Game Notes: Iowa at Pinstripe Bowl

    IOWA TO MEET BOSTON COLLEGE AT PINSTRIPE BOWL
    The University of Iowa has accepted an invitation to play Boston College at the New Era Pinstripe Bowl in New York City on Wednesday, Dec. 27. Kickoff is scheduled for 4:15 (CT). The game will be televised by ESPN from Yankee Stadium.
    The Hawkeyes are making their 31st bowl game appearance, and their first in New York. Iowa has posted a 14-15-1 record in 30 previous bowl games.  
    The Pinstripe Bowl marks the first ever meeting between Iowa and Boston College. The Eagles are 7-5 overall this season, including a 4-4 record in the Atlantic Coast Conference. The Hawkeyes are 8-11 all-time and have won four straight against current members of the ACC. That includes a 24-14 win over No. 9 Georgia Tech at the 2010 FedEx Orange Bowl.
    Iowa is bowl eligible for the 16th time under coach head Kirk Ferentz. Iowa has posted a 6-8 bowl record under Ferentz. Since the 2001 season, only Ohio State and Wisconsin have won more bowl games (including the FBS championship game) than Iowa.
 
1st and 10

1: Senior LB Josey Jewell and junior DB Josh Jackson are consensus All-Americans. Both have been recognized as the best players in the country at their respective positions by the Touchdown Club of Columbus. Jewell was the recipient of the Jack Lambert Award as the best linebacker in the nation and Jackson was the recipient of the Jack Tatum Award as the best defensive back in the nation.
 
2: DB Josh Jackson was named Tatum-Woodson Defensive Back of the Year in the Big Ten Conference. Jackson leads the country in passes defended (25) and shares the NCAA lead with seven interceptions. He has 18 pass breakups, second in the NCAA. He ranks fourth in the country in interception return yards (163). His seven interceptions tie for fourth among Iowa’s single-season leaders. Desmond King (2015), Lou King (1981), and Nile Kinnick (1939) share the single-season Iowa record with eight.
 
3: LB Josey Jewell was the Lott IMPACT Trophy winner and a finalist for the Bronko Nagurski Trophy. He leads the Big Ten and ranks third in the nation with 11.4 tackles per game. Jewell was named Nagurski-Woodson Defensive Player of the Year and Butkus-Fitzgerald Linebacker of the Year in the Big Ten Conference. He is a finalist for the NCAA Senior CLASS Award. He has 125 tackles this season, tops in the Big Ten, seventh nationally, and one shy of matching his single-season career high.
 
4: QB Nate Stanley needs two touchdown passes to tie Chuck Long for Iowa’s single-season record. Long threw 27 touchdowns in 1985. Stanley has 25 touchdown passes, tied for third all-time in single-season program history. His 25 touchdown passes rank third in the Big Ten and tie for 22nd in the nation.
 
5: RB Akrum Wadley is the fourth Hawkeye in program history to produce back-to-back 1,000-yard rushing seasons (Fred Russell 2002-03; Ladell Betts 2000-01; Sedrick Shaw 1994-95).  Wadley is one of 11 players in Big Ten history with consecutive seasons of 1,000-plus rushing yards and 25-plus receptions (2017: 1,021/26 | 2016: 1,081/36).
 
6: TE Noah Fant has 28 receptions, including a team-high 10 touchdowns. The 10 touchdowns are a single-season record for an Iowa tight end, and the most by a Hawkeye since Marvin McNutt caught 12 touchdown passes in 2012. Fant leads Iowa and all FBS tight ends with 17.4 yards per catch.
 
7: Season-ending injuries to senior tackles Ike Boettger and Boone Myers have cleared the depth chart for redshirt freshman LT AlaricJackson and freshman RT Tristan Wirfs. Jackson has started every game this season at left tackle. Wirfs has started the last seven games at right tackle. He is the first true freshman in Ferentz’s 19 seasons to start at offensive tackle.
 
8: The Hawkeyes have the sixth toughest schedule in college football, per the Jeff Sagarin ratings. Iowa’s 12 opponents in 2017 have a combined record of 91-55 (.623). Iowa’s three nonconference opponents (Wyoming, Iowa State, North Texas) are a combined 23-13. Iowa played three top 10 teams, losing to No. 4 Penn State on the final play of the game, and at No. 6 Wisconsin. The Hawkeyes’ biggest win of the year was a 55-24 victory over No. 3 Ohio State at Kinnick Stadium.
 
9: Kirk Ferentz is one win from tying Hayden Fry as the Hawkeyes’ all-time winningest football coach. Ferentz has 142 overall wins and 86 Big Ten wins as Iowa’s head coach. The 86 conference wins and 142 overall wins rank sixth among-time winningest coaches in the Big Ten. 
 
10: The Hawkeyes are bowl eligible for the 16th time in the last 17 seasons. Iowa has posted a 6-8 bowl record under head coach Kirk Ferentz. Since the 2001 season, only Ohio State and Wisconsin have won more bowl games (including the FBS championship game) than Iowa.
 
     JACKSON AND JEWELL: CONSENSUS ALL-AMERICANS
     DB Josh Jackson and LB Josey Jewell and junior defensive back Josh Jackson have been named unanimous consensus first team All-Americans. The defensive duo have garnered first team All-America honors from the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA), Walter Camp Foundation, Football Writers Association of America (FWAA), the Associated Press, and Sporting News.
     The also earned first team All-America honors from USA Today, SBNation.com, College Sports Madness, College Football News, and ESPN.com.
     Jewell and Jackson become the 24th and 25th consensus All-Americans in Iowa history. This year marks the fifth time in program history that a pair of Hawkeyes earned consensus All-America honors in the same season. Jewell and Jackson join Robert Gallery and Nate Kaeding (2003), Eric Steinbach and Dallas Clark (2002), Chuck Long and Larry Station (1985), and Andre Tippett and Reggie Roby (1981).
 
     REINVENTING THE STADIUM WAVE
      The University of Iowa football program was chosen to receive the prestigious 2017 Disney Sports Spirit Award after launching a heart-warming tradition at its home games this season that is touching the lives of scores of young patients at the university’s Stead Family Children’s Hospital.
      Disney Sports Vice President Faron Kelley will present the prestigious award to Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz at The Home Depot College Football Awards presented by GILDAN, which is televised live on ESPN on Dec. 7 at the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta.
      In a tradition that started at the 2017 season opener, fans inside Kinnick Stadium and patients and families inside the UI Stead Family Children’s Hospital exchanged waves at the end of the first quarter of each home game.
      The UI Stead Family Children’s Hospital opened in 2017. It is connected to the south end of the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics and overlooks Kinnick Stadium from the southeast grandstands. During Iowa football home games, patients and their families can watch the game from the top floor (Level 12), one of the highest vantage points in Iowa City.
      The wave highlights the relationship between the football team and the hospital. The Hawkeyes’ “Touchdowns for Kids” campaign has long been a fundraiser and during every game, a “Kid Captain” from the hospital receives special recognition from the Hawkeye football program.
 
     HAWKEYE HISTORY
     Iowa has played 1,232 games since beginning football in 1889. Iowa’s overall record is 640-553-39 (.535). That includes a 400-219-16 (.643) record in home games, a 240-334-23 (.421) record in games away from Iowa City, a 324-374-25 (.465) mark in Big Ten games and a 284-184-15 (.607) record in Kinnick Stadium.
 
     JEWELL WINS LOTT IMPACT TROPHY
     LB Josey Jewell was named the 2017 Lott IMPACT Trophy winner by the Pacific Club IMPACT Foundation on Dec. 11.     
     The trophy, given to the nation’s best defensive IMPACT player, was presented at the Pacific Club in Newport Beach, California, by Ronnie Lott. In addition, Jewell earned $25,000 for the university’s general scholarship fund. Jewell is the eighth player to earn a national player of the year award on nine occasions under head coach Kirk Ferentz.Joining Jewell as finalists for the Lott IMPACT Trophy were Minkah Fitzpatrick of Alabama, Micah Kiser of Virginia and Stanford’s Harrison Phillips.
     Jewell, a native of Decorah, Iowa, earned first-team honors by Big Ten coaches and media, Associated Press, and Walter Camp.  He leads the Big Ten and ranks third nationally in tackles (125 total, 11.4 per game). He was one of five finalists for the Bronko Nagurski Trophy, and is a finalist for the Senior CLASS Award.  Jewell was a semifinalist for the Bednarik and Butkus Awards. He was named the recipient of the Jack Lambert Award on Nov. 27.
     Former Iowa linebacker James Morris was a finalist for the award in 2013, while former defensive back Desmond King was a semifinalist in 2016.
    
     JACKSON A FINALIST FOR THORPE AWARD
     DB Josh Jackson was one of three finalists for the 2017 Jim Thorpe Award, presented annually to the best defensive back in the nation. He was joined by Deshon Elliott of Texas, and Thorpe award winner Minkah Fitzpatrick of Alabama.
     Jackson was named Tatum-Woodson Defensive Back of the Year in the Big Ten Conference. He leads the country in passes defended (25) and shares the NCAA lead with seven interceptions. He has 18 pass breakups, second in the NCAA. He ranks fourth in the country in interception return yards (163). His seven interceptions tie for fourth among Iowa’s single-season leaders. Desmond King (2015), Lou King (1981), and Nile Kinnick (1939) share the single-season Iowa record with eight.
 
     JACKSON AND JEWELL RECOGNIZED AS NATION’S BEST
    Senior LB Josey Jewell and junior DB Josh Jackson have been recognized as the best players in the country at their respective positions by the Touchdown Club of Columbus. Jewell was the recipient of the Jack Lambert Award as the best linebacker in the nation and Jackson was the recipient of the Jack Tatum Award as the best defensive back in the nation.
    Jewell leads the Big Ten and ranks third in the nation with 11.4 tackles per game. He leads the Big Ten and ranks 10th nationally with 125 tackles. He has a career-high and team-best 13.5 tackles-for-loss, and a career-high four sacks. He has two of Iowa’s league-high 19 interceptions.
    Jackson leads the country in passes defended (25) and shares the NCAA lead with seven interceptions. He has 18 pass breakups, second in the NCAA. He ranks fourth in the country in interception return yards (163).
 
     10 HAWKEYES EARN ALL-BIG TEN HONORS
    Junior DB Josh Jackson, senior LB Josey Jewell, and senior OL Sean Welsh earned first-team All-Big Ten honors in 2017. Jewell was named the conference’s defensive player of the year and linebacker of the year, and Jackson was named defensive back of the year.
    Jackson, Jewell, and Welsh were three of 10 Hawkeyes named to an all-conference team. Sophomore TE Noah Fant, sophomore DE Anthony Nelson, and senior RB Akrum Wadley earned third-team accolades, and senior DE Nathan Bazata, junior C James Daniels, senior LB Ben Niemann, and sophomore QB Nate Stanley were named honorable mention.
 
     IN THE RANKINGS / STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE
     The Hawkeyes have played the sixth toughest schedule in college football, per the Jeff Sagarin ratings. Iowa’s 12 opponents in 2017 have a combined record of 91-55 (.623), and nine are playing in bowl games. Iowa’s three nonconference opponents (Wyoming, Iowa State, North Texas) are a combined 23-13. Iowa played three top 10 teams, losing to No. 4 Penn State on the final play of the game, and at No. 6 Wisconsin. The Hawkeyes biggest win of the year was a 55-24 victory over No. 3 Ohio State at Kinnick Stadium.
     Five of Iowa’s 2017 opponents are ranked in the CFP Playoff Poll – No. 5 Ohio State, No. 6 Wisconsin, No. 9 Penn State, No. 16 Michigan State, and No. 21 Northwestern.
 
     FERENTZ AMONG B1G LEADERS, CLOSING ON FRY
     Kirk Ferentz is one win from tying Hayden Fry as the Hawkeyes’ all-time winningest football coach. Ferentz has 142 overall wins and 86 Big Ten wins as Iowa’s head coach. The 86 conference wins rank sixth among the conference’s all-time winningest coaches in Big Ten games.
     Ferentz’s 142 wins in all games coached as a member of the Big Ten Conference rank sixth in league history and second all-time at Iowa.
     Both Ferentz (142, 86) and Fry (143, 96) rank in the top six in overall wins and Big Ten wins. Only Iowa and Michigan have two coaches ranked in the top 10 of both win categories (Bo Schembechler 194, 143; and Lloyd Carr 122, 81).
     Iowa is the only school in the country to have just two head football coaches since 1979.
 
     BIG TEN BOWL GAMES SINCE 2001
     The Hawkeyes are bowl eligible for the 16th time in the last 17 seasons. Iowa has posted a 6-8 bowl record under head coach Kirk Ferentz. Since the 2001 season, only Ohio State and Wisconsin have won more bowl games (including the FBS championship game), than Iowa.
 
     FERENTZ TOPS IN LONGEVITY
     Kirk Ferentz is in his 19th season as Iowa’s head football coach. He is the longest tenured active head coach in college football. Ferentz was named Iowa head coach on Dec. 2, 1998. Gary Patterson of TCU is No. 2 in coaching tenure. Patterson’s first year with the Horned Frogs was 2001. Among Big Ten coaches, only Pat Fitzgerald (2006) and Mark Dantonio (2007) have been at their current schools for 10 seasons or more. Iowa is the only school to have just two head football coaches since 1979.

     FINISH STRONG
     Iowa has outscored its opponents 113-57 in the fourth quarter. QB Nate Stanley has a 138.2 passing efficiency in the fourth quarter and overtime (135.4 overall). The numbers include 44 completions in 80 attempts for 565 yards, seven touchdowns and two interceptions. Iowa scored points in the final two minutes to tie the game or take the lead against Iowa State, Penn State and Northwestern.
 
     JOSEY JEWELL EARNS NATIONAL AND BIG TEN RECOGNITION
     Senior LB Josey Jewell won the Lott IMPACT Trophy, presented to the nation’s best defensive IMPACT player. He was one of five finalist for the Bronko Nagurski trophy and was named the Nagurski-Woodson Defensive Player of the Year and Butkus-Fitzgerald Linebacker of the Year by the Big Ten Conference. He leads the Big Ten and ranks third in the nation with 11.4 tackles per game. He is also a finalist for the NCAA Senior CLASS Award.
     Jewell has 125 tackles this season, tops in the Big Ten, 10th nationally, and one shy of matching his single-season career high. He missed the Northwestern game due to injury, snapping a streak of 37 consecutive starts.

• Unanimous Consensus All-American.
• Jewell has a career-high and team-best 13.5 tackles-for-loss, and a career-high 4.5 sacks. He has two of Iowa’s league-best 19 interceptions.
• Jewell is one tackle shy of matching his single-season career high. He is the third Hawkeye in program history to have three seasons with at least 115 tackles (Larry Station 83, 84, 85; Abdul Hodge 03, 04, 05). Jewell has led the team in tackles in each of the last two seasons (126 in 2015, 124 in 2016).
• Jewell has 426 career tackles, fifth all-time in program history. He needs nine stops to tie Brad Quast for fourth all-time (435).
• Jewell has 21 career games with double-digit tackles, including eight this season. He matched his career high with 16 tackles vs. Penn State and at Michigan State.
• Jewell was named Walter Camp, Lott IMPACT, and Bednarik Award national and Big Ten Conference Defensive Player of the Week following Iowa’s 24-3 win over Wyoming on Sept. 2. He led Iowa with 14 tackles, including seven solo stops.
• Jewell was named Lott Impact Trophy Player of the Week after registering 13 tackles, three pass breakups, and two sacks against the Boilermakers.
• Jewell was named Big Ten co-Defensive Player of the Week, Bronko Nagurski Defensive Player of the Week, Bednarik Award, and College Sports Madness Defensive Player of the Week following his performance vs. No. 4 Penn State.  He matched his career best with 16 tackles, including 11 solo stops.  He added three tackles for loss, two pass break-ups, and a recovered fumble.  His fifth career interception and 33-yard return in the second quarter led to Iowa’s first touchdown of the game.
• Jewell was named midseason first team All-American by five media outlets, including Associated Press, ESPN.com, CBSSports.com, Sporting News, and The All-American.

 
     JOSH JACKSON EARNS NATIONAL AND BIG TEN RECOGNITION
     Junior DB Josh Jackson was named Tatum-Woodson Defensive Back of the Year by the Big Ten Conference. He is the third Hawkeye to earn the honor in the award’s seven-year history (Micah Hyde, 2012; Desmond King, 2015). He was one of three finalists for the Jim Thorpe Award, presented annually to the best defensive back in college football.

• Unanimous Consensus All-American.
• Jackson leads the country in passes defended (25) and shares the NCAA lead with seven interceptions. He has 18 pass breakups, second most in the NCAA. He ranks fourth in interception return yards (163).
• Jackson’s seven interceptions tie for fourth among Iowa’s single-season leaders.  Desmond King (2015), Lou King (1981), and Nile Kinnick (1939) share the single-season Iowa record with eight.
• Jackson was named Big Ten Conference Co-Defensive Player of the Week after returning two interceptions for touchdowns against Wisconsin (43, 52).
• Jackson was named Walter Camp National Defensive Player of the Week and Big Ten Conference Defensive Player of the Week after tying a school record with three interceptions in Iowa’s 55-24 win at No. 3 Ohio State on Nov. 4.
• Jackson has started all 12 games this season after entering the year with one career start at defensive back. He was a wide receiver in Iowa’s 2015 spring camp.

 
     TIGHT ENDS MOVE THE CHAINS
     Second-year tight ends Noah Fant (sophomore) and T.J. Hockenson (redshirt freshman) have combined for 51 receptions this season. Among those 51 receptions, all but seven have resulted in a touchdown (13) or first down (31).
     Fant leads all FBS tight ends with 17.4 yards per catch. He has 28 receptions, including a team-high 10 touchdowns. The 10 touchdowns are a single-season record for an Iowa tight end, and the most by a Hawkeye since Marvin McNutt caught 12 touchdown passes in 2012.
     Hockenson has 23 receptions, including three touchdowns and 16 catches that resulted in a first down.
 
     WADLEY AMONG THE FOUR HORSEMEN
     Senior RB Akrum Wadley is the fourth Hawkeye in program history to produce back-to-back 1,000-yard rushing seasons. Wadley has 1,021 rushing yards in 2017. He rushed for 1,081 yards in 2016. The other Hawkeyes with back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons include Sedrick Shaw (1,002 in 1994; 1,477 in 1995; 1,116 in 1996), Ladell Betts (1,090 in 2000; 1,060 in 2001), and Fred Russell (1,264 in 2002; 1,355 in 2003).
     Wadley also has at least 25 receptions in each of the last two seasons. He is one of 11 players in Big Ten history with consecutive seasons of 1,000-plus rushing yards and 25-plus receptions (2017: 1,021/26 | 2016: 1,081/36).
 
     WADLEY MOVING UP THE CHARTS
     RB Akrum Wadley has 514 career carries for 2,784 rushing yards, fifth all-time. He needs 193 yards to tie Tavian Banks for fourth all-time. He is one of 15 players in program history to rush for 2,000 career yards.
     Wadley has 27 career rushing touchdowns, fourth all-time. He has 34 career touchdowns, third all-time, and 204 career points, 10th all-time.
     Wadley has 3,621 career all-purpose yards, ninth most in program history (2,784 rush, 737 receiving, 100 KO returns). He is averaging 120.8 all-purpose yards per game, fifth best in the Big Ten.
 
     STANLEY MAKING AND CHASING HISTORY
     QB Nate Stanley needs two touchdown passes to tie Chuck Long for Iowa’s single-season record. Long threw 27 touchdowns in 1985. Stanley has 25 touchdown passes, tied for third all-time in single-season program history. His 25 touchdown passes rank third in the Big Ten and tie for 22nd in the nation.
     Stanley has thrown five touchdown passes in a game twice this season (at Iowa State, vs. Ohio State), becoming the first Hawkeye to have two five-touchdown passing games in the same season. Stanley’s five TD passes against Ohio State tied a Kinnick Stadium record (Chuck Long in 1985, Fred Riddle in 1963).
     In program history, only Stanley and Chuck Long have two career games with five or more touchdowns. Long threw six TDs against Texas in 1984 and six against Northwestern in 1985.
      Stanley threw 12 touchdowns in the first four games of the season, becoming the first quarterback in program history to throw 12 touchdown passes in their first four starts. The four-game stretch was Iowa’s best since Chuck Hartlieb threw 12 touchdowns over a four-game stretch in 1987. Chuck Long threw 14 touchdowns in the first four games in 1985.
     Stanley threw three touchdowns in his first career start Week 1. The last quarterback to do that was Ricky Stanzi (3, vs. Florida Atlantic in 2008). Since, 1999, the only other quarterback to throw three or more touchdowns in his first career start under Ferentz was Jon Beutjer (4, at Indiana in 2000).  
     Stanley threw for five touchdowns and 333 yards against Iowa State in Week 2, becoming the first Iowa quarterback with 300-plus passing yards and five-plus touchdown passes since Chuck Hartlieb vs. Northwestern in 1987.
 
     VANDEBERG STREAKING UP THE RANKINGS
     Senior WR Matt VandeBerg has played in 53 career games, tying Desmond King for most in program history. VandeBerg has a reception in 31 consecutive games played. He has 133 career receptions, 10th most in program history. He has 1,677 career receiving yards, 16th in program history. He is eight yards from passing Bill Happel in career receiving yards, and two catches from tying Ed Hinkel in receptions.  
     VandeBerg missed Iowa’s final nine games of 2016 due to a foot injury sustained in practice on Sept. 26. He played in the first four games of the season, leading the team in receptions, receiving yards, and receiving touchdowns (19-284-3 TDs) before the injury. On Dec. 21, 2016, the Big Ten Conference granted the University of Iowa’s medical hardship waiver request on behalf of VandeBerg and granted the wide receiver a fifth year of eligibility.
 
     TAKEAWAYS AND SCORING DEFENSE
     Iowa leads the Big Ten and ties for second in the nation with 19 interceptions. The Hawkeyes have four pick-sixes this season (Brandon Snyder 89 vs. Illinois; Amani Hooker 30 vs. Ohio State; Josh Jackson 43 vs. Wisconsin; Josh Jackson 52 vs. Wisconsin). The four pick-sixes ties a team single-season record (1995, 2010, 2015, 2017). Jackson leads the league with seven interceptions.
     Iowa ranks No. 20 nationally in scoring defense, allowing 19.9 points per game. The Hawkeyes are one of nine teams to rank in the top 25 in scoring defense in each of the last three seasons (Alabama, Clemson, Iowa, Michigan, Northwestern, Ohio State, San Diego State, Washington, Wisconsin).
 
    2 HAWKEYES EARN ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICA HONORS
    DE Anthony Nelson was named a CoSIDA first team Academic All-American and DE Parker Hesse and was named a CoSIDA second team Academic All-American. The announcement was made Dec. 14 by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA). Both are members of Iowa’s 2017 Leadership Group.
    Hesse is a junior from Waukon, Iowa (Waukon).  He carries a 3.72 GPA and has earned his degree in Interdepartmental Studies.  He was named Academic All-Big Ten in both 2015 and 2016.  Hesse earned honorable mention All-Big Ten honors in 2016 and was named to the Big Ten All-Freshman team by BTN.com in 2015. 
    Nelson (6-foot-7, 260 pounds) is a sophomore from Urbandale, Iowa (Waukee).  He earned Academic All-Big Ten honors in 2016.  Nelson holds a 3.89 GPA and is an accounting major.