2004 Outback Bowl
| 2004 Outback Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date | January 1, 2004 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Season | 2003 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stadium | Raymond James Stadium | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Location | Tampa, Florida | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| MVP | Fred Russell (Iowa RB) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Referee | Clair Gausman (Big XII) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| United States TV coverage | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Network | ESPN | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Announcers | Mark Jones, Bob Davie, Holly Rowe | ||||||||||||||||||||||
The 2004 Outback Bowl featured the Florida Gators, and the Iowa Hawkeyes.
Florida appeared to come out of the gates swinging, with quarterback Chris Leak throwing a 70-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Kelvin Kight to take an early 7-0 lead. Iowa got on the board following a 3-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Nathan Chandler to wide receiver Maurice Brown, to tie the game at 7. That concluded the first quarter scoring.
Early in the second quarter, kicker Nate Kaeding kicked a 47-yard field goal, to give Iowa a 10-7 lead. Later on, Chandler rushed 5 yards for a touchdown to extend the Hawkeyes lead to 17-7. Before halftime, Kaeding connected on a 32-yard field goal to increase the lead to 20-7.
Early in the third quarter, Matt Melloy recovered a blocked punt in the end zone for an Iowa touchdown and a 27-7 lead. Florida kicked a 48-yard field goal to pull within 27-10. A Fred Russell touchdown run sealed the deal, bringing Iowa's lead to 34-10. Kaeding later connected on his third field goal, this one from 38 yards, increasing the lead to 37-10. Chris Leak's 25-yard touchdown pass to Dallas Baker, made the final margin 37-17.