Mississippi State vs Iowa 1/1/19 - Outback Bowl - CFB Picks & Predictions

On New Year’s Day, the No. 18 ranked Mississippi State Bulldogs play the Iowa Hawkeyes in the Outback Bowl at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. The Bulldogs finished the season 8-4 after beating Mississippi 35-3 in the annual Egg Bowl. Nick Fitzgerald rushed for a pair of touchdowns and threw one other to lead the Bulldogs to the easy win over the Ole Miss Rebels. A fight caused four ejections late in the game.

Iowa finished its regular season 8-4 following a 31-28 win over Nebraska. Miguel Recinos hit a 41-yard field goal in the driving rain as the clock hit 0:00 to give Iowa a 3-point win over the Cornhuskers despite squandering a late lead of 15 points. Mekhi Sargent rushed for 173 yards and two touchdowns in the win. Nick Fitzgerald leads all Bulldogs quarterbacks with 1,615 yards passing, 15 touchdowns and seven interceptions. Fitzgerald is also the leading rusher with 1,108 yards and 12 touchdowns, while Kylin Hill has 691 yards on the ground and four touchdowns. Stephen Guidry is the leading receiver with 389 yards and three touchdowns.

Nate Stanley leads Iowa in passing with 2,638 yards, 23 touchdowns and nine interceptions. Mekhi Sargent leads the Hawkeyes in rushing with 748 yards and nine touchdowns. T.J. Hockenson leads the Hawkeyes in receiving with 717 yards and six touchdowns.