2017 Outback Bowl, Florida vs. Iowa: Date, time, location and everything to know

Also, head over here for the fully updated bowl season calendar as it fills in, from the New Orleans Bowl through the Rose Bowl. We’ll also add picks, scores, and more to that calendar over time.

There’s only one non-New Year’s Six bowl happening in the calendar year 2017 this bowl season. It is, of course, the 2017 Outback Bowl, America’s favorite thing named after an Australian-themed steakhouse.

That may seem strange, given that the Outback Bowl has decidedly not been among college football’s most prestigious postseason contests in its three decades of existence. But the bowl hasn’t ever been played in December, and has been a New Year’s Day fixture for the better part of the last 30 years, dating back to its origins as the Hall of Fame Bowl in the mid-1980s.

And fans can point to history and expect excitement in Tampa. The 2016 Outback Bowl was a lopsided contest between Tennessee and Northwestern, but three of the six Outback Bowls prior to last year’s went to overtime, with another of them giving us Jadeveon Clowney’s legendary hit on Michigan’s Vincent Smith.

Here is everything you need to know in preparation for this year’s Outback Bowl:

Date and time: Monday, Jan. 2, 1 p.m.

TV channel: ABC

Location: Tampa, Fla.

Stadium: Raymond James Stadium

Last year’s score: Tennessee 45, Northwestern 6

Last year’s attendance: 53,202

Teams with the most all-time appearances: Georgia/Michigan/Wisconsin, 5

Teams with the most all-time wins: Georgia/Michigan/Penn State/South Carolina/Tennessee, 3

Florida (8-4, 6-2 in SEC)

Florida entered 2016 after claiming its first SEC East title and a 10-win regular season since 2009. The Gators started the year 3-0 and looking to defeat Tennessee for an 11th straight season. The Vols ended up beating the Gators 38-28, but Florida would rally to win its next three games, including a 24-10 win over Georgia.

Florida followed that up with an upset 31-10 loss on the road to Arkansas before earning back-to-back wins — including upsetting LSU 16-10 on the road — to clinch the SEC East. Yet the Gators went on the road to play Florida State and got dominated, failing to convert on a single third down and losing 31-13.

Florida would go on to lose to No. 1 Alabama in the SEC Championship to finish 8-4 on the season.

Offensively, Florida looked like it finally found a quarterback in Luke Del Rio, but an injury kept him out of the Tennessee game, forcing Purdue graduate transfer Austin Appleby to start in the loss. Del Rio would return after Florida’s victory over Vanderbilt, but six interceptions in three games gave Appleby the reins for the remainder of the season. Appleby threw for more than 900 yards and six touchdowns during the regular season, but he struggled mightily in the SEC Championship against Alabama, throwing three interceptions, with one returned for a touchdown.

Winning back-to-back SEC East titles is obviously a bright spot for McElwain in Year 2 at Florida. But once the Gators start beating Florida State and winning the SEC again, McElwain will get the program back to where he was hired to take them.

Iowa (8-4, 6-3 in Big Ten)

Following a Big Ten West title, along with a Rose Bowl bid in 2015, Iowa decided to reward Hawkeye head coach Kirk Ferentz with a shiny new, $4.5 million per year contract that extended through the year 2025. That new contract appeared to be given a little too soon, after the Hawkeyes lost to FCS North Dakota State -- an FCS powerhouse, but an FCS team nonetheless. Losses to Northwestern, Wisconsin and Penn State made that speculation even louder throughout the season.

But things changed a bit during Week 11, with unranked Iowa’s 14-13 upset over No. 3 Michigan, which was part of three top-four upsets that weekend, the others being No. 2 Clemson and No. 4 Washington. With the victory, the Hawkeyes made it to six wins, and with the win over Illinois the following week, Iowa was in shape to go to a pretty decent bowl. They closed strong and made it happen.

Defensively, the Hawkeyes have been very good. The unit is led by middle linebacker Josey Jewell and defensive lineman Jaleel Johnson, who have been been huge tackling presences all season.

Bowl games are good, but it’s interesting to consider how far off the wagon, in terms of competing for a Big Ten West title, the Hawkeyes fell in 2016. The division was open, after all. But if Ferentz’s contract means anything, it’s that Iowa has faith in him long term, so he’s not going anywhere any time soon.