IOWA CITY – The Iowa Hawkeye football team drew a sunny destination and a top-notch opponent in the Outback Bowl to cap the 2013 season.
Iowa, (8-4) which won its final 3 games of the season, will face a very tough LSU Tiger team that finished 9-3 on the season and played in the SEC, the toughest conference in the nation.
The game will be played in Tampa, Florida on New Year’s Day, Wednesday, January 1, at 1:00 p.m. EST and televised on ESPN.
According to Hawkeyesports.com, the Hawkeyes are making their fourth appearance in the Outback Bowl, having defeated South Carolina (31-10) following the 2008 season and Florida (37-17) after the 2003 campaign, and lost to Florida following the 2005 season (31-24). Iowa has posted a 14-11-1 record in 26 previous bowl appearances, including winning three of its last four bowl games.
The LSU Tigers enter the Outback Bowl with a 9-3 record and ranked 15th in the BCS. LSU ranks in the top four of the SEC in seven statistical categories, including leading the league in Passing Efficiency, Kickoff Returns, Third Down Conversions and Field Goal Percentage. The team averaged 465 yards of offense and 37 points per game.
Iowa beat LSU 30-25 in the 2005 Capital One Bowl in the only other game between the two schools.
“We are thrilled to extend an invitation to LSU and the University of Iowa to play in this year’s Outback Bowl,” said Outback Bowl Chairman Ken Hoverman. “We feel these two teams will continue our reputation of putting on an exciting show on New Year’s Day. We look forward to hosting the Tigers and Hawkeyes teams and their fans, and ensure them they will have a fabulous experience inthe Tampa Bay area.”
“We are looking forward to playing in the Outback Bowl, one of the premier bowl games in college football each year,” said LSU Head Coach Les Miles. “The Outback Bowl has a rich history and it’s played in a great city in a tremendous venue and I know that our players and fans will be excited about the opportunity to play on New Year’s Day against a very successful Big Ten program like Iowa. I have great respect for Kirk Ferentz and the program that he’s built at Iowa. They have enjoyed a lot of success in the Big Ten for over an extended period of time and we are excited about the chance to play them.”
“Our entire football program is excited for this opportunity to compete against LSU in the 2014 Outback Bowl,” noted Hawkeye Head Coach Kirk Ferentz. “This is one of the great bowl events of the postseason, we are extremely pleased to travel to Tampa to represent the University of Iowa and the Big Ten Conference.”
“We are honored and proud to accept the invitation to participate in the 2014 Outback Bowl against LSU,” added Iowa Athletic Director Gary Barta. “Kirk, his staff, and his team have worked extremely hard since the end of last season,and have been playing great football all year especially down the stretch. Our team looks forward to returning to the Tampa area, and I know Hawkeye fans are excited to follow our team and get back to the Outback Bowl.”
