Cheez-It Citrus Bowl
Tennessee 8-4 vs. Iowa 10-3
- Monday, 2 p.m. ET, ABC
- Camping World Stadium, Orlando, Florida
- Line: Tennessee -6.5; Over/Under 35.5
The Citrus Bowl brings in the moment Tennessee fans have been anticipating for more than a year — Nico Iamaleava running the offense.
Iamaleava was one of the top recruits in the 2023 class. He has been pegged as the perfect QB to run Volunteers coach Josh Heupel’s offense; a spread them-out, go fast-and throw-deep plan that took college football by storm last season and got the Vols a Top 10 final ranking.
Iamaleava takes over for Joe Milton, who opted out of the game. Tennessee will be without running backs Jabari Small and Jaylen Wright, both of whom opted out.
Iowa is all about defense. The Hawkeyes allowed 16 or fewer points in 11 of its 13 games and allowed one touchdown or less 10 times. Linebacker Jay Higgins ranked second nationally with 155 tackles.
The Hawkeyes ranked 130 in total offense and 126 in scoring offense.
Tennessee averaged 31.5 points per game and Iowa has a hard time putting up points. We like the Vols here to cover.
Related: Six best college football programs of all time.
