Iowa threatened, but couldn’t stop Jeremy Hill.
The LSU running back carried 28 times for 216 yards and and two touchdowns, including a 37-yard score late in the fourth quarter, to push the Tigers to a 21-14 win over Iowa in the Outback Bowl Wednesday afternoon in Tampa, Fla.
Hill’s touchdown didn’t seal things for LSU, though, despite putting the Tigers up by 14 with just over two minutes left. That’s because Iowa’s Jordan Cotton returned the ensuing kickoff 96 yards to the LSU four, and after an official review overturned a C.J. Beathard fumble to an incomplete pass he hit Kevonte Martin-Manley for a touchdown.
LSU recovered the onside kick to seal a win that wound up being closer than it probably should’ve been. While LSU was without Zach Mettenberger, who tore his ACL in the Tigers’ regular season finale, its offensive and defensive lines dominated the line of scrimmage to the point where the Hawkeyes didn’t have much business being in this game.
As a team, Iowa rushed 37 times for 76 yards, an average of 2.1 yards per carry. Starter Jake Rudock was ineffective (9/22, 102 yards, 1 INT) before suffering an injury late in the third quarter. Beathard, a redshirt freshman, took over for the final 15 minutes and nearly brought the Hawkeyes back into the game -- but he threw an interception in the red zone on a fourth-and-one play that likely doomed his team’s comeback chances.
Freshman Anthony Jennings started for LSU and completed seven of 19 passes for 82 yards with an interception.
