Kirk Ferentz sets Big Ten football bowl wins record vs. Vanderbilt

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With Iowa football’s (9-4, 6-3 Big Ten) 34-27 ReliaQuest Bowl victory over Vanderbilt (10-3, 6-2 SEC), Hawkeyes‘ head coach Kirk Ferentz captured another impressive Big Ten record. With the victory, Ferentz collected his 11th bowl win during his 27 years at the helm of the Hawkeyes.

The ReliaQuest Bowl victory moves Ferentz into sole possession of the most all-time bowl victories by a Big Ten head coach, passing Penn State legend and College Football Hall of Famer Joe Paterno (10).

Ferentz recently announced he plans to return as Iowa’s head coach in the 2026 season. The conference’s all-time wins leader could potentially add to his bowl wins total next season.

“I’ll start out by saying this is exactly why bowl games are significant and important. Today was a really special day for our team and what a great environment, what a great place to host a game. Outstanding opponent to compete against.

“Today we saw out there two very resilient, very competitive football teams. A ton of respect for Vanderbilt coming in. Even more so now. So just can’t say enough about them,” Ferentz said after the win.

Ferentz and Iowa picked up their first win over a ranked opponent since 2021, ending a stretch of 13 consecutive losses against ranked foes.

“Really proud of our guys and the effort that they exerted out there and the way they competed and played it right until the end. Obviously it was a hard-fought game, both teams really going in. It’s a great feeling. Great way to end the season. We have 27 outstanding seniors on this football team. Those guys really took it over starting in January. We’ve had some tough losses this year, but one thing they’ve done is shown up and competed each and every time.

“Just really gratifying to see them walk out with a win. And Mark, and representative of all the guys that we have, Mark has only been with us a little bit shorter than the other guys, but just fit right in. And just really happy for all the guys. Happy for our entire team and our staff, our fans, right down the line there, especially these seniors,” Ferentz said.

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This article originally appeared on Hawkeyes Wire: Kirk Ferentz sets Big Ten football bowl wins record vs. Vanderbilt

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