Rapid Reaction: Defense falters as Vanderbilt falls to Iowa in ReliaQuest Bowl
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The Diego Pavia era ends in disappointment.
Vanderbilt could not stop the Iowa ground game on Wednesday, eventually falling to the Hawkeyes 34-27 in the ReliaQuest Bowl. The result dropped Vandy to 10-3 on the season, but it didn’t change the bottom line; 2025 was the best season in school history.
The 10 wins were the most ever. Pavia delivered a Heisman Trophy runner-up campaign. And he was every bit as good in Tampa against the Hawkeyes. He just didn’t get enough help.
Pavia was sacked 4 times and was constantly under duress. Before 3 kneel-downs killed off the game, the Hawkeyes ran for 174 yards and averaged nearly 6 yards per carry, adjusted for sacks. They hit a 44-yard run in the first quarter and a 32-yard run in the third — both of which led to touchdowns.
Then, in the fourth quarter, Vanderbilt just never got the stop it needed.
Iowa ran a 13-play, 49-yard drive that milked more than 7 minutes off the clock midway through the fourth. It came on the heels of a rushing score for Pavia that clawed the Commodores within a single score of the Hawkeyes, and it resulted in a field goal that pushed the lead back to 2 scores.
After Pavia led a quick-strike scoring drive to get the lead back to 7, Vandy never got the ball back.
The Hawkeyes converted 3 third downs on the 7-minute drive, including a third-and-7 from midfield. On the final drive of the game, Iowa picked up a third-and-1 with an 11-yard gain off the left end.
Pavia threw for 347 yards and 2 touchdowns without a turnover. He also ran for 36 yards and another touchdown. He pushed his single-season school record to 3,539 yards and finished just 1 passing score shy of becoming the school’s first-ever 30-touchdown passer.
Tre Richardson (127 yards) and Junior Sherrill (123) both crossed the century mark in receiving, stepping up in the absence of Eli Stowers. But Vandy’s ground game did nothing outside of Pavia. Sedrick Alexander, Makhilyn Young, and Richardson combined for 15 rushing yards on 7 carries.
The defeat dropped the SEC to 0-4 in non-Playoff bowl games this postseason.
Iowa 34, Vanderbilt 27
Here’s the ReliaQuest Bowl box score (use the dropdown menu to select team or player stats), followed by the complete play-by-play:
Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.
