Missouri Rally Grounds Hawkeyes

BOX SCORE

Folks have flocked to Nashville seeking entertainment for years. If they were in town Monday, the Music City Bowl served their needs.

No. 19 Missouri and unranked Iowa locked up in competitive, back-and-forth affair. The Tigers won, 27-24. It matched the score in their previous meeting at the 2010 Insight Bowl.

The Hawkeyes finish the season at 8-5. Missouri improved to 10-3 after winning 11 games a year ago.

Unlike most Iowa's losses this decade, Monday's setback couldn't be pinned on the offense. The Hawkeyes yielded 297 passing yards and their secondary was beaten badly on a pair of touchdown throws. They also struggled containing quarterback Brady Cook's running.

The Iowa offense clicked in the first half. It clanked after the intermission, however, managing just 102 yards and three points.

Without All-American running back Kaleb Johnson, who opted out to protect himself for the NFL Draft, Iowa rushed for 166 yards, averaging 4.4 per carry. Sophomore Kamari Moulton led the way with 96 yards and a touchdown on 14 attempts, and Jaziun Patterson added 74 yards on nine totes.

Iowa quarterback Brendan Sullivan experienced mixed results. He completed 14 of 18 passes for 131 yards and a touchdown. He also tossed a costly, fourth-quarter interception at midfield that the Tigers turned into a field goal.

The Hawkeyes started fast. After forcing a punt on Missouri's opening possession, they marched 70 yards in eight plays, capping the drive with a six-yard, shovel-pass touchdown from Sullivan to Terrell Washington Jr. The Tigers tied the game with a 10-play, 85-yard touchdown drive.

Unfortunately for them, they decided to kick the ball Iowa's Kaden Wetjen. The All-American returned it 100 yards to the end zone. Missouri countered with a seven-play, 75-yard touchdown march to tie proceedings at 14-14 early in the second quarter.

It stayed that way until the Hawkeyes closed the half with an impressive 11-play, 90-yard touchdown drive capped by a Moulton one-yard run. The Florida native contributed the big-play in the march, ripping off a 38-yard run. Sullivan's wild, nine-yard scramble also was a highlight.

The march resulted in a seven-point halftime lead for Iowa. The Hawkeyes went up 24-14 early in the second half. From there, they failed to perform well enough on either side of the ball to prevent Missouri's comeback.

Iowa is now 18-18-1 all-time in bowl contests. The Hawkeyes is 1-3 in bowls this decade.