Iowa football bowl notebook: Hawkeyes adjust to lack of Kaleb Johnson in Nashville

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Luke Lachey “felt like I was having deja vu” as he was sitting in Iowa football’s team meeting Wednesday night, and one could hardly blame the Iowa tight end for that feeling.

Iowa’s last five bowl invitations have come from only two different sites — the Music City Bowl in 2020, 2022 and 2024 and the Citrus Bowl in 2021 and 2023. The 2020 invite comes with the asterisk that the game eventually was canceled.

“For my four bowl experiences to be the two same bowls — it’s kind of crazy,” Lachey said. “There’s a lot of familiarity here.”

The only other Big Ten team to have gone to the same bowl at least twice in the last four seasons is Ohio State with its trips to the Rose Bowl following the 2021 and 2024 seasons. (This year’s trip is a result of the Buckeyes’ first-round win over Tennessee in the College Football Playoff.)

Hawkeyes adjust to lack of Kaleb Johnson in bowl game

The Hawkeyes will have the obvious challenge of playing without star running back Kaleb Johnson, who opted out of the Music City Bowl as he prepares for the 2025 NFL draft.

Johnson was a vital part of the Hawkeyes’ 2024 offense, as he rushed for 1,537 yards and had more total touchdowns in 2024 (23) than Iowa’s entire offense had in 2023 (20).

Offensive lineman Mason Richman is not making a big deal out of Johnson’s absence, though, as Kamari Moulton and Jaziun Patterson each move up a rung on the Hawkeyes’ depth chart.

“With this unit, it’s not about one guy; it never was, never has been,” Richman said. “He was our MVP, but even MVPs in the NFL, everywhere — they got other guys contributing, too. For us, it’s just about playing our best football as a team for one last time.”

Why Monday’s bowl game matters to Iowa players

Monday’s Music City Bowl obviously does not have quite the same allure as the CFP quarterfinal games that will surely dominate national headlines later in the week.

That was evident when Johnson and Missouri’s Luther Burden III and Armand Membou decided to opt out of this game to begin their pursuits of the NFL. Plenty of Iowa players still see the value in being on the winning side of Monday’s game, though.

“You don’t want to leave a bad taste in your mouth,” Higgins said. “The bowl games you win — you feel like the week overall was better.”

Higgins and the rest of Iowa’s seniors have experienced both sides of that during their Hawkeye careers. On one end of the spectrum, Iowa ended 2022 on a high note with a 21-0 shutout win over Kentucky in its last trip to Nashville.

On the other hand, Iowa had sour endings to its Big Ten West-winning 2021 and 2023 seasons with its losses to Kentucky and Tennessee, respectively, in the Citrus Bowl. (The 35-0 loss to Tennessee last year was particularly sour.)

Now in 2024, there seems to be an added sense of wanting to conclude the season with a bowl win for Higgins and the rest of the Hawkeyes’ large senior class.

“I want to go out on a win,” Higgins said. “I’m sure (Missouri’s) seniors are feeling the same way. So I think you’ll see a competitive game. I think you’ll see some guys who really want to be out there.”

It also will be a chance for Kirk Ferentz to tie Woody Hayes’ record for most overall wins as a Big Ten coach. Ferentz currently sits in second place with 204 wins in his 26 seasons as the head coach at Iowa.

Comments: john.steppe@thegazette.com

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