Iowa: 2019 Outback Bowl Champions

TAMPA, Fla. -- The Iowa Hawkeyes lost a yard on the last play of the Outback Bowl, pushing their final rushing total to minus 15 yards, and didn't mind a bit.

They ran the play from victory formation.

Safety Jake Gervase's interception in the end zone helped preserve a late lead, and a ball-hawking defense compensated for a sputtering offense as Iowa beat No. 18 Mississippi State 27-22 on Tuesday.

Gervase also batted down an errant fourth-down pass to end the Bulldogs' final drive at the Iowa 32 with 25 seconds left. Two earlier Mississippi State threats in the fourth quarter led to only three points.

The Hawkeyes totaled just 199 yards, with 75 coming on a touchdown pass from Nathan Stanley to Nick Easley , but they converted three takeaways into 17 points.

The Hawkeyes won despite losing 27 inches per rush. Their three running backs totaled 4 yards in 15 carries.

"We had a hard time blocking their front," coach Kirk Ferentz said. "Defense really bailed us out."

Iowa (9-4) earned its biggest postseason victory since an Orange Bowl win over Georgia Tech to cap the 2009 season. Mississippi State (8-5) lost to a team outside the top 15 for the first time.

Trailing 24-19, the Bulldogs had a first down at the Iowa 1 early in the fourth quarter, but three quarterback draws lost 2 yards and they settled for a field goal.

They were again on the verge of taking the lead with nine minutes left, but receiver Stephen Guidry bobbled a tipped pass in the end zone, and Gervase snatched it away.

"Sometimes you get lucky," Gervase said.

The Hawkeyes then drove 50 yards for a field goal, the game's final score.

"Bowl games are a lot like early season games, where turnovers and penalties really factor in," Ferentz said. "If you aren't on top of that part of your game because you haven't played in a while, it can be a really tough thing. Obviously it helped us today being a little bit more opportunistic."

Iowa had no penalties, while Mississippi State was penalized 90 yards, including a holding call that negated a 51-yard completion.

"Too many missed opportunities, too many penalties," Bulldogs coach Joe Moorhead said. "Can't turn the ball, can't give up explosive plays, can't have penalties take scores off the board. We didn't do enough to earn the right to win."

Mississippi State receiver Osirus Mitchell put it another way.

"We definitely beat ourselves," he said. "They weren't better than us."

A takeaway helped Iowa score two touchdowns in 97 seconds for a 17-6 lead -- especially impressive against a team that allowed only 12 TDs during the regular season.

Mississippi State rallied with two touchdowns in 18 seconds to go up 19-17. Quarterback Nick Fitzgerald gave the Bulldogs the advantage on a nifty 33-yard touchdown run , his 100th career score rushing or passing.

But on their next possession, Fitzgerald's tipped pass was intercepted by defensive lineman Chauncey Golston. Stanley then scrambled to convert a fourth and 1, and on the next play he hit Easley with an 8-yard score to put Iowa ahead to stay, 24-19.

MAKING THE ADJUSTMENT

Easley had a career-high 104 yards receiving on eight catches and was chosen the most valuable player. He nearly ran out from under his helmet on his long touchdown.

"I had a little bit of a malfunction with my helmet strap -- a little piece broke the play before," he said. "As I was running, it started coming off a little bit. Thankfully I was able to pull it back on and continue to run."

Easley and Gervase played their final game as seniors who walked on.

"It's how we're built," Ferentz said.

INJURY REPORT

Running back Kylin Hill left the game when he took a hit to the helmet in the fourth quarter, but he was back in the lineup on the Bulldogs' final possession.

Moorhead said Hill cleared the concussion protocol.

"I'm good," Hill tweeted with a thumbs-up emoji after the game.

TAKEAWAYS

Iowa will likely finish in the Top 25 for only the second time in the past nine seasons. Ferentz concluded his 20th season at Iowa and improved to 152-101, including 8-8 in bowl games.

The down-to-the-wire finish was a rarity for the Bulldogs, who had only one other game decided by fewer than 14 points.

UP NEXT

Stanley will be a third-year starter returning to lead the 2019 Hawkeyes, who also will have their top three rushers back. They open the season Aug. 31 at home against Miami (Ohio).

With fifth-year senior Fitzgerald departing, the Bulldogs will have a new starting quarterback when they open the 2019 season on Aug. 31 in New Orleans against Louisiana.

Iowa: 2017 Pinstripe Bowl Champions

NEW YORK -- Akrum Wadley had never been to Yankee Stadium, even though he grew up about 20 miles across the river in New Jersey. On his first visit, he seemed to bring out all of Newark to cheer him on. His 40 tickets to give away weren't enough to satiate his hometown fans.

"I couldn't get more tickets," he said, laughing.

He had all his fans in New Jersey to the ones freezing inside Yankee Stadium to the black-and-gold faithful in Iowa that packed bars roaring in approval: Wadley's homecoming ended with an MVP trophy that helped put the Hawkeyes' bowl misery on ice.

Wadley rushed, received and returned in dazzling fashion on a frozen field and Iowa beat Boston College 27-20 in the frigid Pinstripe Bowl on Wednesday night to snap a five-game bowl losing streak.

"You can't pay for moments like that," Wadley said.

The only milestone that eluded him was the winning touchdown: Drake Kulick fought for a 1-yard run late in the fourth quarter on his only carry of the game that clinched the win for the Hawkeyes.

The Hawkeyes (8-5) had been the only team in the nation to lose a bowl game in each of the last four seasons. Iowa had last won a bowl game in 2010 and started the losing streak the next season.

It ended in New York.

The Hawkeyes used their first sack of the game late in the fourth to spark the winning drive. Iowa defensive end Anthony Nelson hit Darius Wade, and Parker Hesse recovered a fumble at the BC 45.

Nate Stanley's pass to Nate Wieting on a rollout was ruled a touchdown until a review showed the tight end was down at the 1. No worries. Kulick got the call over Wadley, who had 283 total yards in his final game, and barged through for the go-ahead score. The smattering of Iowa fans went wild and Josh Jackson gave them reason to stay on their feet when he sealed the win with an interception.

"For our team to come out the way they did in the second half, it was a breakthrough moment for us," Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said.

Boston College (7-6) had nothing on its final drive and that ended an otherwise miserable day at Yankee Stadium. The Yankees' postseason games in October seemed downright balmy compared to the kickoff temperature of 23 degrees and a wind chill that made it feel like 12 degrees. The stadium turf was akin to running on ice and the conditions forced players to change from cleats to sneakers to get some grip. The most common huddle was the one around the sideline heaters.

Boston College's AJ Dillon found the field just to his liking, and ripped off a 66-yard run in the second quarter and had 126 yards rushing overall in the first half. He had a 4-yard TD run in the first quarter. His monster half helped the Eagles hold a 281-56 edge in total yards, a staggering discrepancy that made little impact on the scoreboard.

"I thought we moved the ball well given what the conditions were," Boston College coach Steve Addazio said.

The Hawkeyes had two clutch plays that kept it close: Iowa safety Jake Gervase intercepted a pass on the third play of the game and returned it to the BC 6. The Hawkeyes got a field goal. And Wadley returned a kickoff 72 yards that led to a touchdown on Stanley's 8-yard TD pass to Noah Fant. With a short field, Iowa was stout and kept it at 17-10 at halftime.

Wadley, a two-time 1,000 yard rusher, scored on a 5-yard run in the third and Miguel Recinos and Colton Lichtenberg swapped field goals in the fourth to make it 20-all with 8:09 left in the game.

THE TAKEAWAY

Iowa: Ferentz tied Hayden Fry for first on Iowa's career wins list with 143.

Boston College: The Eagles are still trying for their first eight-win season since 2009.

THE WAVE

Iowa fans ended the first quarter with "The Wave." Iowa fans at Kinnick Stadium turn and wave to patients at the University of Iowa Stead Family Children's Hospital, a 12-story building that sits right across the street. On game days, patients and their families can watch the game and, after the first quarter, wave back. The Hawkeyes kept the tradition going at Yankee Stadium.

TAKE ME OUT TO THE BOWL GAME

The Yankees remain committed to hosting the Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium. The wintry temps kept most of the 37,667 fans out of the seats and the stadium was sparsely populated in the second half.

UP NEXT


Iowa: Jackson faces a big decision. Jackson did not announce if he will come back for his senior season. Jackson's numbers, along with his 6-foot-1, 195-pound frame and his abundance of physical gifts, have left many NFL draft pundits pegging him as a possible first-round pick in 2018. Jackson redshirted his first season and is set to graduate in May. He finished with eight interceptions.

Boston College: The Eagles return a nice chunk of their starting offense and should again contend for another seven-win season. Under coach Steve Addazio, the Eagles have had four seven-win seasons in his five years at BC.