TAMPA, Fla., Jan. 2 (UPI) -- Dallas Baker caught 10 passes for 147 yards and two touchdowns Monday as the 18th-ranked Florida Gators beat No. 25 Iowa 31-24 in the Outback Bowl.
Chris Leak connected on 25 of 40 passes for 278 yards.
Chad Jackson recovered an onside kick for the Gators (9-3), who were making their 15th consecutive bowl appearance, the third longest active streak behind Michigan (31) and Florida State (23).
Florida ended a three-game losing streak in bowl games. The Gators lost, 37-17, to Iowa in the 2004 Outback Bowl.
Gators Coach Urban Meyer, in his first season, became the first Florida coach to win his first bowl game since Charley Pell in 1980 in a Tangerine-Bowl win over Maryland.
Drew Tate threw for 346 yards and three touchdowns for the Hawkeyes (7-5), who almost overcame a 31-7 deficit in their 21st bowl game.
