Outback Throwback: LSU didn't need a passing game against Iowa in 2014

Monday will mark Iowa's fifth Outback Bowl appearance since 2004. This week, we're taking a look back at the Hawkeyes' first four Outback games, continuing today with 2014.

A stated goal of this Iowa senior class is to win a bowl game. It's something the Hawkeyes haven't done since 2010.

Part of that four-game losing streak includes Iowa's last Outback Bowl appearance, a 21-14 defeat to LSU that wasn't as close as the score suggests.

Iowa's two scoring drives totaled 5 yards, taking advantage of interception and kickoff returns. A desparate last-chance play went nowhere after a series of laterals and the Tigers hung on to finish 10-3 and ranked 14th in the country.

The MVP

Jeremy Hill ran over Iowa's defense, totaling 216 yards and two touchdowns on 28 carries. It was the first individual 200-yard rushing performance against the Hawkeyes since 2000.

The Story

Here's Marc Morehouse's story that ran on The Gazette's sports front the next day.

Perhaps we were reading the situation with a blur of sentimentality. Iowa does the 'Swarm' thing at the end of every game. Senior linebacker James Morris often gathers it together.

After a 21-14 loss to No. 14 Louisiana State in Wednesday's Outback Bowl, Morris took the high ground and held everyone up to wait for the stragglers. There were stragglers. The game, played before an announced crowd of 51,296 at Raymond James Stadium, ended with Iowa throwing the ball around the field, doing the dead man's desperation lateral.

Iowa (8-5) was called for a penalty while trying to substitute, so the play was already dead. Iowa Coach Kirk Ferentz worked referee Greg Burks, but Iowa's fate was sealed. LSU (10-3) danced on the Outback logo, and Iowa saddled up the Swarm.

'Because it was our last game as the 2013-2014 Hawkeyes, I just wanted to make sure we had everybody in the Swarm,' said Morris, who became just the sixth player in Iowa history to record 400 career tackles. 'I was in position where I could see guys coming in. It wasn't a 'Braveheart' speech or anything like that.'

This wasn't some big, dramatic moment. The Hawkeyes weren't that kind of team. This was a team that tried to do everything it could right. Coming off 4-8, that's all it could do.

That was its immediate goal and something so ingrained that there it was after a numbing defeat, trying to get the Swarm together.

Coach Kirk Ferentz's voice cracked a few times after the game. Through a coach's eye, this probably was a team that was easy to love.

'To be around this football team … it's been a really great group of guys to work with,' Ferentz said. 'The guys have played hard, competed hard with every step.'

But whatever it was that guided Iowa to a 5-3 record in the Big Ten and a total turnaround from 4-8, LSU smothered.

LSU running back Jeremy Hill won the game's MVP honors with 216 yards and two TDs on 28 carries. The 6-2, 235-pounder burst through the right side of Iowa's defense for 42 yards on the first play. LSU opened the game with 12 straight rushing plays and took a 7-0 lead on quarterback Anthony Jennings' 2-yard sneak.

Hill had back-to-back runs of 28 and 20 before breaking tackles on a 38-yard TD run to give LSU a 21-7 lead with 2:02 left in the game.

'We probably would've gone with 13 or 14 straight running plays, but I think we scored at 12,' LSU Coach Les Miles said.

'I think we realized there were some advantages right there and we didn't want to go away from them.'

Jennings replaced Zach Mettenberger after Mettenberger tore an ACL in the regular-season finale. The passing game was a struggle for him. He was off target on a few open receivers and finished 7 of 19 for 82 yards.

Hill and LSU's offensive line were enough. Iowa went into the Outback having allowed just three 100-yard rushers all season. Hill's 216 is the first 200-yard rushing performance allowed by Iowa's defense since Michigan State's T.J. Duckett went for 248 in 2000.

The Tigers pinned Iowa's offense, as in a professional wrestling pin.

They held the Hawkeyes to the mat. Iowa's 233 yards of total offense was a season low.

The Hawkeyes converted just one third down while falling behind 14-0 in the first half. Iowa's two TD drives were three plays for 1 yard (a 2-yard run by Mark Weisman) and two plays for 4 yards (a 4-yard TD pass from C.J. Beathard to wide receiver Kevonte Martin-Manley).

LSU dominated the line of scrimmage. Iowa couldn't buck the Tigers off (you know, like in professional wrestling).

Outback Throwback: 2004 vs. Florida | 2006 vs. Florida | 2009 vs. South Carolina

'They played us a little bit differently than maybe we had seen,' Ferentz said. 'We adjusted a little bit, but they're a tough defensive ballclub. They've got a lot of good players and they played well.'

Iowa made the incremental improvement. It made it to Florida. It threw punches, but got pinned by a more talented team in the bowl game.

'Our record speaks for itself,' Morris said.

'We're 8-5. We're not the best team in the history of Iowa football, but we're better than 4-8. We're 8-5 and every time we went out there, we tried to do our best.

'It didn't always happen for us but we played hard, just tried to honor the fans, the coaches and each other.'

The Stats