The inaugural edition of the Freedom Bowl matched the #19 Texas Longhorns of the Southwest Conference and the Big Ten's Iowa Hawkeyes.
After leading 24–17 at halftime, the Hawkeyes blew the game open with 31 unanswered points in the third quarter to win 55–17.
A win over #12 TCU was their last of the season, as they fell to Baylor and Texas A&M to close out the year, while finishing tied for second in the Southwest Conference with TCU and Arkansas, while SMU and Houston shared the crown.
They tied with Wisconsin 10-10, but a loss to Michigan State the following week made them fall out of the polls permanently.
They finished in third place in the Big Ten Conference, behind Ohio State, and tied 2nd placers Illinois & Purdue.