The Basics: Friday, December 30th from Tempe, Arizona at 10:00 PM EST, televised on ESPN. Iowa (7-5, 4-4 B1G), Oklahoma (9-3, 6-3 Big 12).
History: We’ve previewed this bowl twice already, with last year’s having a much more comprehensive discussion. This game as been the destination of Big Ten teams for the last 6 seasons, with only Indiana in 1991 participating before the current run.
Iowa: Kirk Ferentz’s team was a middle-of-the-road squad that went .500 in the Big Ten by beating Michigan but falling to MSU, PSU, and Nebraska. They’re not a quality team by any stretch of the imagination, but they can make things happen. They look primarily to junior quarterback James Vandenberg to do that as he completed 214 passes for 2806 yards and 23 touchdowns. RB Marcus Coker will also be looked on for production, with no solid second answer behind him.
Oklahoma: There’s no question that this is a mismatch. Oklahoma was at one point the #1 team in the country before succumbing to Texas Tech. They later fell to Baylor, and got crushed by Oklahoma State, likely dropping them from consideration for a better bowl spot. Sooner’s QB Landry Jones has thrown for an amazing 4302 yards and 28 touchdowns this season. Not surprisingly, that was at the expense of the running game which, while good, is not up to Oklahoma’s standards.
Fun Fact: Pop Quiz – what famous NFL quarterback was named MVP of the Copper Bowl (the original name of the Insight Bowl) in 1992? Try Drew Bledsoe, Washington State quarterback in a 31-28 victory over Utah.
Who we got?
- Chris – Oklahoma
- Eric – Oklahoma
- Jim – Oklahoma
- JoeD – Oklahoma
- Mali – Oklahoma
- JoeL – Oklahoma
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