It will be a battle between two of the biggest conferences when No. 17 Iowa from the Big Ten meets No. 21 Tennessee from the SEC in the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl in Orlando, FL.

Somehow the Hawkeyes (10-3) did what most teams didn't do and not only won 10 games but made it to their respective conference championship game. And although they were shut out by Michigan 26-0, how Iowa football got there in the first place by having the worst offense in the country — literally, ranked at 130th — and scoring just 16.6 points per game, was nothing short of impressive.

Of course, they did so by having the 5th ranked defense in the country that allowed just 13.2 points per game. It's that defense that before the loss against Michigan in the Big Ten Championship, they hadn't lost since Oct. 21 against Minnesota, losing by only two points.

That defense is what the Volunteers (8-4) will be going up against on New Year's Day. It's a Tennessee offense that will be without their starting quarterback Joe Milton III who has chosen to opt-out of the game. That means it will be left up to true freshman Nico Iamaleava, who will be making his first career start. Iamaleava, a former five-star, and No. 1 recruit in 2023, according to ON3, is coming in with a ton of hype.

Speaking of hype, Tennessee football entered the year with tons of it but failed to meet any of it, not beating a single ranked team. Should they beat Iowa, it would be their first against a ranked opponent. It would also end the season with nine wins and their second consecutive bowl game victory. However, the Hawkeyes have won four out of their last five bowl games, with their last loss actually coming in the Citrus Bowl against Kentucky.

This will be the second time these two have met in a bowl game, with their last in the TaxSlayer Bowl back in 2015. The Volunteers walked out victorious then. Will the same happen in this year's bowl game? Let's get into some Cheez-It Citrus Bowl bold predictions.

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Most eyes will be on Tennessee football's Nico Iamaleava

Nico Iamaleava

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Tennessee football fans have gotten a few glimpses of their hopeful future star quarterback this season in relief of Milton, usually late in games when they were out of reach from their opponents. His most notable was in the Volunteers last game against Vanderbilt where he went 9-of-12 for 66 yards. Overall, he's gone 16-of-26 for 163 yards and one touchdown with no interceptions, plus another 44 yards on the ground.

But what kind of test will this be for Iamaleava, who will be going up against an Iowa defense that is all but fully intact? The Hawkeyes haven't suffered any major opt-outs or injuries on that side of the ball minus defensive back Cooper DeJean, who is out with a broken foot. It could be a bit of a mixed-bag day for the freshman Tennessee quarterback. 160 yards passing, 20 rushing with a touchdown and two interceptions or similar wouldn't be shocking.

Iowa football's defense holds Tennessee to 17 points

The over/under on this game is at 35.5, according to FanDuel. Who knows, that could be pushing it. The Volunteers were having issues scoring at times this season due to not only the ineffectiveness at quarterback with Milton, but they also didn't have reliable deep threats at wide receiver. Now they'll be without running backs Jaylen Wright and Jabari Small due to opting-out.

Iowa was able to hold Michigan to 26 points, their second-lowest total all season. They should be able to hold a beat-up, opted-out Volunteers team to under 20.

Iowa upsets Tennessee in the Citrus Bowl

Again, don't expect a lot of points in this one, as Iowa has a way from keeping their opponents from scoring while not being able to score themselves as an offense. There's a lot going against Tennessee in this game now, although there's a bunch unknown, especially at quarterback. This should be a close one all day, but with Iowa making turnovers that turn into scores that win the game for them.