Minus its top two quarterbacks and starting safety Kaevon Merriweather, Iowa went out and handled Kentucky in the TransPerfect Music City Bowl.
The Hawkeyes blanked the Wildcats for the first shutout by a Big Ten team in a bowl game since Penn State did so in 1999. It was also Iowa’s second bowl game shutout all-time, joining the Hawkeyes’ 26-0 1996 Alamo Bowl win over Texas Tech.
Cooper DeJean was named the game’s MVP after registering seven tackles, one tackle for loss, a pass breakup and a 14-yard pick six. It was DeJean’s third pick six of the season, setting an Iowa single-season record and tying the program’s career pick sixes mark.
Making his first start, safety Xavier Nwankpa joined DeJean in the pick six department, racing 52 yards off an errant Destin Wade pass for an interception return score. Actually, Nwankpa’s pick six came first, so maybe DeJean joined him.
Incredibly, those were just Iowa’s third and fourth all-time pick sixes in a bowl game, and they doubled the all-time total up in the same game. DeJean’s and Nwankpa’s pick sixes joined Micah Hyde’s 72-yard interception return touchdown against Missouri in the 2010 Insight Bowl and Nick Niemann’s 25-yard pick six against USC in the 2019 Holiday Bowl.
It was one final rousing defensive performance in a season full of them. As such, College Football News’ Pete Fiutak recognized Iowa’s performance with one of his better grades among Big Ten teams for the bowl season.
Fiutak handed out a grade of “B+” to the Hawkeyes for their domination of the Wildcats.
Why isn’t it an A? 0-of-11 on third downs and 206 yards of total offense. However, Iowa went Iowa. The attack came up with one touchdown, the defense did everything else – it held a depleted UK to under 200 yards – and it was a totally dominant win over an SEC team to close the season with a big moment. It’s not Iowa’s fault that most of Kentucky’s starters didn’t want to play. – Fiutak, College…
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