The 2006 Outback Bowl was an American college football bowl game played January 2, 2006, at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. It was the 20th edition of the Outback Bowl and featured the Iowa Hawkeyes of the Big Ten Conference, and the Florida Gators from the Southeastern Conference (SEC). Florida came into the game under first-year head coach Urban Meyer with an 8–3 record. The Hawkeyes, led by 7th year head coach Kirk Ferentz, came into the game with a 7–4 record.

2006 Outback Bowl
20th Outback Bowl
1234 Total
Iowa 07017 24
Florida 71770 31
DateJanuary 2, 2006
Season2005
StadiumRaymond James Stadium
LocationTampa, Florida
RefereeBarry Anderson (C–USA)
Attendance65,881
United States TV coverage
NetworkESPN
AnnouncersMark Jones, Chris Spielman, Rob Stone
Outback Bowl
 < 2005  2007

Teams

edit

The 2006 Outback Bowl was the third all-time meeting between the two programs. Florida won the 1983 Gator Bowl 14-6 over the Hawkeyes, and Iowa defeated the Gators 37-17 in the 2004 Outback Bowl.

Iowa

edit

Florida

edit

Game summary

edit

Florida got on the board first, only 2 minutes into the game, when Tremaine McCollum blocked an Iowa punt, and returned it 6 yards for a touchdown. That was the only scoring of the first quarter. In the second quarter, Iowa stopped Florida inside its own five yard line, but Florida got a field goal from kicker Chris Hetland, to go up 10-0. With 1:57 left in the half, and Iowa driving, Iowa quarterback Drew Tate was intercepted by cornerback Vernell Brown, who returned it 60 yards for a touchdown, and a 17-0 lead.

Iowa came right back though, as quarterback Drew Tate found wide receiver Clinton Solomon for a 20 yard touchdown pass, to trim the lead to 17-7 with 1:10 to go in the half. It was enough time for Florida however, as Florida scored its first offensive touchdown of the game. Quarterback Chris Leak found wide receiver Dallas Baker for a 24 yard touchdown pass with 1 second left in the half, as Florida took a 24-7 lead into the locker room.

With 5:23 left in the third quarter, Florida seemingly put the game away, with a 38 yard touchdown pass from Leak to Baker, to put Florida up 31-7, but Iowa would come back. Early in the fourth quarter, Drew Tate found wide receiver Ed Hinkel for a 4 yard touchdown pass to trim the margin to 31-14. With less than 7 minutes to play, Tate again found Hinkel, this time for a 14 yard touchdown pass, as Iowa drew within 31-21. Iowa stopped Florida once again, and got the ball back.

With 1:24 left in the game, Kirk Ferentz decided to kick a field goal, since they were down 2 possessions anyway. Kyle Schlicher kicked a 45 yard field goal, to make it a one possession game. His onside kick attempt was recovered by Iowa, but Iowa was controversially flagged for being offside,[1] and Florida regained possession on the subsequent attempt. The game was noted for its extremely controversial calls leading to allegations that Florida bribed the officials.

Scoring summary

edit
Scoring summary
Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score
Plays Yards TOP IOWA UF
1 13:25 UF Blocked punt returned 6 yards for touchdown by Tremaine McCollum, Chris Hetland kick good 0 7
2 9:31 15 53 7:23 UF 21-yard field goal by Chris Hetland 0 10
2 1:57 UF Interception returned 41 yards for touchdown by Vernell Brown, Chris Hetland kick good 0 17
2 1:10 5 39 0:37 IOWA Clinton Solomon 20-yard touchdown reception from Drew Tate, Kyle Schlicher kick good 7 17
2 0:01 8 80 1:09 UF Dallas Baker 26-yard touchdown reception from Chris Leak, Chris Hetland kick good 7 24
3 5:23 7 80 2:49 UF Dallas Baker 38-yard touchdown reception from Chris Leak, Chris Hetland kick good 7 31
4 13:51 3 5 0:54 IOWA Ed Hinkel 4-yard touchdown reception from Drew Tate, Kyle Schlicher kick good 14 31
4 6:59 9 73 1:46 IOWA Ed Hinkel 13-yard touchdown reception from Drew Tate, Kyle Schlicher kick good 21 31
4 1:24 9 41 1:11 IOWA 45-yard field goal by Kyle Schlicher 24 31
"TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 24 31

Source:[2]

Team statistics

edit
Statistics[2] IOWA UF
1st Downs 23 26
Total Yards 410 447
Passing Yards 346 278
Rushing Yards 64 169
Penalties 8-60 0
3rd Down Conversions 9-18 9-18
4th Down Conversions 0-0 1-3
Turnovers 1 1
Time of Possession 24:35 35:25

References

edit
  1. ^ "CUSA head of officials admits Outback Bowl mistake". USA Today. January 4, 2006. Retrieved December 4, 2016.
  2. ^ a b Box Score @ ESPN.com
edit