ORLANDO, Fla. — No. 17 Iowa football’s streak of facing SEC teams in bowl games continues for the third straight year, as the Hawkeyes face No. 21 Tennessee in the 2024 Cheez-It Citrus Bowl on New Year’s Day.

The Volunteers finished their season 8-4, good enough for third overall in the SEC East conference, behind quarterback Joe Milton III and running back Jaylen Wright, who accounted for 4,266 yards and 24 touchdowns between them this season.

But, Tennesse will be without Milton and Wright for this game, as the duo chose to opt out of the matchup against Iowa to prepare for the upcoming NFL Draft. Running back Jabari Small, the Volunteer’s second-leading rusher the season, also chose to opt out for the bowl game but has yet to announce his plans with Tennesse in 2024. 

During a press conference Friday morning, Tennesse offensive coordinator Joey Halzle said the coaching staff has confidence in the backups stepping up come time to play.

“Losing two guys that have been extremely productive in the SEC for three years … I’m not going to act like that’s just a plug-in place [situation],” he said. “As we get [closer to the game], we realize these are the guys we got, and now how do we put them in the best position to be successful.”

Filling in at running back will be sophomore Dylan Sampson, who is third on the Volunteers in carries this season. Over 86 attempts, Sampson has rumbled his way for 471 yards and a team-best seven rushing scores, averaging 5.5 yards per carry. 

Joining Sampson in the backfield at Camping World Stadium will be fellow underclassman Cameron Seldon, a first-year hailing from Browns Stove, Virginia. Playing in just four contests this season, he has carried the ball 12 times for 51 yards, averaging 4.3 per attempt. 

Even with such a limited sample size, Halzle lauded the 6-foot-2, 222-pound Seldon for his evolution from “a big, athletic kid that wants to run fast” to a “complete and total back.”

“It has been great to see him turn into what I call like an actual running back, meaning his understanding of protection, his understanding of, ‘I can not just grab the ball and run really fast. I have to let these guys up front set up blocks,’” Halzle explained. “‘I have to pace things. I have to press holes.’”

In place of Milton will be former five-star recruit and the No. 6 overall player in the Class of 2023 by On3, Nico Imaleva, who went just 16 of 26 passing for 163 yards and a touchdown over four games during the regular season, all in mop-up duty. 

Iowa defensive coordinator Phil Parker said it’s been difficult preparing for Imaleva due to the lack of game footage of him, noting that the Hawkeyes have just 54 snaps of him donning the Orange and White. 

“It’s gonna be a challenge for us, you know, we’re gonna have to be able to match their talent outside with the wide receivers they have and their ability to stop the run,” Parker said. I think the most important thing we have to do in any game is stopping the run.”

Tennesse had several players enter the transfer portal once their regular season ended, including starting defensive backs Tamarion McDonald, who is now at Ole Miss, and Wesley Walker, who ranked fifth and sixth in tackles for the Volunteers with 53 and 40, respectively. 

With fellow defensive backs Doneiko Slaughter (Arkansas), De’Shawn Rucker (University of South Florida), Brandon Turnage, Warren Burrell (Georiga Tech), and safety Jack Luttrell (Arizona) all in the portal or already transferred, Tennesse will look to sophomore Jourdan Thomas and freshman Rickey Gibson III to improve their performance. 

“There are guys that have played some, and there are some guys who haven’t played at all, but at the end of the day, we believe in our standard [of football] regardless of who’s out there,” Tennessee defensive coordinator Tim Banks said.

On the offensive line, the Volunteers have lost three players to the portal, including Addison Nichols (Arkansas), Mo Clipper (Charlotte), and Connor Meadows (Tennessee State). None of the trio have played significant snaps this season, with Nichols playing in 11 games, mostly on special teams.

Defensive lineman Tyler Baron also won’t participate on Jan. 1, having transferred to Ole Miss over the offseason. Finishing the regular season with 28 total tackles, Baron was the Volunteers’ second-leading producer in sacks with six.

Head coach Josh Heupel’s team won’t be entirely shorthanded coming into this game, as Iowa will face star defensive end James Pearce Jr, whose 8.5 sacks leads all SEC defensive linemen, as well as sophomore wide receiver Squirrel White, who leads the Volunteers with 64 receptions and 764 yards. 

“He is just an explosive play waiting to happen,” Halzle said of White. “That has been one of the biggest things for him is he has legit 10.4 track speed out there. You put guys like that on a bunch of grass and you let them go run really fast, cool stuff happens.” 

Iowa offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz said the Volunteers’ defensive line is the foundation of their defense and added that the biggest challenge going into the game is identifying their scheme on defense.

“They change week to week and can present different looks based on the game and on the team they are playing,” Ferentz said. “It has been a tough preparation because it’s not like playing our defense, and you can’t just say, ‘This is what they’re going to do.” 

Iowa center Logan Jones said the game will be a testament to how the Hawkeyes face against a highly talented SEC team. 

“They got strong, talented guys — probably five-star guys, you know, and we don’t have guys like that, so it’s just a great opportunity for our offense to go out there and try and play our best football.” 

On the flip side, with an inexperienced quarterback making his first collegiate start, the Volunteers will attempt to find success against a stifling Iowa defense that has allowed just 13.2 points and 274.8 yards per game, which ranks fourth and fifth in the nation, respectively.  

“They’re just a very sound, strong defense from top to bottom,” Halzle said. “It’s not a tune-up game for a kid making his first start against one of the best defenses in all college football.”