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Wednesday, January 2, 2019 ● The Gazette 1B

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OUTBACK BOWL: IOWA 27, MISSISSIPPI STATE 22

TAMING THE BIG DOGS

USA Today Sports

Iowa defensive back Jake Gervase (left) makes an interception in front of Mississippi State wide receiver Stephen Guidry during the fourth quarter Tuesday in the 2019 Outback Bowl at Raymond James
Stadium in Tampa, Fla. The Hawkeyes snapped a three-game losing streak to SEC teams in bowl games with a 27-22 victory.

Gritty, unblockable Hawkeyes find extra gear, dig in for upset of Bulldogs
By Marc Morehouse, The Gazette walk-ons visited kids, something the that put a little fuel on the fire.” and played our asses off, we’d be able
Outback Bowl does every year. Maybe that made wide receiver to win this game,” said Gervase.
TAMPA, Fla. — Iowa is a program You’d think it’d be mundane hand- Nick Easley a little more cutthroat. The Hawkeyes (9-4) might be able
that has chips on both shoulders. It shakes between the opposing teams. It Maybe that gave unheralded players to circle back to Tampa to collect
probably wasn’t a great idea for Mis- didn’t go down that way. like linebacker Jack Hockaday that their butts. They played them clean
sissippi State players to carve those “At one of the hospital visits, they little extra oomph to stick his face in a off in Tuesday’s 27-22 victory over the
any deeper. were talking crap to some of our pile of Mississippi State. Gervase has Bulldogs (8-5) before 40,518 fans at Ray-
The Bulldogs did exactly that. It younger guys, saying ‘All-American, made a career out of “all-American, mond James Stadium.
started Friday at Tampa General Hos- all-American, all-American. Draft draft pick” and yada yada yada. Don’t look at the offensive numbers.
pital. Mississippi State’s star defensive pick, draft pick, draft pick,” senior “We weren’t going to give in to it,
players and a band of Iowa anonymous safety Jake Gervase said. “So, I think but we knew if we came out, competed ;; IOWA, PAGE 8B

SIDELINE MIKE HLAS I THE GAZETTE

IOWA REPORT CARD

A
Stick a dune bug-
gy, a banana and
a canned ham into
Ex-Hawkeye walk-ons walk off in glory
the Ferentz blender and

T
this is what comes out. AMPA, Fla. — In Mississippi State on
— Marc Morehouse a perfect Iowa Tuesday at Raymond
football world, James Stadium. Yet,

A-
The critics the Hawkeyes would it was a pair of former
didn’t like this have more Noah Fants walk-ons who lifted the
performance, and A.J. Epenesas. Hawkeyes over the top
but Hawkeye fans sure As Alabama and against a team with a
warmed to it the longer Clemson prove every bunch of defenders who
they watched. year, a wealth of sheer soon will be in the NFL.
— Mike Hlas talent and athleticism If you see either
is the surest path to lots senior wide receiver
and lots of victories. Nick Easley or senior
BY THE NUMBERS Sometimes you might
get weary about hearing
safety Jake Gervase
in NFL uniforms next

-15 — Iowa rushed for

minus-15 yards. And won.
about what Hawkeye
Coach Kirk Ferentz calls
“good stories,” the guys
September, it will be a
semi-incredible saga.
But “good story” worked
who emerge from the just fine this day and the
0 — The Hawkeyes had
no penalties. Mississippi
shadows of shadows and
end up in actual games,
last couple years.
Without 2019 NFL
doing actual winning tight end Fant here to
State had eight for 90 yards.
things. add to Iowa’s offensive

100 — Easley’s
second TD was the 100th
You might roll your
eyes sometimes when
hearing for the 234th
Bronte Wittpenn/Tampa Bay Times
weaponry against the
Bulldogs’ daunting
defense, game MVP Ea-
catch in his two years at Iowa. time about Iowa play- Iowa wide receiver Nick Easley runs the ball 75 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter of the sley stepped up. He had
© 2019 The Gazette

17 — After scoring 20
first-half points over their last
six bowls, Iowa put up 17 in
the second quarter alone.
ers who fell through
the recruiting cracks
and pulled themselves
up by the bootstraps.
The Hawkeyes live in
big-boy, major-college
Outback Bowl on Tuesday at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla. touchdown catches of 75
football, where might But here’s the thing: sive end stud Epenesa
and 8 yards, the latter
being the points late in
makes right and it takes Those bootstrap guys do had plenty to do with the third quarter that
blue-chippers to consis- matter enormously at Iowa gutting out a 27-22
tently roll. Iowa. Sophomore defen- Outback Bowl win over ;; HLAS, PAGE 8B
8B The Gazette ● Wednesday, January 2, 2019

THE FINAL SCORE

Bronte Wittpenn/Tampa Bay Times

Iowa wide receiver Ihmir Smith-Marsette (6) celebrates with teammate T.J. Hockenson after scoring a touchdown in the second quarter of the 2019 Outback Bowl at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla.

Iowa/Hawkeyes opportunistic Hlas/Easley,

;; FROM PAGE 1B
OK, take a quick peek. You’ll see
Easley accounted for 104 of Iowa’s
199 yards of offense, catching eight
passes with two touchdowns, includ-
ing a 75-yarder that lifted Iowa’s of-
fense out of the swamp. He won bowl
MVP honors.
You’ll see that Iowa rushed for
minus-15 yards — all-America and
draft pick wasn’t false advertising
— and you’ll wonder how that was
enough.
The Hawkeye defensive line made
MSU one-dimensional walking off
the bus. Ends Anthony Nelson and
A.J. Epenesa had 3.5 tackles for loss.
Epenesa’s strip sack set up Nate
Stanley’s 15-yard TD pass to wide re-
ceiver Ihmir Smith-Marsette in the
second quarter.
MSU quarterback Nick Fitzgerald
finished 14 of 32 for 152 yards, a TD
and two interceptions. He was feel-
ing the rumble as much as Stanley,
who threw three TD passes and was
sacked three times.
Mississippi State defensive tackle
Jeffrey Simmons was unblockable
Tuesday, but so were the Hawkeyes.
“It was huge. It was absolutely
huge,” Iowa head coach Kirk Fe-
rentz said. “We couldn’t run the ball.
We had a hard time blocking their
front and felt like we were playing
LSU again after the ’04 season. I re-
ally felt that way.
“But conversely, they had a hard
time with their protection. Our
guys kept digging up there and kept
working. Factored in on turnovers,
but also just field position, all those
things. That was really important.”
Iowa has a roster full of grit cow-
boys and enough stars mixed in.
Iowa can go 12 rounds.
“It’s how we’re built,” Ferentz
said. “We’ve got some guys who
were highly recruited and we’ve
other guys who have worked their
way in and proven that they deserve
to play at this level.”
The Hawkeyes were opportunis-
tic with the three turnovers they
squeezed out of the Bulldogs, scoring
17 points. They also had some good
fortune. Fitzgerald, who rushed for
103 yards on 20 carries, hit wide re-
ceiver Stephen Guidry with a pass
that looked like a 20-yard TD. For a
second, anyway.
Guidry bobbled the ball into
the air and Gervase intercepted in
Iowa’s end zone. Instead of going up
29-24 over the Hawkeyes with eight
minutes left in the game, Stanley hit
Hockenson on back-to-back throws
for gains of 20 and 22 yards, setting
up Miguel Recinos’ 40-yard field goal
that gave Iowa the winning margin.
What does a team that would
talk trash at a children’s hospital
USA Today Sports photos
Iowa defensive end A.J. Epenesa (top) forces Mississippi State quarterback Nick Fitzgerald
(bottom) to fumble the ball during the second quarter in the 2019 Outback Bowl at Raymond
James Stadium in Tampa, Fla. BELOW: Epenesa reacts after forcing the fumble.
them,” MSU head coach Joe Moor-
head said. “But that that didn’t have
a factor on the game. Can’t turn the
ball over. Can’t give up explosive
plays. Got to score touchdowns and
can’t have penalties take plays off
the board.”
Can’t do any of that. You also
can’t pour fuel on a fire. You know
the hospital deal circulated through
the Hawkeyes.
They played like it.
“Whenever you play an SEC team
they always feel like they’re the big
dog of the whole country,” Hooker
said. “That’s going to happen. We
weren’t worried about that stuff. We
just wanted to come out and com-
pete.”
The Hawkeyes will add a crystal
Iowa’s 2 with 38 seconds left before Outback Bowl trophy to the wooden
Gervase say
farewell in style
;; FROM PAGE 1B
put the Hawkeyes ahead to keep. He had
eight catches for a personal-best 104 yards.
His 100th career catch was his second
TD grab. The Bulldogs put both safeties on
All-America tight end T.J. Hockenson.
“I was like ‘Where are you guys coming
from?’ ” Hockenson said. “Then I saw Eas-
ley. I’m like ‘Yeah, sweet. Love it.’”
Gervase stayed alert on a play that
momentarily looked deflating. He pretty
much saved the game. Nick Fitzgerald’s
pass on first down from the Iowa 20 was
perfectly placed between Amani Hooker
and Gervase, to wide receiver Stephen
Guidry. It hit Guidry in the end zone. It
hit him in the chest. He didn’t catch it.
Gervase grabbed the carom in the air, and
Iowa kept its 24-19 lead with 8:42 left.
“I kind of got beat on the route itself,”
Gervase said, “but never giving up on the
play is something our coaches stress. ... I
was in the right place at the right time.”
Being in the right place at the right time
is pretty much the key to life, isn’t it? For
Newton’s Easley, that meant walking on
at Iowa in 2017 after playing two seasons
at Iowa Western Community College. The
first time Kirk Ferentz ever spoke to him
was by phone two years ago from the same
Tampa hotel room he stayed in on this
Outback adventure.
“I’m so glad he kept an open mind,”
Ferentz said. “Sometimes, dumb luck is a
really good thing in recruiting.”
“Best decision I ever made,” said Ea-
sley. “I’m so thankful to (Ferentz) and
for the opportunity he and his staff have
given me. Giving kids a chance, treating
everyone fairly and with respect — I’m so
glad I got to play for him.”
Gervase came to Iowa out of Assump-
tion High in Davenport. “My recruiting
process wasn’t very big,” he said. “Divi-
sion I-AA, Division III, whatever it was.
I didn’t really have many opportunities,
but I knew I wanted to play football at
the highest level, at the most-competitive
level.”
He had seven interceptions over the
last two years, including his team’s 20th
and most-important of the season. He later
broke up the Bulldogs’ final play, a fourth-
down incompletion from the Iowa 32.
“Being from Iowa, knowing the history
of walk-ons and the success they have at
the University of Iowa, following guys like
Brett Greenwood and Joe Conklin, I knew
I had the opportunity to make an impact if
I did things the right way,” Gervase said.
“Our deal is (if) you’re on our team,
you’re on our team,” Ferentz said. “Every-
body gets the same opportunity to grow
and improve.”
Gervase and Easley are roommates.
They will have much to reminisce about
together in the semester ahead.
© 2019 The Gazette

visit lack? You know it’s discipline.
That showed up again and again for
the Bulldogs. An unsportsmanlike
conduct and a targeting call fueled
Iowa’s first scoring drive. A holding
penalty wiped out a 51-yard gain to
halftime.
The Bulldogs had eight penalties
for 90 yards. Iowa had zero.
“I believe it was eight for us, and
second time this year that the op-
position didn’t have one called on
and metal ones they’ve collected in
their six trips here. You’ll have to
assume they’ll be back for the butts.
Played them clean off.
l Comments: (319) 398-8256;
marc.morehouse@thegazette.com
“Unbelievable ride,” Easley said. “I’ve
loved every minute of it.”
“He couldn’t have asked for a better
way to go out,” said Gervase. “Just like
me.”
Comments: (319) 368-8840; mike.hlas@thegazette.com
l
 Wednesday, January 2, 2019 ● The Gazette 7B

THE FINAL SCORE

USA Today Sports

The Iowa Hawkeyes celebrate after defeating the Mississippi State Bulldogs, 27-22, in the 2019 Outback Bowl on Tuesday at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla.

Easley ‘right on time, out of nowhere’

By Marc Morehouse, The Gazette way to describe Easley’s 26-game wide receiver Ihmir Smith-Mar-
career as a Hawkeye. sette who filled in the gap that
TAMPA, Fla. — The math On Tuesday, he got the Hawk- Noah Fant left with his early de-
added up quickly for Nick Easley. eyes out of the blocks, taking ad- parture.
At one point during the Outback vantage of a blown coverage and Easley caught Hockenson’s eye
Bowl run-up, he realized that, running wide open for a 75-yard during his first summer workouts
whoa, he was up to 95 receptions TD from quarterback Nate Stan- in 2017.
in just two seasons. ley. Easley finished with eight “I thought, yeah, this guy can
Asked if he wanted 100, the catches for 104 yards and two TDs, play for us,” Hockenson said.
former walk-on from Newton who career highs for receptions and “He’s fast, he can make great
might’ve been a Division II kicker yards. moves at the line, so you knew
if Iowa didn’t knock on the door Iowa likely will have two tight right away when he came in he
with a walk-on offer, Easley gave ends in the NFL this April, with was going to be an impactful play-
a, you know, maybe. Noah Fant already headed there er. He’s done a lot for us. He leads
And then he thought for a sec- and T.J. Hockenson possibly head- and shows you what you need to
ond. Yeah, of course 100 catches ed there with his Mackey Award. do day in and day out.”
would be a cool milestone to hit. But really, 103 receptions in Iowa head coach Kirk Ferentz
Catch No. 100 came with 1:55 two seasons. Where would Iowa’s waited in the wings while Easley
left in the third quarter of Tues- passing game have been without conducted his interview on the
day’s Outback Bowl. It gets better. Easley’s steady production? postgame stage. There was a ques-
Catch No. 100 was an 8-yard TD “The attitude he came into Iowa tion to Easley on what it was like
from Nate Stanley. Wait for it. football with, just kind of behind to play for Ferentz.
Oh yeah, it gave the Hawkeyes the 8 ball as far as being a walk- The correct tense is “was.”
the winning points in their 27-22 on,” said Stanley, whose three TD Ferentz teared up at this part. Ea-
victory over Mississippi State at passes raised his season total to 26, sley choked up. “Yeah, you know,
Raymond James Stadium. second most in Iowa history. “Will Coach, with him, it’s what you
“Honestly, I had no idea,” said I get a shot to play right away? He see is what you get,” Easley said.
Easley, just after he was asked to made the most out of every single “Just get emotional talking about
pose with the Outback Bowl MVP opportunity that he had.” it. I’m just so thankful for him and
trophy. “When I’m out there, Mississippi State sure knew the opportunity that him and his
I’m pretty unaware of how many all about Hockenson, especially staff have given me.”
USA Today Sports yards. When someone told me I around the goal line. The all- Honestly, that was a great ca-
Iowa wide receiver Nick Easley catches a pass to score a touch- had a hundred yards, honestly, I American finally broke free for reer.
down Tuesday in the second quarter of the 2019 Outback Bowl at had no idea.” three receptions in the fourth l Comments: (319) 398-8256;
Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla. “Honestly” is a pretty great quarter, but it was Easley and marc.morehouse@thegazette.com

USA Today Sports

Iowa quarterback Nate Stanley (4) is sacked by Mississippi State
defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons (94) during the first quarter
Tuesday at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla.
© 2019 The Gazette

Bronte Wittpenn/Tampa Bay Times

Iowa tight end T.J. Hockenson (38) catches the ball in the fourth quarter during the 2019 Outback Bowl.

RIGHT: Mississippi State running back Kylin Hill (8) runs the ball as Iowa linebacker Nick Niemann (49) and defensive end Parker
Hesse (40) defend during the third quarter in the 2019 Outback Bowl at Raymond James Stadium. USA Today Sports