The Hawkeyes had a solid regular season, finishing 8-4 and losing their four games by a combined 15 points. This team has had a tough schedule this season, but despite the challenges, they have not broken.
They are going to need to have that mentality one more time against Vanderbilt.
The Commodores finished the regular season 10-2 and narrowly missed the College Football Playoff after finishing 14th in the rankings. The majority of their regular-season team is playing, including QB Diego Pavia, who finished runner-up for the Heisman Trophy.
This is a talented CFB team, and a win is not going to come easy. Here are the keys to victory for the Hawkeyes in the ReliaQuest Bowl vs. Vanderbilt.
Don't allow big plays defensively
There's no question about it: Diego Pavia is going to try to make highlight plays. He has made it known to the media and the entire college football world that he was not happy about not winning the Heisman.
He is going to do everything that he can to pad his stats one last time and put up highlight reel plays to prove the Heisman Trophy voters wrong.
The defense cannot allow this to happen and must remain disciplined. Phil Parker's squad played solidly in the last few games, but gave up some costly plays.
If they do that again in this game, the final score could be lopsided unfavorably for Iowa. However, if they play sound and avoid big chunk, high yardage plays, the game will be Iowa's game to lose.
Passing game needs to be on point
While Vanderbilt has many strengths on both sides of the ball, its biggest weakness is pass defense. They rank the 10th-worst in pass defense in college football, allowing 267.5 passing yards per game.
Iowa has been known to pound the ball on the ground, but with Vanderbilt allowing only 108.3 rushing yards per game (18th-best in CFB), the passing game has to keep the offense afloat.
Mark Gronowski had one of his best games of the season in the rout over Nebraska, where he passed for 166 yards and a TD. He is not afraid to throw the ball up to any of his receivers and tight ends, and he is going to have to do the same thing in this game.
Having him and his receivers be on point is absolutely crucial to keeping this game close.
The seniors should play like it's their last game... because it is
28 players on the depth chart for the bowl game will be playing their last game in black and gold. This includes six offensive starters and seven defensive starters.
While many of them could have opted out to prepare for the NFL Draft or life after college, they stuck with the team to play for the school one last time.
There should be extra motivation for these seniors to lead the underclassmen one last time and play their hearts out. The team has been talented all season, but the added motivation could be the difference between a win and a loss in this game. The seniors should enjoy their game one last time.
This has been a fun season for the Hawkeyes football team, and fans should be excited to see the Swarm one last time. A lot of people in the media and in the CFB world alike are going to doubt the Hawkeyes, but that is the best time to be on the Hawkeyes' side.
They thrive as underdogs, and hopefully they can shock some people and cap off a great 2025 season.