It’s wait-and-see for Iowa about bowl
LINCOLN, Neb. – The only aspect of the future that Riley Reiff knows for sure is that Iowa has one more football game.
“We’ll be in a bowl game, and that’s what we’re looking toward right now,” the Iowa offensive left tackle said after Friday’s 20-7 loss at 22nd-ranked Nebraska.
Whether it’s his final game as a Hawkeye — that will be the team’s biggest question until the junior announces whether he’s returning for a final college season or declaring for the NFL draft.
Are you coming back next season?
“Yes,” he said after Iowa finished the regular season with records of 7-5 overall for the second season in a row and 4-4 in the Big Ten Conference. “Yes. Yep.”
So it’s official, you’re coming back?
“I don’t know yet,” he then conceded. “I need some time to think about it.”
Therefore, this much is known:
Reiff will either play his final game as a Hawkeye, or continue it in a bowl game that will be learned Dec. 4 — if not earlier.
“Everybody involved would love for it to be done sooner than (Dec. 4),” athletic director Gary Barta said before Friday’s game. “The delay is whether one of our (Big Ten Conference) schools has a chance to get a second BCS bid. If that’s a possibility, then we have to wait.”
The winner of Saturday’s Big Ten Conference championship game advances to the Rose Bowl, one of five BCS bowls that will announce pairings on Dec. 4. The other 30 bowls then select teams, and that’s where the process gets tricky.
If the Big Ten Conference has an at-large BCS participant, too, which is possible after both Michigan and Michigan State won Saturday, then that likely means picks by the Capital One, Outback, Insight, Gator, Meineke Car Care Bowl of Texas, TicketCity and Little Caesars bowls won’t happen until Dec. 4.
“We’ll likely have to wait,” Barta said.
Category: Iowa Hawkeyes Football
The idea that this season qualifies Iowa for a bowl game is embarrassing to the idea of bowl games. I remember when you had to actually be good. If it weren’t for all these teams schedule cream-puff victims in the early part of the season schedule half the teams attending bowl games this year would have losing records. Does it really mean anything any more? Or is it just a transaction?
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I love it. “Are you coming back next season?”
-”Yes. Yep.”
-”So it’s official, you’re coming back?”
-”I don’t know yet.”
Are you kidding me… He says he’s coming back, but when its official he has to recant his statement. Just tell us if your coming back or not. We all know even if he doesn’t get picked in the first round, he will be a high round pick. I’d say 1st round possibly, but possibly 2nd since he did not have a great season. I watched/attended every game, and it wasn’t rare for him to be burned by a sophomore DE. I want him to come back, V-burg needs him and so does our entire offense. We need leaders since we were pretty much leaderless this year. But the team needs to concentrate on an upcoming bowl game, then we can start worrying about next season ;-)
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There are too many bowls. It’s all about entertainment now, something for folks to watch instead of a soap opera…a way to sell cars and toothpaste. 7-5 isn’t much of a record for a bowl matchup. I see ISU fans all excited about a bowl even though they will likely finish 6-6, unless K-State falls asleep at the wheel. I remember when Iowa went 6-6 and elected not to accept a bowl bid.
This team could have easily, and should have, finished 8-4 or 9-3, which would have been more respectable. Hope KF can wake from his conservative sleep, retool the offense and the defense, and do well next year. If he has another year like this season, he should give back the money and ride off into the sunset.
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I think it’s due the fact that ISU fans are excited to see the Cyclone football program on the rise, and they want to see their team in a bowl game, any bowl game, after a 3-4 start. Iowa fans, however, are living in the past, and don’t want to see their team get embarassed again this year. Not trying to take a shot, just stating my opinion, based on these boards.
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Could have just as easily went 4-8 or 3-9.
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Wow, dumbest comment ever.
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just a random thought…but would the meineke car care bowl (B1G vs BIG12) consider an iowa vs. iowa state rematch? im sure that would draw a big enough crowd and hey since LSU and Alabama are getting one, why couldnt we?
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I would love to see that, as I’m sure LettermanHawk would too. But wait, of course a 6-6 team shouldn’t accept a bowl bid, so it wouldn’t be right.
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Just to clarify, he did have another like this season, it was called last season and with better players. How long will it go on, we are no longer fooled by mediocrity, we’ve seen it up close in regards to the basketball program.
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