No. 23 Iowa vs. No. 14 Vanderbilt football glance: Time/TV/game info

What: Iowa (8-4) vs. Vanderbilt (10-2) football

When/where: Wednesday, December 31, 2025, 11 a.m. CT (noon ET) at Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, Florida

TV: ESPN (Roy Phillip, Sam Acho, Taylor Davis)

Livestream: ESPN App

Radio: Hawkeye Radio Network affiliates

Series: First-ever meeting

Betting odds: Vanderbilt -5.5, 47.5 o/u (ESPN betting)

What to know: The Hawkeyes are making their seventh appearance in the ReliaQuest Bowl (formerly known as the Outback Bowl) on New Year’s Eve, taking on the SEC’s Vanderbilt. It’s the first meeting between the two teams in program history.

Iowa ended its season with back-to-back wins over Michigan State and Nebraska, after dropping two in a row for the first time since 2022. The Hawkeyes had nine players recognized by the Big Ten in its annual conference awards, including returner Kaden Wetjen becoming the first player to repeat the Specialist of the Year award in conference history.

Iowa’s offensive line was just announced the winner of the Joe Moore Award, given to the best front five in the country, marking the second time the program’s won the honor. At center, Logan Jones was named the Rimington Trophy recipient, given to the nation’s best center in college football.

Vanderbilt nearly put itself in the College Football Playoff in its second season under head coach Clark Lea, with quarterback and Heisman Trophy runner-up Diego Pavia leading the charge, but losses to Texas and Alabama prevented the Commodores from a chance at an at-large position.

“Really impressed with Clark Lea,” Hawkeye head coach Kirk Ferentz said. “Got to meet him last week. I've been an admirer of his from a distance here the last several years, watching him build the program brick by brick, and you started seeing some of the fruits of their labors last year, and obviously this year had a tremendous season.“

Both teams are expected to have nearly their entire rosters participate, with the exception of tight end Eli Stowers, who was reported to have opted out of the bowl on Sunday.

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