Iowa football set to face Heisman Trophy finalist in ReliaQuest Bowl

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In today’s day and age of college football, bowl games not included in the College Football Playoff are losing a bit of their luster.

A big reason is players, and sometimes even teams, opting out of bowl games for various reasons. Whether it’s NFL prep, transferring out of the program, or a coaching change, fewer and fewer star players are playing in bowl games. That seems like it won’t be the case in this year’s ReliaQuest Bowl between the Iowa Hawkeyes (8-4) and the Vanderbilt Commodores (10-2).

Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz said in his media availability on Sunday that he expects his entire team to play in the bowl game. And those guys are going to have a tall task with the Vanderbilt offense, which will be boosted by a couple of their star players opting to play in this bowl game.

Commodores head coach Clark Lea told reporters that he expects quarterback Diego Pavia and tight end Eli Stowers to play against the Hawkeyes in the bowl game.

Pavia has had an excellent 2025 season for Vanderbilt. The senior quarterback is a Heisman Trophy finalist after leading the Commodores to 10 wins and putting up fantastic numbers in the process. He completed 71.2% of his passes for 3,192 yards and a 27-to-8 touchdown-to-interception ratio. Pavia also rushed for 826 yards and nine touchdowns. He’s a dual-threat quarterback who’s more than capable of beating you in multiple ways.

And it looks like he’ll have one of his favorite targets to throw to in tight end Eli Stowers. The senior tight end is receiving a lot of NFL draft buzz after a career year in 2025. Stowers had 62 receptions for 769 yards and four touchdowns in the regular season. Stowers and Pavia have played together for three years and have a ton of chemistry on the field.

This will be a great test for Phil Parker’s defense, which played terrific football for the majority of the season and now gets a major assignment in the form of a potential Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback. Ferentz spoke about what makes a quarterback like Pavia so special during his Sunday media availability.

“The dynamic impact he’s had on their team. Not only what he does physically, but the leadership and the confidence I think he helps breed. I won’t speak for Coach [Clark] Lea, but I’m sure he’ll tell you that’s a big part of their growth and success,” Ferentz said.

Iowa and Vanderbilt will clash in the ReliaQuest Bowl on New Year’s Eve at 11 a.m. CT. The game can be seen on ESPN.

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This article originally appeared on Hawkeyes Wire: Iowa football set to face Heisman Trophy finalist in ReliaQuest Bowl

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