The Tigers entered the bowl with a 10-2 record. Midway through the season, Missouri looked like it might be making a beeline for the BCS, sitting at 7-1 and favored in its final four games. The Tigers stumbled, following a loss to Nebraska with another at Texas Tech, but rebounded to win its final three games and finish at 10-2 for the program’s third 10-win season in four years, bringing the program to its fourth such season ever.[3] Much to the disappointment to many fans, Missouri would later make their second appearance in the Insight Bowl. They were a 34-31 winner over West Virginia in the 1998 game.
Iowa looked to end its season on a high note. The Hawkeyes started off with wins over Penn State and were the only team to defeat Michigan State. But Iowa has lost their last three games including a season-ending 27-24 loss to Minnesota. The Hawkeyes won their last two bowl games and were coming off with a 24-14 win in the Orange bowl over Georgia Tech giving the Hawkeyes their first BCS bowl win in school history. and made their first appearance at the Insight Bowl.
Weather[]
57 deg (F), wind: W at 3 mph, 47% humidity
Game summary[]
Scoring[]
Scoring Play
Score
1st Quarter
IOWA - Marcus Coker 1 yard run (Michael Meyer kick), 10:32
IOWA 7-0
MIZZ - Grant Ressel 23 yard kick, 3:53
IOWA 7-3
2nd Quarter
IOWA - Marcus Coker 62 yard run (Michael Meyer kick), 13:26
IOWA 14-3
IOWA - Michael Meyer 34 yard kick, 7:28
IOWA 17-3
MIZZ - Henry Josey 10 yard run (Grant Ressel kick), 4:51
Iowa and Missouri have previously played each other 12 times with Missouri holding a 7-5 advantage. However, the last time that the schools met was in 1910. The two squads had never previously played each other in a bowl game.