January 1, 2004

Iowa 37, Florida 17

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) -- With Fred Russell running for 150 yards and one touchdown, the 13th-ranked Hawkeyes dominated No. 17 Florida 37-17 in the Outback Bowl on Thursday.

Nathan Chandler threw for one TD and ran for another, Nate Kaeding kicked three field goals and Iowa (10-3) scored on a blocked punt for the third time this season to finish with double-digit wins in consecutive years for the first time in school history.

Florida's season ended with a loss in the Outback Bowl for the second straight year, and the lopsided result is almost certain to start a renewed round of speculation about Ron Zook's future as coach after a pair of 8-5 finishes.

Chris Leak's 70-yard touchdown pass to Kelvin Kight was the highlight of the day for the Gators, who trailed 20-7 at the half and saw any hopes for a comeback fade when an offensive pass interference penalty wiped out an apparent touchdown that would have cut Iowa's lead to 27-17.

Instead, Florida punted two plays later and Chandler led an 80-yard drive that Russell capped with a 34-yard TD burst that made it 34-10 with just under five minutes left in the third quarter.

Iowa won a January bowl for the first time since beating California in the 1959 Rose Bowl. The Hawkeyes had been 0-4 since then, including an embarrassing 38-17 loss to USC in last year's Orange Bowl.

Florida rebounded from early losses to Miami, Tennessee and Mississippi to win five of its last six regular season games. The turnaround began with a 19-7 upset of LSU on the road, and Leak's steady improvement was one of the keys to the surge.

The freshman quarterback was 22-of-41 for 268 yards and one interception, but had most of his success after Iowa's Matt Melloy blocked Eric Wilbur's punt and fell on it for a touchdown to give the Hawkeyes a 20-point lead early in the second half.

The second-ever meeting between the schools was critical for the coaches of both teams.

Iowa's Kirk Ferentz has led the Hawkeyes on the most successful two-year run in school history, but desperately wanted to win a New Year's bowl to validate how far his program has come since going 12-30 in his first three seasons.

Zook was not a popular choice to replace Steve Spurrier at Florida two years ago and his 16-10 record falls well below the standard set by his former boss, who resigned as coach of the Washington Redskins this week.

Although there are no indications that Spurrier is interested in returning -- or that Florida wants him back -- the decisiveness of Thursday's loss won't quiet Zook critics who question whether he's the right man for the job.

The Gators were outgained 231-133 in the first half with most of Florida's yardage coming on Leak's TD pass to Kight, who slipped 10 yards behind the nearest defender, safety Bob Sanders, and caught the ball in stride at the Iowa 20.

Chandler answered with a 3-yard TD pass to Maurice Brown, then scrambled 5 yards around left end for a second-quarter TD that put the Hawkeyes up 17-7. Kaeding added first-half field goals of 47 and 32 yards.

Chandler finished 13-of-25 for 170 yards.