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Surging Iowa meets fading South Carolina in Outback Bowl

Jan 1, 2009 - 2:04 PM Iowa (8-4) vs. South Carolina (7-5), 11:00 am EST

TAMPA, Florida (Ticker) -- Iowa and South Carolina, a pair of teams that finished their regular seasons in contrasting styles, square off Thursday in the Outback Bowl.

Following a three-game losing streak that dropped their overall record to 3-3, the Hawkeyes (8-4) finished the campaign with wins in five of their final six games.

Iowa's signature victory over that stretch was a 24-23 upset of Penn State on November 8, a decision that essentially ended the Nittany Lions' national title hopes.

Behind the outstanding efforts of running back Shonn Greene, the Hawkeyes followed that stunning win with victories over Purdue and Minnesota en route to a 5-3 record in Big Ten play.

It was an unexpected finish for Iowa, which was considered an afterthought following a heartbreaking 16-13 loss at Michigan State on October 4. That defeat capped the three-game skid in which the Hawkeyes' combined margin of defeat was nine points.

"I don't think a lot of people gave us a chance for January, coming out of East Lansing," Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said. "The guys bounced back, and now they're being rewarded for it."

The key player behind Iowa's resurgence has been Greene, who ran for 1,729 yards (second-best in the nation) and 17 touchdowns en route to winning the Doak Walker Award, annually given to the nation's top running back.

Iowa also boasts a strong defense that ranked third in the Big Ten in both opponents' scoring (13.3 points per game) and yardage (289.5 ypg).

That does not bode well for South Carolina (7-5), which ended its regular season with a pair of humiliating losses - a 56-6 thrashing to Florida followed by a 31-14 defeat to rival Clemson.

The Gamecocks, who went 4-4 in the SEC, rotated quarterbacks throughout the season and failed to establish a consistent running game, resulting in an offense that ranked eighth in the conference in terms of scoring (21.7 ppg).

"We are 7-5 and it is what it is," coach Steve Spurrier said after the loss to Clemson. "We will try our best to represent South Carolina better than we have these past two games."

Spurrier has tabbed redshirt freshman Stephen Garcia as his starting quarterback for the Outback Bowl after Chris Smelley threw four interceptions against Clemson.

Garcia completed slightly less than 54 percent of his passes this year for six TDs and five interceptions while rushing for 173 yards and two scores.

The Gamecocks, who have won four of their last five bowl games and are 1-1 under Spurrier in the postseason, will be without safety Emanuel Cook, the team's leading tackler who was ruled academically ineligible.

Iowa has lost its last two bowl games and is 1-1 all-time in the Outback Bowl.