Iowa Hawkeyes vs Vanderbilt Commodores Prediction, Picks and Game Preview - 12/31/2025

Game Time: 12:00 pm ET, Wednesday, December 31, 2025

Venue:  Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, FL

Where to Watch:  ESPN

DraftKings:  Point Spread:  Iowa +5.5, Vandy -5.5; Over/Under:  47.5 points

Bet365:  Point Spread:  Iowa +5.5, Vandy -5.5; Over/Under:  47 points

BetMGM:  Point Spread:  Iowa +5.5, Vandy -5.5; Over/Under:  47.5 points

Iowa Hawkeyes:  8-4 (6-3) (6th place, Big Ten)

Vanderbilt Commodores:  10-2 (6-2) (7th place, SEC)

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Iowa Hawkeyes:  won their last game on the road against the Nebraska Cornhuskers 40-16.

Vanderbilt Commodores:  won their last game on the road against the Tennessee Volunteers 45-24.

Iowa is entering this game with an 8-4 record overall and they have a 6-3 record in their conference games too. They are 5-2 in their home games, 3-2 in their road games, and they are also 0-0 in their neutral site games this season, and they will be at a neutral site for this game. They won their last game against Nebraska 40-16. Mark Gronowski was the starting QB and he completed 9/16 passes for 166 passing yards, 1 touchdown, and 0 interceptions. Kamari Moulton led the team in rushing yards with 93 and 2 TDs. DJ Vonnahme led the receivers with 91 receiving yards on 3 receptions and 1 TD. Rashad Godfrey Jr. led the defense in that game with 7 solo tackles and 1 assisted tackle while no one on the defense recorded a sack for them. No one on the defense came away with an interception for them in that one.

 

 

 

Vanderbilt is entering this game with a 10-2 record overall and they have a 6-2 record in their conference games too. They are 7-0 in their home games, 3-2 in their road games, and they are also 0-0 in their neutral site games this season, but they will be at a neutral site for this game. They won their last game against Tennessee 45-24. Diego Pavia was the starting QB and he completed 18/26 passes for 268 passing yards, 1 touchdown, and 2 interceptions. Diego Pavia led the team in rushing yards with 165 and 1 TD. Junior Sherrill led the receivers with 76 receiving yards on 3 receptions. Kolbey Taylor led the defense in that game with 6 solo tackles and 0 assisted tackles while Bryan Longwell, Nick Rinaldi, Linus Zunk, and Zaylin Wood each led the defense in sacks with 1. No one on the defense came away with an interception for them in that one.

The current betting odds have Vanderbilt listed as a 5.5 point favorite in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. Vanderbilt has looked great in their games this season with their 10-2 record overall and their 6-2 conference record which had them right near the top of the SEC. They haven't played in any neutral site games this season so this will be their first, playing in the ReliaQuest Bowl. Meanwhile, Iowa has looked good in their games this season with their 8-4 record overall and their 6-3 conference record which had them near the top of the Big Ten. They haven't played in any neutral site games this season either so this will be their first. Iowa was a really good team in the Big Ten this year and they ended the regular season with a 40-16 win over Nebraska, but they didn't have the talent to go toe-to-toe with some of the top teams in their own conference. They beat up on bad teams all year and they had a great defense that didn't give up many points, but their offense looked a lot worse in those games against better opponents. Vanderbilt was a top team in the SEC this year and they had a great offense that was putting up a ton of points all season. They weren't able to get into the CFP, and their starting QB just missed out on the Heisman despite having the best stats of the group, so they will be looking to end the season strong in what could be Diego Pavia's last game in college. Iowa has also looked a lot better on their home field this year, but they won't have the home advantage in this game to help them out. The best way to place a bet here is on Vanderbilt to cover the spread in this game. 

Iowa Vanderbilt Prediction:  Our NCAAF Pick for Wednesday, December 31, 2025 (12:00 pm ET start time) is Vanderbilt 31 Iowa 17.

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Iowa Hawkeyes: 0-3 ATS as a neutral field underdog. 0-4 ATS in games played on a neutral field. 1-4 ATS off a road win against a conference rival. 10-1 UNDER as an underdog. 7-2 UNDER when playing against a top-level team (Win Pct. > 75%).

Vanderbilt Commodores: 9-4 ATS when the total is between 42.5 and 49. 5-0 ATS vs. good passing defenses - allowing 5.75 or less passing yards/att. 7-3 ATS vs. good defensive teams who give up 17 or less points/game. 3-1 UNDER off an upset win over a conference rival as an underdog.

Iowa Hawkeyes:  X. Williams (RB) Questionable - Undisclosed. J. Buie (WR) Questionable - Undisclosed. T. Hall (CB) Questionable - Undisclosed. A. Ostrenga (TE) Out - Undisclosed.

Vanderbilt Commodores:  Y. Ouattara (DL) Questionable - Undisclosed. N. Jefferson (DL) Questionable - Undisclosed. V. Hinton (CB) Questionable - Undisclosed. C. Gillespie (RB) Questionable - Undisclosed.

"We are excited about the opportunity to play in the ReliaQuest Bowl. This allows our players one last chance to play together in a city and Bowl that is a Hawkeye favorite for its hospitality and game day experience. We look forward to heading south and competing hard to finish the 2025 season." - Kirk Ferentz on his team playing in the ReliaQuest Bowl.

“I want to first thank Glenn Fasani and the ReliaQuest Bowl staff for this invitation. Playing in this game represents an important step for our program as we look to build upon our historic season. We are grateful to have one final opportunity to compete as a team, and to be able to do that in such a prestigious bowl, in a great city, and against a respected opponent is all very meaningful. We are excited and proud to represent the SEC in this contest, and hope to close out the season with our best performance. We will need that to be able to complete the mission against an Iowa program that has come to represent the level of sustained success we aspire to at Vanderbilt. I have the utmost respect for Kirk Ferentz, and look forward to the opportunity to compete against his team.” - Clark Lea on his team playing in the ReliaQuest Bowl.

WR Phillips, Sam

WR Wetjen, Kaden

WR Gill, Jacob

TE Vonnahme, DJ

QB Gronowski, Mark

RB Moulton, Kamari

WR Sherrill, Junior

WR Richardson, Tre

WR Hoskins, Richie

TE Stowers, Eli

QB Pavia, Diego

RB Alexander, Sedrick

Passing: Mark Gronowski (1,529)

Rushing: Kamari Moulton (783)

Receiving: DJ Vonnahme (288)

Touchdowns: Mark Gronowski (16)

Passing: Diego Pavia (3,192)

Rushing: Diego Pavia (826)

Receiving: Eli Stowers (769)

Touchdowns: Sedrick Alexander (15)

Coaches:

Iowa Hawkeyes: Kirk Ferentz (27th season)

Vanderbilt Commodores: Clark Lea (5th season)