Florida State head coach Mike Norvell, center, raises the trophy after the team’s win over Oklahoma in the Cheez-It Bowl on Thursday, Dec. 29, 2022, in Orlando, Florida. The bowl game has since changed its name to Pop-Tart Pot. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)
IOWA CITY – Enjoy festive French fries, Dump mayonnaise And other strange bowl traditions. It’s officially bowl season.
Over the next three weeks, 84 college football teams will play in games that stretch geographically from Boston to Honolulu.
Here are some obscure and not-so-obscure Iowa Hawkeye connections for each of the 42 bowl games:
Saturday 16 December
Myrtle Beach Bowl (Georgia Southern vs. Ohio)
Ohio and Iowa beat Iowa State this season. The Bobcats’ 10-7 win over the Hurricanes was a week after the Hokies’ 20-13 win in Ames.
Celebration Bowl (Howard vs. Florida A&M)
Florida A&M defensive back Kim Money King played five snaps against Iowa in 2019, according to Pro Football Focus. All five snaps were on the penalty return unit. (He was with Iowa State at the time.)
New Orleans Bowl (Jacksonville State vs. Louisiana)
Jacksonville State quarterback Logan Smothers transferred from Nebraska after the 2022 season. His only start as a Husker came against Iowa in 2021. The Hawkeyes won 28-21, with Smothers going 16-for-22 with one interception and two rushing touchdowns.
Cure Bowl (Miami (Ohio) vs. Appalachian State)
Iowa offensive line coach George Barnett previously worked at Miami (Ohio). That’s where he first coached Rusty Faith, who moved to Iowa State to reunite with Barnett in 2023.
New Mexico Bowl (New Mexico State vs. Fresno State)
Fresno State recruited former Iowa State receiver Arland Bruce IV to the transfer portal before he eventually committed to Oklahoma State.
This was probably what was best for the Bulldogs in the long run considering Bruce was among the athletes sidelined amid allegations of betting on his team.
Los Angeles Bowl (UCLA vs. Boise State)
Iowa quarterback Deacon Hill’s three sisters, Cody, Sammy and Abby, played water polo at UCLA.
Independence Bowl (California vs. Texas Tech)
Kirk Ferentz’s first bowl win as a head coach was against Texas Tech in the 2001 Alamo Bowl. (Twenty-two years later, he will look for his 11th win on January 1 against Tennessee.)
Monday 18 December
Famous Pot Roaster (Western Kentucky vs. Old Dominion)
Tripp Woody, a 2024 Iowa senior, is from Waxham, North Carolina. There’s a popular roastery about 10 miles from there in Indian Land, South Carolina.
Tuesday 19 December
Frisco Bowl (UTSA vs. Marshall)
Current Marshall wide receiver Cam Petro has the same hometown (Suwanee, Ga.) as former Iowa State running back Tyler Goodson. However, they went to different high schools.
Thursday 21 December
Boca Raton Bowl (USF vs. Syracuse)
As the name suggests, the location of the Boca Raton Bowl is Boca Raton, Florida. Iowa running backs coach Ladell Betts was the high school offensive coordinator there from 2014-15.
Friday 22 December
Gasparilla Bowl (Georgia Tech vs. UCF)
Iowa State has lost four of the last six bowl games played at Florida State. One of the two victories was against Georgia Tech in the Orange Bowl after the 2009 season.
Saturday 23 December
Birmingham Bowl (Troy vs. Duke)
Howard Jones, the Hall of Fame coach who led the Hawkeyes from 1916 to 1923, left Iowa to coach Duke University — called Trinity College at the time — for the 1924 season. He then coached at the University of Southern California for the rest of his career.
A century after his final season with Iowa, Jones still has the highest winning percentage (.708) among those who have coached at least 50 games in program history.
Camellia Powell (Arkansas State vs. Northern Illinois)
Jay Niemann, Iowa State’s assistant defensive line coach and defensive recruiting coordinator, was Northern Illinois’ defensive coordinator from 2011-2015. The Huskies went to bowl games in all five seasons.
Armed Forces Bowl (James Madison vs. Air Force)
The Air Force Academy is the only service academy to have played against the Hawkeyes. The only game between Iowa and Air Force was in 1958, ending in a 13-13 tie.
The game was about two months after Kirk Ferentz’s third birthday.
Famous Idaho Potato Bowl (Georgia State vs. Utah State)
Former Iowa State quarterback Spencer Petras committed to Utah State in the transfer portal earlier this month. He will spend his final year of eligibility with the Aggies after recovering from shoulder surgery.
68 Ventures Bowl (South Alabama vs. Eastern Michigan)
Eastern Michigan and Iowa had two athletes selected in the NFL Draft, NBA Draft and MLB Draft in 2023. Only 15 other FBS schools had at least one athlete selected in each of the three drafts this year.
SRS Las Vegas Bowl Distribution (Utah vs. Northwestern)
Utah’s Chase Carter, who took over a few games this season, was high school teammates at Pella with Iowa State offensive lineman Nick DeJong.
Hawaii Bowl (Coastal Carolina vs. San Jose State)
Coastal Carolina tight end Matt Alaimo, a Rutgers graduate, had an eight-yard reception last year against Iowa State.
Tuesday 26 December
Quick Lane Powell (Bowling Green vs. Minnesota)
The site of Quick Lane Bowl Stadium — Detroit’s Ford Field — is about two miles from where Iowa State defensive lineman Kenneth Meriwether, a true freshman this year, went to high school.
First Responder Bowl (State of Texas vs. Rice)
Hayden Fry’s first win as a college coach was when SMU’s 1962 team defeated Rice, 15-7.
Guaranteed Price Pot (Kansas vs. UNLV)
Phoenix-based Sured Rate, in addition to its sponsorship of the game, is the naming rights sponsor of the Chicago White Sox stadium. Iowa State women’s basketball guard Kylie Feuerbach has a nothing deal with the White Sox.
Former Iowa State men’s basketball guard Ahron Ulis, who transferred to Nebraska after the 2022-23 season, also received a nothing deal from the White Sox.
Wednesday 27 December
Military Bowl (Virginia Tech vs. Tulane)
Both Tulane and Iowa finished in the top ten in the final Associated Press poll of 1939. Tulane was fifth, and Iowa ninth. Iowa State’s Nile Kinnick won the Heisman Trophy that year.
Duke’s Mayo Bowl (North Carolina vs. West Virginia)
Iowa wide receiver Seth Anderson’s sister ran at North Carolina.
Holiday Bowl (Louisville vs. USC)
University of Iowa President Barbara Wilson was a communications professor earlier in her career at the University of Louisville, among other universities.
Texas Bowl (Texas A&M vs. Oklahoma State)
Iowa State has faced nine different SEC teams in its history. Texas A&M is the only one of those nine that the Hawkeyes haven’t beaten at least once. This is partly because the only game that ended in a 29-0 loss was in 1931.
Thursday 28 December
Fenway Bowl (SMU vs. Boston College)
Iowa State played in a baseball stadium this season (in its 10-7 win over Northwestern) for the first time since the 2017 Pinstripe Bowl against Boston College. The Hawkeyes edged Boston College 27-20.
Pinstripe Bowl (Rutgers vs. Miami (Fla.))
The University of Miami plays its home football games at Hard Rock Stadium, which is also home to the NFL’s Miami Dolphins. Joe Philbin, Ferentz’s first-team offensive line coach at Iowa State, was the Dolphins’ head coach from 2012-15.
Pop-Tarts Bowl (NC State vs. Kansas State)
Kansas State Director of Athletics Gene Taylor was previously the Deputy Director of Athletics at Iowa State under Gary Barta from 2014-2017.
Alamo Bowl (Arizona vs. Oklahoma)
Iowa State’s Bob Stoops coached Oklahoma from 1999-2016. His brother Mike Stoops, also an Iowa State alumnus, coached Arizona State from 2004-11.
Friday 29 December
Cotton Bowl (Missouri vs. Ohio State) (New Year’s Six Bowl)
Missouri was the fifth out-of-state school to play the Hawkeyes in school history—the first matchup between the two schools was in 1892—after Minnesota, Nebraska, Kansas, and Knox.
Gator Bowl (Clemson vs. Kentucky)
Kentucky — Iowa State’s opponent in last year’s Music City Bowl and the Citrus Bowl before that — is the only team to play Iowa State in back-to-back bowl games.
Sun Bowl (Oregon State vs. Notre Dame)
Iowa State’s first non-conference game broadcast on NBC was the 1957 Rose Bowl against Oregon State, according to the team’s media guide. The first Iowa non-conference game to be broadcast on ABC was a 1957 game against Notre Dame. The Hawkeyes won both games.
Liberty Bowl (Memphis vs. Iowa State)
Iowa State’s 47-23 all-time record against Iowa State is better than any of its other rivals.
Saturday 30 December
Peach Bowl (Penn State vs. Ole Miss/New Year Six Bowl)
Ole Miss wide receiver Calvin Wilson is the grandson of former Iowa State defensive back Steve Wilson, who was the team’s captain in 1968 along with Ed Podolak. Wilson’s seven interceptions in 1967 remain tied for fifth most in program history.
Orange Bowl (Florida State vs. Georgia/New Year’s Six Cup)
Iowa tight end Erick All Jr., a transfer from Michigan, had four catches for 63 yards against Georgia during the Bulldogs’ final trip to the Orange Bowl in 2021. All’s Wolverines lost, 34-11.
Music City Bowl (Auburn vs. Maryland)
Iowa State is part of Maryland’s record book, and not in the way the Terrapins would like. The Iowa defense’s six interceptions in the 2021 game at College Park are tied for the most by an opposing defense in Maryland program history.
Another team that picked Maryland six times in one game was Pennsylvania in 1941.
Arizona Bowl (Toledo vs. Wyoming)
Wyoming offensive coordinator Tim Polasek previously coached Iowa’s offensive line from 2017-2020.
Monday 1 January
Rose Bowl (Alabama vs. Michigan/College Football Playoff Semifinals)
Alabama’s Nick Saban and Iowa’s Kirk Ferentz were both on Bill Belichick’s Cleveland Browns coaching staff in the 1990s.
Sugar Bowl (Texas vs. Washington semifinals/CFP)
Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr. threw three interceptions in one game against the Hawkeyes in 2021 while he was Indiana’s starter. Riley Moss returned two picks for touchdowns.
Fiesta Bowl (Oregon vs. Liberty/New Year’s Six Bowl)
Former Iowa State linebacker Justin Jacobs transferred to Oregon State after last season. Jacobs has 31 tackles and one sack in seven games.
ReliaQuest Bowl (Wisconsin vs. LSU)
This season marks five years, 10 years, 15 years and 20 years of Iowa State teams going to this bowl game when it was called the Outback Bowl.
Citrus Bowl (Iowa vs. Tennessee)
The Iowa State connection in this bowl game is clear. Iowa is playing in it.
Comments: john.steppe@thegazette.com
Welcome to the ultimate guide to the 2023 college football season, featuring all 42 Iowa State contacts for each game. Whether you’re a die-hard Cyclones fan, a local looking to catch a game, or a sports journalist seeking information, this comprehensive list has everything you need to know. From ticket information to game schedules, we’ve got you covered for every exciting matchup in the upcoming season. So grab your cardinal and gold gear, and get ready for an unforgettable year of Iowa State football!