By the Numbers: The Outback Bowl, Hawkeyes

Dec. 30, 2013

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By RICK KLATT
hawkeyesports.com

TAMPA, Fla. — The Iowa Hawkeyes will square off against the LSU Tigers on New Year’s Day in what will be the 27th postseason bowl game in the history of football at the University of Iowa. Game time inside Tampa’s Raymond James Stadium is set for shortly after noon Iowa time.

Here’s a look at some more numbers:

14 – LSU is ranked 14th in both the Associate Press and USA Today Top 25’s; the Tigers were No. 16 in the final Bowl Championship Series ranking.

1 – Iowa and LSU has played once before – the 2005 Capital One Bowl on New Year’s Day, 2005.

62 – Mark Weisman needs 62 yards to become the 14th player in Iowa football history to rush for 1,000 yards in a season.

11 – Iowa has 11 wins all-time against teams from the Southeastern Conference. Iowa also has lost 11 times to SEC opponents.

11 – Iowa will be looking to secure the Big Ten Conference its 11th victory in the Outback Bowl. The league is 10-14 since 1988. Iowa has two of the Big Ten’s 10 victories.

2 – Iowa finished second in the Big Ten’s Legends Division with five victories against league opponents.

6 – The Hawkeyes are 6-0 when winning the turnover battle in 2013.

3 – Jake Rudock’s 85-yard pass completion for touchdown against Ohio State was the third longest passing play in the Big Ten in 2013.

3 – Jake Rudock is one of three Football Bowl Subdivision players since 2008 to pass and rush for four-plus touchdowns in their first four career games. The list includes Rudock, Robert Griffin III, and Johnny Manziel.

30 – C.J. Fiedorowicz has caught at least one pass in 30 consecutive games.

13 – Iowa’s defense has allowed only 13 red-zone touchdowns which ranks third-lowest in the nation.

120 – Mike Meyer has been successful on a school-record 120 consecutive PAT attempts. His last miss happened on Oct. 30, 2010 in Iowa’s 37-6 win over Michigan State.

16 – Sixteen seniors will play their final game as a Hawkeye against LSU on Jan. 1.

8.5 – Anthony Hitchens ranks sixth in the Big Ten with an average of 8.5 tackles per game.

12 – The Big Ten has 12 players with at least 90 tackles and Christian Kirksey is one of them with 97 tackles in 2013.

2 – Iowa is 2-0 in overtime games the last two seasons.

3 – With the retirement of Texas’ Mack Brown, Kirk Ferentz will rank third in longevity among Football Bowl Subdivision head coaches at the start of the 2014 season, which will be Ferentz’s 16th at Iowa.

10 – Kevonte Martin-Manley’s 121 career receptions rank 10th in school history.

10 – Iowa’s three linebackers have accounted for 10 takeaways in 2013. That total includes six interceptions, four of which by James Morris.