Iowa Hawkeyes (7-5, 4-4) @ Oklahoma Sooners (9-3, 6-3)
Friday, December 30th, 7:00pm kickoff PST
TV: ESPN
Happy Holidays Hawk fans! I can’t think of a better way to kick off New Year’s Eve weekend than watching the Hawkeyes in a primetime Friday night football game at Buckley’s on Queen Anne with the WWIC. It’s deja vu for the Hawks as they’re heading back to the Insight Bowl in Tempe, AZ for the second straight season. This year they’ll face another top ranked Big 12 team, the Oklahoma Sooners.
As we’ve done at past bowl game watches, we will be holding a 50/50 raffle to raise funds for club events. Tickets will be available for the following: 1 ticket for $5, 5 tickets for $10, and 15 tickets for $20. The usual half-time raffle will still also take place. Thanks in advance for your support.
There are a lot of questions going into this game for both teams. Big news this week coming out of Iowa City is that running back Marcus Coker (MVP of last year’s Insight Bowl) has been suspended for this game after violating the university's student-athlete code of conduct. In coaching news, defensive line coach Rick Kaczenski will not be coaching in the bowl game as he’s leaving the Hawks for Nebraska. And finally, long time defensive coordinator Norm Parker has announced his retirement and that the bowl game will be his final game as defensive coordinator. Let’s hope the defense plays out of their minds in honor of Norm.
The biggest question for the Sooners is will they be inspired to play in this game? They started off the year as the #1 team in the nation with dreams of a national championship. Their losses this season came against Texas Tech, Baylor, and rival Oklahoma State the last weekend of the season. The loss to OSU was their worst loss against the Cowboys since 1945. Mix in a couple of key injuries and nobody is sure what Sooners team is going to show up for the game.
**Random Insight Bowl Game Notes**
• The Hawkeyes and Sooners haven’t faced each other since September 15th, 1979, when Oklahoma won 21-6 against an Iowa squad with a defensive back named Bob Stoops, now the Sooners’ head coach.
• Iowa will wear white jerseys and be on the West bench, which is the opposite of last year against Mizzou.
• Texas Tech, which defeated Oklahoma in Norman, was 1-7 against the rest of the Big 12. Minnesota, which defeated Iowa in Minneapolis, was 1-6 against the rest of the Big Ten.
• Oklahoma has allowed only nine quarterback sacks. That’s one sack for every 62 passes.
• Iowa is just one of four programs in the country with a three-game winning streak in bowls.
Wishing all a safe and merry holiday season and hope to see you next Friday. Go Hawks!
