Whoever runs the Hawkeye Football social media pages deserves a raise.
Going into the ReliaQuest Bowl, very few people had confidence in the Iowa Hawkeyes to take down the Vanderbilt Commodores, and we all know how that turned out.
In a Big Ten vs. SEC matchup, the Hawkeyes started the game strong and never looked back, holding on to win 34-27 in Tampa.
Iowa put together a complete team performance in all three phases of the game, and even though the Vanderbilt offense woke up in the second half, the Iowa offense went blow-for-blow with them.
Before the matchup at Raymond James Stadium, almost everyone was picking Vanderbilt to win because of its explosive offense.
The Commodores' offense, led by Heisman runner-up Diego Pavia, was the second-highest scoring team in the SEC behind Tennessee this season, and everyone expected them to torch the Iowa defense.
Unfortunately for the Vanderbilt program, Pavia made some boneheaded remarks after losing the Heisman to Indiana's Fernando Mendoza.
After the game, the official Hawkeye Football social media team continued to clown him and the "experts" for what they said about Vanderbilt and their chances against Iowa.
You sure about that? 😏 pic.twitter.com/X9HeplzpPC
— Hawkeye Football (@HawkeyeFootball) December 31, 2025
In a masterclass by the Hawkeyes social media team, they spliced together multiple videos with Vanderbilt homers and Diego Pavia himself making some wild claims.
In the videos, a few guys said no one wants to play Vanderbilt right now, followed up by Pavia stating that they were the hottest team in college football.
Pavia followed that up by saying they have the Joe Moore Award winners in their locker room, as well as the Rimington Trophy winner. Both are incredibly false statements.
The video finishes off with a dig at Pavia losing the Heisman and the phrase, "Hawks Win."
While Vanderbilt had one of the best seasons in college football, Pavia was drinking his team's Kool-Aid a little too much, and Iowa proved they can hang with anyone when all phases are clicking.
The future is bright for the Iowa program, and that started with a solid victory in the ReliaQuest Bowl.
