TAMPA — After a winter storm dumped more than eight inches on Iowa City, the Hawkeyes played Purdue with a chance to claim the Big Ten West championship. They cleared the playing field of snow and the Hawkeyes took down Purdue 40-20, but Kirk Ferentz remembers that day for another reason. Little did Ferentz know, he would see Purdue starting quarterback Austin Appleby again and he’s not too excited about the rematch.
“He played pretty well against us last year quite frankly, so I’m not real enthusiastic about seeing him again,” Ferentz said with a grin. “It’s not like we’ve got a great memory from last year’s game, unfortunately, so no.”
Appleby started for the Boilermakers that day, throwing for 259 yards and a touchdown.
Iowa will be a familiar opponent for Appleby — he started his first game at Purdue against the Hawkeyes — but this will be the first bowl game he’s played in. It will also be his last college start, something he’s coming to terms with as the date draws near.
“It’s pretty cool. Just kind of take it all in and remember where it started and where I am and its pretty cool to come first circle against the Hawkeyes,” he said. “First touchdown and hopefully I’ll have a couple to end on.”
The story of Appleby’s college career begins and ends with Iowa. In between has been a rollercoaster that has seen Appleby go from starter, to backup, to afterthought, transfer, back up, starter and back again. It’s been a long five years for the kid from Northeast Ohio but he’s enjoyed every minute, even when “outside noise” was less than kind.
“That’s all media. I don’t really read into it much. I know you guys do a great job. I try to focus on what I do,” Appleby said Wednesday before the Outback Bowl. “I answer to the guys in that locker room and to my coaches. The only thing I’ve been told is that I’m gonna help us to win a game on Sunday.”
Appleby has goals of playing football at the highest level. He’ll work out in Gainesville and go through pro day and hope to catch on with a team and get a shot in the NFL. First, he wants to show Florida fans and anybody else watching that what he’s been saying all year about Florida’s offense have the capability to be prolific is true. The Gators face a stingy Iowa defense, similar to the defense Appleby faces every day in practice, that won’t make it easy on them.
To this point the Gators haven’t been able to put together a complete game offensively, and the word “prolific” hasn’t been one that anyone else would use to describe the offense (currently ranked 115th in the country).
“It’s about all 11 guys doing their job. If, for example, a guy’s wide open, but you miss a block up front and get sacked, it kind of nullifies everything that you did,” he explained of the struggles. “You know, if we got great protection up front and I put the ball on the money, let’s say the receiver doesn’t come out of his break quite right. The details of the pass game aren’t where they’re gonna be. They’re gonna see a bad pass. Or if a guy’s wide open and I miss him. It’s everybody doing their job.”
The Outback Bowl will be the final time Appleby puts on a college uniform. It will be the last time a lot of players put on the Orange and Blue. It isn’t for a National Championship, even though they will play in the stadium that hosts the 2017 National Championship game, but it is another opportunity to play the game they love and prove those who created the “outside noise” wrong.
“It would mean everything,” Appleby said of winning the Outback Bowl. “It would mean an opportunity to come down here and do what we’re capable of doing, and that’s what we’re out here working to do every single day. There’s guys coming in and working on their off days. There’s guys coming in watching extra film. There’s a lot of fun stuff going on through the bowl stuff, but there’s a commitment to this team to come out and win.”