at the age of 94.
Elliott and Fry are both members of the College Football Hall of Fame. Fry is a member of the Holiday Bowl Hall of Fame.
Iowa has been the favorite in Vegas's eyes since the matchup was announced. Both teams are currently ranked and Iowa has been the -2 favorite with little movement on the line-- meaning Pros and Joes are both split.
Iowa, since 2015, has been a favorite 13 times of 6 point or less. The are 13-0 in every one of those games ATS and straight up. The have won 7 of those games when favored by a field goal or less. Ferentz gets the Hawkeyes ready to play- Chris "The Bear" Fallica
I like Iowa to cover as 2 point favorites and for the under to hit. I expect Iowa to run the ball quite a bit to keep USC's "air raid" offense off of the field and to tire out a USC defense that has allowed nearly 28 points per game in 2019. In the second half, with the Iowa run established, expect Stanley to pass the ball more off of play actions and open up a lead that USC cannot get back.
IOWA 27 USC 17
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