ORLANDO, Fla. — No. 21 Tennessee football will look to cap off its season with a bowl victory in Florida for the second year in a row, this time in a Citrus Bowl matchup against No. 17 Iowa in Orlando, Florida on New Year's Day.
This will be the third meeting between the two teams in a bowl game, with the most recent matchup in 2015, when the Vols defeated Iowa 45-28 in the TaxSlayer Bowl in Jacksonville, Florida.
IT'S NICO TIME IN TENNESSEE
Five-star quarterback recruit Nico Iamaleava will get the start for Tennessee in the Citrus Bowl with Joe Milton having declared for the NFL Draft. The highly-touted class of 2023 prospect has appeared in five games this season for Tennessee and has completed 16-of-26 passing attempts for 163 yards and a touchdown. He has also rushed for 44 yards.
Iamaleava will be just the fourth Tennessee true freshman quarterback to start in a bowl game, joining Peyton Manning, Casey Clausen and Tyler Bray. He will also become the first true freshman at Tennessee to make his first career start in a bowl game.
VOLS' "THREE-HEADED MONSTER" IN BACKFIELD BECOMES ONE
Tennessee's running back room has thinned out considerably with both Jaylen Wright and Jabari Small opting out of the bowl game and declaring for the NFL Draft.
The Vols utilized a three-back system to great success this season and Wright was second in the nation in yards per carry. Instead, Dylan Sampson will likely get the majority of the carries for Tennessee. The sophomore standout has rushed for 471 yards and seven touchdowns in 11 games this season and has also caught 17 passes for 175 yards and another score.
IOWA'S DEFENSE IS FRONT AND CENTER
The Hawkeyes enter the Citrus Bowl behind one of the stingiest defenses in the nation. Iowa boasts the fourth-best scoring defense with only 13.23 points per game allowed on average, to contend with Tennessee's 31.5 points scored average. Iowa has only allowed 15 touchdowns in 13 games this season, while the Vols scored 46 touchdowns in 12 games in 2023.
Iowa is also fifth in total defense with 274.8 yards allowed per game and also sits in the top ten in passing defense.
WHERE AND WHEN TO WATCH
Tennessee and Iowa will face off in the Citrus Bowl on January 1, 2024, at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida with game time set for 1 p.m. The game will be broadcast on ABC.