NO. 13 IOWA 37, NO. 17 UF 17: The convincing win over contrite Gators marks school as a potential power.
By ANTONYA ENGLISH
Published January 2, 2004
[Times photo: James Borchuck]
Iowa's Fred Russell slashes for a first down in the first quarter of the Hawkeye's 37-17 Outback Bowl win over Florida. Russell carried 21 times for 150 yards and a touchdown.
TAMPA - The consensus among the Iowa Hawkeyes heading into Thursday's Outback Bowl was that a victory over Florida would further legitimize a program on the rise.
If that's the standard, consider the Hawkeyes a bona fide, big-time team.
With a smothering defense that dominated the Gators and highly touted freshman quarterback Chris Leak and an offense that Florida couldn't contain, No. 13 Iowa defeated 17th-ranked Florida 37-17 in front of 65,372 at Raymond James Stadium.
"I think this is just one more step toward credibility," Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said. "Our guys feel awfully good about what they've accomplished."
It was the first January bowl victory for the Hawkeyes (10-3) in four tries since a 1959 Rose Bowl win. By game's end, most of the Florida fans had fled the stadium, leaving about 20,000 Iowa fans to celebrate amongst themselves.
"The Hawks just came down," Iowa offensive tackle Robert Gallery said, standing on the field as dejected Gator players walked past. "There is nobody in here but Hawks fans now. It's an awesome feeling, a great way to end the season."
And a bitter, miserable way for Florida's to end.
"I apologize to the Gator fans," Florida coach Ron Zook said. "It was my responsibility to get this football team ready to play and we weren't ready to play today. ... I'm surprised that we didn't play a lot better."
The Gators finished 8-5, identical to last season's struggling team. But during a season in which Florida insisted it was much improved, this one was harder to take.
"It was just one of those games that was just weird; you don't know what's going on and you can't get your rhythm," senior offensive tackle and Tampa native Shannon Snell said. "We thought we were prepared, but they came out and kicked our butts. I've never been beat this bad before. It just seemed like nothing was working."
Unless you count that one play.
Florida took a 7-0 lead when Leak's play-action pass resulted in a 70-yard touchdown to senior receiver Kelvin Kight with 7:18 remaining in the first quarter. It was the longest touchdown pass in Outback Bowl history. It also was the only one the Gators would get until 3:47 was left, when Leak hit Dallas Baker for a 25-yard score, which by then was merely for pride.
"I felt like we were prepared, I felt like we had really great practices," Zook said. "But we didn't play like it. There were times when we showed spurts, but we couldn't contain anything."
It was supposed to be a matchup of Florida's speed vs. Iowa's size and brute strength; strength won out. Iowa's defense, third in scoring and rushing in the Big Ten, held Florida to an Outback Bowl record-low 57 rushing yards. Florida gained 1 yard in the second quarter. Leak was 22-of-41 for 268 yards but never seemed in control of the game.
"We had opportunities and we just didn't take advantage of them," he said. "They made plays and did a great job."
Meanwhile, Iowa quarterback Nathan Chandler had one of his best games of the season, going 13-of-25 for 170 yards and one touchdown. The Hawkeyes rushed for 238 yards and racked up more than 400 total yards. They also possessed the ball nearly 10 minutes longer than Florida.
"Today was the first game a team came out and totally handled us," senior cornerback Keiwan Ratliff said.
With the Gators leading 7-0, Iowa scored 27 in a row on a 3-yard pass from Chandler to Maurice Brown, a 5-yard run by Chandler, two field goals (47 and 32 yards) by Nate Kaeding and a blocked punt recovered in the end zone by Matt Melloy.
Two critical plays sealed Florida's fate. Trailing 20-7, Eric Wilbur's punt was blocked and recovered for a touchdown by Melloy with one minute into the third quarter. Then a touchdown from Leak to Baker was nullified by an offensive pass interference call with 6:09 left in the third quarter.
"That changed a lot of momentum and got us really down," receiver Andre Caldwell said.
Florida's focus entering the game was on stopping the run, but that strategy failed. Senior Fred Russell rushed for 150 yards on 21 carries and was named the game's most valuable player.
"He really won the game," UF defensive lineman Marcus Thomas said.
Florida's special teams allowed the Hawkeyes good field position all game, and senior tight end Ben Troupe was kept out of the offensive loop; he didn't catch a pass for the first time this season.
Asked if any came his way, he responded: "No, and it's a good thing because it would have been intercepted the way they were doubling me."
