LSU to Face Iowa in the Outback Bowl

It appears the No. 14 Tigers will be heading to Tampa for New Years, to take on the Iowa Hawkeyes in the Outback Bowl.

The game takes place on noon on New Year's Day -- which I have to say, is not a dreadful time slot. There should be enough time to recover from any New Year's Eve festivities.

It'll be a rematch of the very ugly ending of the Nick Saban Era at LSU, a 30-25 loss in the 2005 Capital One Bowl, won on a hail mary pass from Iowa's Drew Tate to Warren Holloway. Saban had, of course, already taken the Miami Dolphin's head coaching job on Christmas Day, just six days earlier.

Iowa comes into this game 8-4 and 5-3 in the B1G, finishing second to Michigan State in the conference's Legends Division. They are unranked in all the major polls, though do have some votes.

Here are a couple of notes on the game, courtesy of Ross Dellenger at the Advocate:

The Basics

• When: Noon on Jan. 1
• Where: Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, Fla.
• Stadium capacity: 65,657
• Why: The Capital One selected South Carolina. Cotton picked Missouri. Outback chose LSU over Texas A&M and Georgia.
• TV: ESPN
• Payout: $7.4 million
• Selection Order: SEC No. 3 vs. Big 10 No. 3 (after BCS)
• Tickets: Click here.
• Schedule of events: Click here.

The History

• LSU's Last Appearance: 1988 season, lost to Syracuse 23-10
• LSU Record There: 0-1
• Who's Been There Most: Georgia and Michigan, both at five times
• SEC's Record: 13-10. The SEC has won three of the last four.
• Most Notable MVP: Drew Brees, Purdue QB, 2001. That name ring any bells? Brees, now the Saints gunslinger, set or tied six bowl records and was the MVP despite his team losing. In one of this bowl's most memorable games, Georgia overcame a 25-0 deficit to win 28-25 in overtime.
• Most Notable Game: Michigan 28, Alabama 24, 1987 season. The Wolverines jumped out to a 21-3 lead before Bama took the lead 24-21 with five minutes left. Michigan, on a fourth-and-3 in the final seconds, won on QB Demetrius Brown's 20-yard TD pass to John Kolesar. Les Miles was in his first year of his second stint as an assistant coach at Michigan. Michigan RB Jamie Morris and Bama RB Bobby Humphrey combined for more than 350 yards and five TDs.
• Name Game: The Outback Bowl was formerly named the Hall of Fame Bowl from December 1986 to January 1995. Outback Steakhouse became the title/name sponsor in April 1995.

The Fun Facts

• OT: Two of the last four Outback Bowls have gone into overtime, including a triple-OT affair in 2011 when Michigan State beat Georgia 33-30.
• No Low: No team has been held to single digits in the Outback Bowl since 2000, when South Carolina thumped Ohio State 24-7.
• Weather: The average high temperature in January for Tampa is 69 and the average low is 51.