Unique Hawkeye, Cyclone connections to all 36 non-CFP bowl games in 2024-25

IOWA CITY — While college football fans will have to wait another week before seeing the start of the much-anticipated 12-team College Football Playoff, bowl season is officially here.

Starting with Saturday’s Celebration Bowl and Salute to Veterans Bowl, 72 teams will vie for a less prestigious postseason trophy (or in one case a giant Pop-Tart to consume afterward).

Here are obscure and not-so-obscure connections that Iowa or Iowa State has to each of the 36 non-CFP bowl matchups:

Saturday, Dec. 14

Cricket Celebration Bowl (Jackson State vs. South Carolina State)

Former Iowa State defensive end Anthony Cunningham Jr. initially committed to Jackson State via the transfer portal before eventually ending up at Division II McKendree University. He announced earlier this month he is back in the portal.

IS4S Salute to Veterans Bowl (South Alabama vs. Western Michigan)

Iowa offensive coordinator Tim Lester is a Western Michigan alum and was the head coach there for six seasons. He had a 37-32 overall record and took the Broncos to three bowl games.

Tuesday, Dec. 17

Scooter’s Coffee Frisco Bowl (Memphis vs. West Virginia)

There is a Scooter’s Coffee location 1.7 miles away from Kinnick Stadium.

Wednesday, Dec. 18

Boca Raton Bowl (Western Kentucky vs. James Madison)

The last time Iowa finished a season in the top 10 of the AP Poll was in 2015 (when the Hawkeyes were No. 9 after their Rose Bowl loss). That also was the last time that Western Kentucky finished a season ranked at all in the AP Poll (No. 24).

Art of Sport LA Bowl Hosted by Gronk (California vs. UNLV)

Iowa (and soon-to-be NFL) running back Kaleb Johnson verbally committed to California as a three-star recruit out of Hamilton, Ohio, before flipping his commitment to the Hawkeyes.

Thursday, Dec. 19

R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl (Georgia Southern vs. Sam Houston)

Georgia Southern’s head football athletic trainer, Nick Sparacio, is an Iowa State alum. He has been with the Eagles since 2015.

Friday, Dec. 20

StaffDNA Cure Bowl (Jacksonville State vs. Ohio)

Jacksonville State is a victim in the 2024 coaching carousel as it lost Rich Rodriguez to West Virginia. When Rodriguez was at Michigan, his Wolverines went 0-2 against the Hawkeyes.

Union Home Mortage Gasparilla Bowl (Tulane vs. Florida)

James McMillion set the Iowa State record for punt return yards in a game when he had 137 yards against Tulane in 1992. The Cyclones and Green Wave have not played each other since.

Monday, Dec. 23

Myrtle Beach Bowl (Coastal Carolina vs. UTSA)

Matt Campbell oversaw a 38-28 win over Coastal Carolina in 2012 — his first full season as the head coach at Toledo. That season ended with a loss in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl.

Famous Idaho Potato Bowl (Northern Illinois vs. Fresno State)

Kirk Ferentz’s 144th win as Iowa’s head coach — the one that moved him ahead of the late Hayden Fry as the winningest coach in program history — came in 2018 against Northern Illinois. Iowa will face the Huskies for the first time since that momentous win in 2026.

Tuesday, Dec. 24

Hawai’i Bowl (South Florida vs. San Jose State)

Iowa quarterback Jackson Stratton’s first and only touchdown pass from his two years at Colorado State was against San Jose State. It was not a great overall day for his Rams, though, as they suffered a 28-16 loss.

Thursday, Dec. 26

Rate Bowl (Rutgers vs. Kansas State)

Iowa State has more all-time wins against Kansas State (53) than any other opponent. The first of those wins happened in 1917, when the university was referred to as the Iowa State College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts.

68 Ventures Bowl (Arkansas State vs. Bowling Green)

One of Matt Campbell’s four bowl wins as a head coach was against Arkansas State in the 2014 GoDaddy Bowl. Future NFL running back Kareem Hunt had 271 rushing yards and five rushing touchdowns for Campbell’s Toledo Rockets in the 63-44 win.

Friday, Dec. 27

Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl (Oklahoma vs. Navy)

Iowa’s six consecutive wins in Lincoln, Neb., is the longest streak for a team at Memorial Stadium since Oklahoma won eight straight there from 1943-57.

Birmingham Bowl (Georgia Tech vs. Vanderbilt)

Two current Iowa football staff members had past stints at Vanderbilt. Paul Federici, Iowa’s director of football operations, was an assistant athletic trainer at Vanderbilt from 1987-93 and the head athletic trainer from 1994-99.

Tyler Barnes, Iowa’s chief of staff and general manager, was the co-recruiting coordinator at Vanderbilt in 2013 and the director of player personnel in 2014-15.

AutoZone Liberty Bowl (Texas Tech vs. Arkansas)

Iowa had a season-opening, 26-0, win over Arkansas under head coach Burt Ingwersen in 1925. It was the Hawkeyes’ first and only game against the Razorbacks in program history.

DIRECTV Holiday Bowl (Syracuse vs. Washington State)

Former Iowa State wide receiver Hakeem Butler seemed to help his draft stock when he racked up 192 receiving yards against Washington State in the 2018 Alamo Bowl. He was a fourth-round selection in the 2019 draft.

SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl (Texas A&M vs. USC)

The Iowa State team record for most first downs passing in a single game (23) happened in 2008 against Texas A&M although the Aggies ultimately emerged victorious. Iowa State is 1-10 all-time against A&M.

Saturday, Dec. 28

Wasabi Fenway Bowl (UConn vs. North Carolina)

North Carolina recently hired Bill Belichick — the coach who won six Super Bowls as head coach of the New England Patriots — as its next head coach. Iowa’s Kirk Ferentz was on Belichick’s Cleveland Browns staff from 1993-95.

Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl (Boston College vs. Nebraska)

Iowa’s only matchup in program history against Boston College was in 2017 in this same bowl game. The Hawkeyes walked away from Yankee Stadium with a 27-20 win. That followed a 56-14 win to close the regular season against Nebraska — Boston College’s 2024 Pinstripe Bowl opponent.

Isleta New Mexico Bowl (Louisiana vs. TCU)

TCU beat both Iowa and Iowa State on the recruiting trail for Council Bluffs native Max Duggan in the 2019 class. Duggan went on to lead the Horned Frogs to a Fiesta Bowl win and CFP runner-up finish in 2022.

Pop-Tarts Bowl (Iowa State vs. Miami)

This will be the fourth time that either Iowa or Iowa State has played at Camping World Stadium since the 2021 season. The three previous games were losses for the Iowa-based school. Iowa State lost to Clemson in the 2021 Cheez-It Bowl, and Iowa lost to Kentucky after the 2021 season and Tennessee after the 2023 season.

Snoop Dogg Arizona Bowl (Miami (Ohio) vs. Colorado State)

Iowa offensive line coach George Barnett coached at Miami (Ohio) from 2014-20 as the offensive line coach and co-offensive coordinator.

Go Bowling Military Bowl (East Carolina vs. NC State)

Nick Jackson — now an Iowa linebacker, but playing for Virginia at the time — caught his first collegiate pass on a fake punt against NC State in 2020. It was a 26-yard reception.

Valero Alamo Bowl (BYU vs. Colorado)

Kirk Ferentz’s first bowl win as a head coach was at the Alamo Bowl in 2001. He will be seeking his 11th career bowl victory this year in Nashville.

Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl (Louisiana Tech vs. Army)

Iowa (2) and Army (3) were two of the top three teams in the final Associated Press poll after the 1958 season, behind the national champions from LSU.

Monday, Dec. 30

Transperfect Music City Bowl (Iowa vs. Missouri)

The last time Iowa went to the Transperfect Music City Bowl, the sponsor name was not the easiest for coaches to get right.

“Appreciative of Scott and everybody with the Transparent Bowl,” Iowa’s Kirk Ferentz said in his postgame news conference. “It's been absolutely fantastic. I said transparent again. TransPerfect. I'll get that right. Son of a b-----.”

Tuesday, Dec. 31

ReliaQuest Bowl (Alabama vs. Michigan)

Kadyn Proctor — the former Southeast Polk standout who flipped from the Hawkeyes in both his high school recruitment and transfer portal recruitment — has been Alabama’s starting left tackle again this year. He has allowed two sacks in his 303 pass-blocking snaps in 2024, according to Pro Football Focus.

Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl (Louisville vs. Washington)

Jeff Brohm is in his second season as the head coach at Louisville. Before that, he was at Purdue for six years and often proved to be a pesky foe for Iowa. His Boilermakers were 4-2 against the Hawkeyes.

Cheez-It Citrus Bowl (South Carolina vs. Illinois)

Illinois Coach Bret Bielema has a Tigerhawk tattoo above his left ankle. He frequently gets asked about it. Earlier this year, the Iowa alum explained why he has kept the tattoo while coaching at rival schools.

“I never met a successful person who wasn’t proud of where they came from,” Bielema said. “That was part of my playing time and my coaching. A lot of who I am today was developed while I was there.”

Kinder’s Texas Bowl (Baylor vs. LSU)

Iowa State’s first bowl game was against LSU in 1971. The Cyclones’ Sun Bowl trip was unsuccessful, though, as the Tigers pulled away with a 33-15 win.

Thursday, Jan. 2

TaxSlayer Gator Bowl (Duke vs. Ole Miss)

Iowa wide receiver (and Northwestern transfer) Jacob Gill caught his first touchdown pass at the college level in 2021 against Duke. It was a 31-yard reception from quarterback Andrew Marty.

Friday, Jan. 3

SERVPRO First Responder Bowl (North Texas vs. Texas State)

Hayden Fry, of course, came from North Texas to rejuvenate the Iowa football program in his 20 seasons as head coach. In the 34 seasons since Fry’s last season with the Mean Green, they have finished with nine-plus wins only four times.

Duke’s Mayo Bowl (Minnesota vs. Virginia Tech)

The Duke’s Mayo Bowl will be at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, which is about a nine-mile drive away from Iowa backup kicker Tripp Woody’s high school.

Saturday, Jan. 4

Bahamas Bowl (Buffalo vs. Liberty)

Charlie Jones started his college football career at Buffalo before transferring to Iowa, where he was the 2021 Rodgers-Dwight Big Ten Return Specialist of the Year. He then transferred again to Purdue in 2022 and led the FBS in receptions.

Comments: john.steppe@thegazette.com

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