On to the Taxslayer

OK, here's a quickhitter of what you might want to know for the Hawkeyes trip to Jacksonville, Fla., for the Taxslayer Bowl vs. Tennessee:

Kickoff:

Jan. 2, 2015, 2:20 p.m. (Iowa time)

Where

: EverBank Field, Jacksonville, Fla.

Channel

: ESPN

Bowl gifts for the players

: Per the SportsBusiness Journal - (The NCAA allows each bowl to award up to $550 worth of gifts to 125 participants per school. Schools can, and usually do, buy additional gifts that they can distribute to participants beyond that 125 limit. In addition, participants can receive awards worth up to $400 from the school and up to $400 from the conference for postseason play, covering both conference title games and bowl games.)

What is a 'gift suite”?: Gift suites are set up as private events prior to the game in which game participants, and often bowl VIPs, are given an order form and allowed to select a gift, or gifts, up to a value that is predetermined by each bowl, not to exceed the NCAA limit. Roughly half the suites take place in the bowl's host city, while the others are staged by the game's committee on the campus of a participating college.

The Taxslayer is a Panasonic gift suite and a Fossil watch.

There's an app for this

: The Taxslayer Bowl has an app. Get it here: https://itunes.apple.com/ms/app/gator-bowl/id736884888?mt=8

Iowa SID spiel

: The University of Iowa has accepted an invitation to participate in the 2015 TaxSlayer Bowl in Jacksonville, Florida. The TaxSlayer Bowl is scheduled for 2:20 p.m. (CT) on Friday, Jan. 2. The game will be televised by ESPN from EverBank Field (77,511).

The Hawkeyes are making their second appearance in the TaxSlayer Bowl, having lost to Florida (14-6) following the 1983 season. The attendance for that 1983 contest, 81,293, still ranks as the fourth highest attendance in the history of the event. Iowa has posted a 14-12-1 record in 27 previous bowl appearances.

Iowa posted a 7-5 record in 2014, including a 4-4 record in Big Ten play (West Division). Four of Iowa's five losses were by a touchdown or less. Tennessee (6-6) finished its conference slate 3-5 and tied for fourth in the SEC East Division.

Iowa and Tennessee have met twice previously, with each team earning a victory. The Hawkeyes beat the Volunteers, 28-22, in the 1982 Peach Bowl played in Atlanta. Tennessee registered a narrow, 23-22, win over the Hawkeyes in the 1987 season opener played in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

The Hawkeyes are 4-2 against current SEC teams in bowl games under coach Kirk Ferentz having beaten Florida (2004 Outback), LSU (2005 Capital One), South Carolina (2009 Outback) and Missouri (2010 Insight) when the Tigers were members of the Big 12. Iowa lost to Florida and LSU in the 2006 and 2014 Outback bowls, respectively.

Here's the Iowa sections at EverBank

: Fans can learn more about EverBank Field by visiting TaxSlayerBowl.com. Iowa has been assigned sections 130, 131, 134, 135, 139, 142, 143, 229, 230, 231, 232, 233, 234, 235, 240, 241, 242, and 243.

Iowa's last Gator Bowl appearance

: Iowa fell 14-6 to Florida.

Nasty weather - 13-below wind chill - that greeted these offensive teams and helped cause six interceptions and 19 penalties.

Florida led 14-3 at halftime, getting one touchdown when Tom Nichol, punting from his own end zone, misplayed the snap and Florida's Doug Drew fell on it for a TD.

Nichol accounted for all of Iowa's scoring on 32- and 31-yard field goals. Chuck Long completed 13 of 38 passes for 167 yards and four interceptions. Owen Gill rushed for 83 yards on 10 carries.

l Comments: (319) 398-8256; marc.morehouse@thegazette.com