Gators hold off Hawkeyes 31-24 to win the Outback Bowl

By Kyle Dudley  |   Monday, January 02, 2006  |  Comments( 0 )

College Football
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In the Outback Bowl at Raymond James Stadium, the #16 Florida Gators (9-3) knocked off the #25 Iowa Hawkeyes (7-5) 31-24.

Gators starting quarterback Chris Leak, who has had an up and down year, had a good day in Florida's signature spread offense. Leak threw for 279 yards on 25-of-40 passing and two touchdowns. The performance helped Leak disprove the notion that he can't play in Urban Meyer's scheme.

Meyer tied Ray Graves and Steve Spurrier for the most wins for a first year Florida coach with 9. For the Gators, Dallas Baker caught touchdowns of 24 yards and 38 yards on the way to 147 yards on 10 total catches. Florida also scored on a Vernell Brown 60 yard interception return and a 6 yard blocked punt return by Tremaine McCollum.

In the loss, Iowa still moved the ball well most of the day. The problem was that with the blocked punt early in the game, an interception, and a pair of penalties during one of Florida's drives, the Hawkeyes found themselves in a deep hole early.

Quarterback Drew Tate was 32-of-55 for 346 yards and three touchdowns. He even rallied to throw a pair of touchdowns in the fourth quarter. He also led a drive leading to a field goal that brought Iowa to within a touchdown with just over a minute to go. Florida was just too much and the Hawkeyes just couldn't dig their way out of the hole.

Senior wide receiver Ed Hinkel caught 9 passes for 87 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Clinton Solomon had 7 catches of his own for 97 yards and a touchdown.

This was the third appearance for the Florida Gators in the Outback Bowl in the last four years. They lost to these same Iowa Hawkeyes in the Outback Bowl two years ago.
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