TAMPA, Fla. -- No. 17 Florida has been burned by second-half comebacks on occasion this season, but defensive back Chauncey Gardner decided to take matters into his hands.

Gardner, a freshman cornerback, had two interceptions and returned one for a 58-yard touchdown to lead the Gators to a 30-3 win over Iowa in the Outback Bowl on Monday at Raymond James Stadium.

The Gators finished the season 9-4 while Iowa dropped to 8-5.

"That was a heck of game for us," Florida coach Jim McElwain said.

"Well documented, obviously, how beat up we were, and yet not once all year (did we use) that as an excuse in any way, shape or form. It was next man."

Gardner stepped in front of an errant third-down pass by Hawkeyes quarterback C.J. Beathard and raced down the sideline for the score that gave the Gators a 24-3 lead early in the fourth quarter. He was named the game's Most Valuable Player.

"(The pick six), really just is a testament to the defensive line again because they put up phenomenal pressure," Gardner said. And the second interception, it was just keep your eyes on your reads because you never know if the pocket breaks down, and again, the line got more pressure, caused an errant throw, and we picked it off and just got another one."

Florida quarterback Austin Appleby threw interceptions on the Gators' first two possessions but settled down to finish 14 of 25 for 222 yards and two touchdowns. His 85-yard touchdown to running back Mark Thompson on a screen pass gave the Gators a 10-3 lead.

"I'm going to tell everyone I threw an 80-yard bomb," Appleby joked.

He credited Thompson and the offensive line for their execution of a simple play.

"We were getting ready to go into a two-minute situation and try to get some points on the board," Appleby said. "But it was big for Mark to make that play and get us into the locker room with the lead."

On Florida's first possession of the third quarter Appleby went 5 of 6 for 62 yards and found tight end DeAndre Goolsby on a six-yard touchdown pass to give Florida a 17-3 lead. Appleby had a 24-yard completion to Freddie Swain and a 21-yarder to Goolsby on the drive.

"We didn't panic early," Appleby said. "We knew Iowa that would come out swinging and made some plays on us early. We had some bad luck but didn't panic and the defense made some stops and we got on a roll."

Beathard was 7 of 23 for 55 yards and he threw three interceptions -- all in the fourth quarter. Iowa's Akrum Wadley led all rushers with 115 yards on 22 carries.

"They are a good defense," Beathard said. "We had some things that were working though. Plays here and there that could have changed the game. Obviously things got out of hand."

Iowa got into a goal-line situation midway through the second quarter but was stopped on a fourth-and-goal from the one.

"That was big, momentum definitely switched in their favor after that," Wadley said. "But that was just one drive, a football game is four quarters and we had to bounce back."

Florida defensive lineman Joey Ivie said it reminded him of the LSU game where the Gators made a goal-line stop as time expired to earn a 16-10 win.

"We've been a great goal line defense all year and we have that mentality where it's like we're going to give everything or they will score," Ivie said. "Everyone did everything correctly. We plugged every hole and stopped them."

Iowa took the opening drive of the third quarter down to the Florida 12-yard-line where it stalled and kicker Keith Duncan missed a 30-yard field goal.

"Certainly we're disappointed with the outcome," Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz said. "It was a tough day for our football team. Our team really had a good month, they practiced and (were) well-prepared. I'm not sure there's a thing I'd go back and change. Ultimately today we didn't play well enough to come up with a victory."

Jordan Scarlett had 94 yards on 14 carries for the Gators while wide receiver Antonio Callaway had seven catches for 55 yards. Kicker Eddy Pineiro made field goals from 44, 25 and 48 yards.

NOTES: QB Austin Appleby's first collegiate game was a 38-14 loss against Iowa on Nov. 9, 2013. He was a redshirt freshman quarterback at Purdue and went 5 of 6 for 68 yards and a touchdown in the game. ... The SEC is now 15-9 against the Big Ten in the Outback Bowl. ... QB C.J. Beathard was shaken up after a collision with Florida S Marcell Harris in the second quarter but he didn't miss a play. He said he pulled his hamstring. ... The 85-yard touchdown catch by RB Mark Thompson was the longest scoring play in Outback Bowl history, breaking the record of an 80-yard touchdown pass from Georgia's Aaron Murray to Tavares King in the 2012 Outback Bowl.