Spoiling Iowa's Fun: Five Milestones Kentucky Can Interrupt

Iowa Football has a lot to play for when the Hawkeyes line up with your University of Kentucky Wildcats on the hollowed ground at Orlando’s Camping World Stadium. Once the No. 2 team in our nation, Iowa slipped in the polls midseason but still remain one of the winningest teams in college football under longtime head coach Kirk Ferentz.

To get ready for a program with such rich history, I took a very quick glance at Iowa’s pregame notes while shredding off last night’s peanut butter fudge, Chex Mix, and those Nerd gummy clusters Mike Leach talked about. Man, those things are good. During my scroll, I found that Kentucky can intervene in at least five milestones Iowa hopes to accomplish.

A team known to spoil some fun, Kentucky can break up the following parties:

Iowa is undefeated in the Citrus Bowl

Coming in at a perfect 1-0 all-time, the Iowa Hawkeyes are unbeaten in the Citrus Bowl. It’s a streak the 2021 team will almost certainly want to uphold for their forefathers, who beat Nick Saban in the 2005 Citrus Bowl, 30-25. Saban coached LSU back then.

Iowa QB Drew Tate took home 2005 MVP honors over opposing quarterback JaMarcus Russell. There’s a name.

Iowa has won three straight bowl games, seeking longest streak in school history

Kentucky Football is looking for its fourth consecutive bowl win this weekend. Across the way, Iowa Football is too.

The Hawkeyes have won three straight bowl games to tie the longest streak in the program’s history. On this current run, Iowa beat Boston College at the 2017 Pinstripe Bowl, No. 18 Mississippi State at the 2019 Outback Bowl, and No. 22 USC at last year’s Holiday Bowl. A win on Saturday will set a new record of four. The same goes for Kentucky.

It’s a battle of three-bowl win streaks.

Ferentz chasing Paterno

With one more bowl victory at Iowa, Kirk Ferentz will move into a share of first place on the Big Ten’s list of bowl wins among head coaches. He’ll be right there with Joe Paterno atop the all-time list with 10 victories, but only if Kentucky doesn’t get in Iowa’s way between the concourses of legendary Camping World Stadium.

Ferentz has a 9-8 record in bowl games in his 23 seasons in Iowa City. A Kentucky win will take away his winning career record. #500Ferentz

Iowa has won 15 straight games outside of the Big Ten

Iowa has been good in the Big Ten recently; in fact, the Hawkeyes just played in the conference championship game against playoff-bound Michigan. Outside of the conference, Iowa has won 15 straight games against non-conference opponents.

The 15-game win streak dates back to the 2017 Outback Bowl and it is the longest non-conference win streak in college football. Hopefully, it ends Saturday in Camping World Stadium, the mecca of football stadiums in Orlando, Florida.

The Iowa-Kentucky all-time series is on the line

More than a Citrus Bowl, ultimate bragging rights are at stake when Iowa and Kentucky kick off Saturday afternoon. The upcoming game isn’t just for the oranges and VRBO discount codes; it will determine the leader in the all-time series between the two schools. The series is currently tied, 0-0.

One team will be 1-0 all-time while the other will be winless until the football gods pair them together again.

History is on the line Saturday at fabled Camping World Stadium.