The 2025 ReliaQuest Bowl was a college football bowl game played on December 31, 2025, at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. The 40th annual ReliaQuest Bowl (though only the fourth under that name) began at approximately 12:00 p.m. EST and aired on ESPN. It was one of the 2025âÂÂ26 bowl games concluding the 2025 FBS football season. The game's title sponsor was the ReliaQuest cybersecurity company.
The Iowa Hawkeyes from the Big Ten Conference defeated the Vanderbilt Commodores from the Southeastern Conference (SEC), 34âÂÂ27.
The game featured the Iowa Hawkeyes from the Big Ten Conference and the Vanderbilt Commodores from the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The two football programs had never played each other. Iowa had a 3âÂÂ3 record in six prior appearances in the ReliaQuest Bowl (previously played as the Outback Bowl and Hall of Fame Bowl), while Vanderbilt played in this bowl for the first time.
Iowa compiled an overall 8âÂÂ4 record (6âÂÂ3 in Big Ten play) and was ranked in four of six CFP polls released. All their losses were to ranked opponents at Iowa State, Indiana, Oregon, and at USC by a combined 15 points. The Hawkeyes did not defeat any ranked teams, though they maintained possession of three rivalry trophies by defeating Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Nebraska by a combined score of 11819.
Vanderbilt posted an overall 10âÂÂ2 record (6âÂÂ2 in SEC play), establishing a school-record for wins, and was ranked from mid-September onward. Both of their losses were to ranked opponents on the road: Alabama and Texas. The Commodores defeated four ranked teams: South Carolina, LSU, Missouri, and Tennessee.