There are 10 days to go, Paul Rhoads is SO PROUD to be here for the next decade (or he gets out of ISU’s pay grade, whichever comes first) and ticket sales are in line with the allotment. (Meanwhile, Rutgers students get their tickets for free.)
It’s worth noting that the bowl game does result in the football team traveling south. Technically. Very technically.
I created a map in 2005 comparing Iowa’s geographic position to that of southern New England and included some New York points of interest including Yankee Stadium. It might not be easily noticeable, depending on what map projection you’re looking at, but the “Northeast” is in the same area of latitude as Iowa. (NOTE: The map shows the location of Old Yankee Stadium, but New Yankee Stadium was built right next door.)
Along the same latitude as the island of Manhattan are State College PA, Canton OH, most of US 30 in Ohio, Peoria IL, Burlington, and the southern tier of Iowa counties. Yankee Stadium is on the west side of the Bronx, in line with 161st Street in Manhattan, and its latitude is equivalent to a point halfway between Clarinda and Villisca.