Tennessee Whips Iowa In Taxslayer Bowl, 45-28

Youth beat experience, and beat it badly.

Iowa's football season came to a disappointing end with a lackluster effort against Tennessee in the Taxslayer Bowl at Jacksonville, Fl. today (Friday, January 2, 2015).

The Volunteers (7-6) dominated the game from the start, building a 28-0 first-quarter lead and coasting to a 45-28 victory over the Hawkeyes (7-6) at EverBank Field.

Iowa, a traditional ground-and-pound team from the Big 10 Conference that relies on the experience of fourth- and fifth-year seniors, struggled all day to adjust to Tennessee's speed.

"Start by congratulating Tennessee," Iowa Coach Kirk Ferentz said. "They were ready right from the start. We certainly couldn't match their tempo in that first quarter. Give them credit. They played a really good football game, I'd venture to say the best they played all year.

"For us it's disappointing. A lot of things that showed up cost us today. I feel bad for every guy in the locker room obviously, especially our seniors. It's part of football. We'll get up tomorrow and move forward."

Playing in a bowl game for the first time since 2010, the Volunteers scored on six of their first eight possessions, while rolling up 461 yards of total offense. Tennessee led 35-7 at halftime.

Sophomore quarterback Joshua Dobbs led Tennessee with 205 total yards, completing 16-of-21 passes for 129 yards and one touchdown with one interception. Dobbs also ran for 76 yards and two scores on 13 carries.

As expected, Iowa rotated quarterbacks throughout the game. Sophomore C.J. Beathard ended the day 13-of-23 for 145 yards with two touchdowns and one pick. Starter Jake Rudock, a junior, was just 2-of-8 for 32 yards.

"I think they both did some good things. They both had some down plays, too," Ferentz said when asked to evaluate the play of his two signal-callers. "The way the game got away early, it's tough to evaluate anything in a real great fashion. We'll go back and look at it, go from there."

Junior Jordan Canzeri led the Hawkeyes' ground game, rushing for 120 yards on 12 carries. Mark Weisman -- one of 16 seniors playing their final game for Iowa -- ran for a pair of touchdowns, including one early in the fourth quarter.

Tennessee owned a 42-7 lead entering the fourth quarter, and was outscored, 21-3, over the final 15 minutes. The quarter was highlighted by Kevonte Martin-Manley's 174th career reception, which set an Iowa record.

Iowa ended the game with 421 total yards, but the majority of them came after the Volunteers built a decisive lead.

While the Hawkeyes look to regroup during the off-season, Tennessee will be looking to build off the Taxslayer Bowl victory. The Vols, an up-and-coming team from the Southeastern Conference (SEC), are the youngest team in college football this year. Second-year Coach Butch Johnson played 23 freshmen in 2014, the most of any team in the nation.

GAME NOTES:

• The TaxSlayer Bowl was the 28th bowl game in program history. Iowa is 14‐13‐1 all‐time in the post-season, including a 6‐6 mark under coach Ferentz.
• Martin‐Manley finished the game with three catches for 23 yards. He ends his career with 1,799 career receiving yards, 13th all‐time in Iowa history.
• Weisman finishes his career with 32 rushing touchdowns, placing him third behind Sedrick Shaw (33) and Tavian Banks (33) in program history. During his Iowa career, Weisman rushed for 2,602 yards on 599 carries. His 599 carries rank fourth all‐time, and his 2,602 rushing yards rank sixth all‐time.  
• The Taxslayer Bowl was Ferentz’s 200th game at the University of Iowa. He is 115‐85 (.575) in 16 seasons as the Hawkeyes' head coach. The 115 wins rank second all‐time in program history, behind Hayden Fry. Fry totaled 143 wins in 20 seasons.  
• Iowa allowed 21 first‐quarter points, the only time this season the Hawkeyes allowed more than seven points in the opening 15 minutes.  
• Iowa has played 56 consecutive games without a missed or blocked point-after-touchdown (PAT), the longest streak of any team in the nation. The Hawkeyes have converted on 168 consecutive PATs during the streak.