Iowa vs Boston College 2017 Pinstripe Bowl

No Harold Landry today. Onto the NFL for the stud.

Pinstripe Bowl info

Iowa and Boston College play at 5:15 p.m. ET/4:15 p.m. CT on Wednesday, Dec. 27. 

  • Time: 5:15 p.m. ET kickoff 
  • Date: Wednesday, Dec. 27
  • Location: Yankee Stadium, New York
  • Weather: 22 degrees, mostly sunny with northwest winds of 14 mph
  • The line: Iowa -2.5

ESPN3.com and the WatchESPN app provide live streaming of the game

With winds whipping over the field from the northwest, this game could have a biting chill. Field position, turnovers and penalties could tip the outcome toward one team or the other.

From Iowa

With a unique matchup on the horizon, here’s 5 Things: Iowa vs. Boston College.

1. Oh yeah

This is the first matchup between Iowa and Boston College, and given the Eagles play in the ACC now and formerly the Big East, it’s fair to say most followers of Iowa haven’t given much thought to Boston College other than old highlights of Doug Flutie beating Miami with a Hail Mary.

But outside of Flutie and the most famous football alum in Matt Ryan, there are quite a few players who have made their mark on the NFL and probably are guys you’ve either rooted for or against — and just might make you say “oh yeah!” if someone told you they also went to Boston College.

Among current NFL players, the two best by far are two of the best at their position: Ryan, who guided the Atlanta Falcons to last year’s Super Bowl loss to the New England Patriots and Carolina Panthers linebacker Luke Kuechly. Kuechly has ascended to become perhaps the best middle linebacker in the league. He played three seasons in Boston before going to the NFL, and amassed an eye-popping 532 total tackles in that span — with a high of 191 in 2011. (For reference, Josey Jewell’s career-high tackles was 126 in 2015. The difference there is a whole season for most linebackers.)

LUKE!!!

2. Empire State of Mind

Iowa football has been around since 1888. There are 22 college football programs in the state of New York, at various levels, with just one Power 5 program in Syracuse. In the 129 seasons of Hawkeyes football, only two previous games have been played in the state of New York in advance of the third on Wednesday, and Iowa has only even played two programs from New York.

The Hawkeyes have played Buffalo once, in a 56-7 drubbing of the Bulls in a 2003 matchup at Kinnick Stadium. Iowa is 3-1 all-time against the aforementioned Orange — a home-and-home in 1975 and 1976, and another in 2006 and 2007.

Iowa split the pair of games in Syracuse, N.Y., with the first in 1975 a 10-7 loss during a 3-8 Hawkeyes season. The other was the double-overtime affair with that goal line stand in the Carrier Dome in 2006, in which Albert Young rushed for 73 yards and a touchdown and quarterback Jason Manson started in place of injured Drew Tate, throwing for 202 yards, one touchdown and four interceptions.

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