Vanderbilt head coach Clark Lea and Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz addressed the media in a joint press conference on Tuesday, Dec. 30, a day ahead of the ReliaQuest Bowl. This will be the first-ever meeting between the two schools as they clash in a ranked matchup in Tampa, Florida.
No. 14 Vanderbilt is coming off its best season in history, reaching a 10-2 record for the first time in program history. Signature wins over Tennessee, LSU, Missouri, Kentucky, South Carolina and Auburn marked the most conference wins in a single season in Vanderbilt history, and the charge was led by none other than Heisman runner-up Diego Pavia.
No. 23 Iowa comes into this matchup with an 8-4 record, taking down six conference foes in the Big Ten to reach yet another successful season under longtime head coach Ferentz. The Hawkeyes’ defense has been stifling all year, giving up an average of 15.1 points per game this season. Still, Iowa did not earn a single ranked win this season, making its opportunity to beat a ranked Vanderbilt team in the postseason even more exciting.
Both coaches started their opening statements by expressing how grateful they are to be competing in a bowl game in Florida, especially on New Year’s Eve.
“Our team is really excited to be here,” Lea said. “This is a great next step for our program, and we are grateful to the ReliaQuest Bowl. This has been an incredible experience for our team. We talked about relatedness being our edge, which means we create a sense of belonging, a sense of community as a team, and to have a link here, to be able to spend this time together, has been so meaningful to us.”
Ferentz echoed these sentiments.
“Really excited to be here, and it is a great opportunity for both [of] our teams. I think we’re well aware of that,” Ferentz said.
The College Football Playoff committee opted to leave both Iowa and Vanderbilt out of the 12-team field, preventing them from competing for a national championship. Much of the conversation in early December was about whether Vanderbilt deserved a bid, but Lea said he’s just excited to be spending one more game with his team.
“I think our team strived to be one of those 12 [teams],” Lea said. “That was a goal of ours, obviously. I think [at] the start of the year, we may have been the only ones that believed we could do it, and as the year went on, we brought some more people on board into that belief. [But] we didn’t do enough. We lost two games on the road that we needed to find a way to win. And so, there’s growth in that for us.”
Still, Lea expressed his excitement to face Iowa, a team he believes is similar in identity to his own program.
“You’ve got an established program that’s [had lots] of success but plays a certain brand of football. It is very similar in DNA but we’re very happy to be here and tomorrow is going to be such a celebration. The outcome is going to be the outcome. Two teams [are] going to fight really hard, but this has been an incredible experience for us, and it’s something that we’re going to be able to build on as we turn a page and focus on next season.”
As the press conference continued, both coaches spoke on what makes the other team so successful. Ferentz stressed the importance of containing Vanderbilt’s explosive offense, as the Commodores rank No. 6 in the country in average points per game.
“Offensively, they’re [a] very explosive football teams [that] scores a lot of points,” Ferentz said. “The quarterback is the featured player. There is no question. They’re quarterback driven, but it’s a lot more than that. They’ve got a really good offensive line. [They’ve] got receivers that are really good [and] a couple of good running backs. So, you look at their entire lineup, it’s a team effort by all those guys, and then the quarterback is certainly a wild card.”
Pavia was a clear point of discussion for Ferentz, as his awards as a Heisman runner-up and Johnny Unitas Golden Arm winner speak volumes about the explosivity of the Commodores’ offense.
“Winning quarterbacks are winning quarterbacks,” Ferentz said. “He can do just about anything. I think he’s probably most dangerous [when] carrying [the ball]. And it just gets down to great team defense, and we’ve played some good quarterbacks this year.”
On the defensive side, Ferentz emphasized Vanderbilt’s ability to stop the ground game, as the Commodores rank No. 18 in the country in rushing yards allowed per game at 108.3.
“Defensively, they make it tough to run, and they don’t give up a lot of points,” Ferentz said. “And to me, that’s the only step that really matters in football, is points scored and points allowed, and they’ve done a great job there.”
One challenge that Vanderbilt will have to navigate is Iowa’s offensive front, which just won the Joe Moore Award for the most outstanding line in college football. Lea knows the importance of getting pressure on the quarterback, something which Vanderbilt has struggled to do at many points this season, making this a critical matchup to watch.
“You win up front and you can’t expect to play winning football unless you can win on both sides of the line of scrimmage. We always talk about [that] the culture of our program is built in the offensive line,” Lea said. “I expect that offensive line is going to show up and play hard. That’s all they’ve done all year. And what a great honor for that group and a well-deserved honor.”
The only very notable opt-out of the bowl game has been Vanderbilt tight end Eli Stowers, who will be busy preparing for the NFL Draft in a few months. Other than this one notable absence, Vanderbilt is in good health and appears to be ready for its second-straight bowl game appearance.
The Hawkeyes and Commodores will take the field at 11 a.m. CST at Raymond James Stadium on Dec. 31 in the ReliaQuest Bowl.
