Indiana Football: With win, bowl destination keep getting better

The Indiana Hoosiers defeated Nebraska becoming bowl eligible before November. With the win and the possibility of more what bowl could the Hoosiers head to?

Indiana went into Lincoln on Saturday and came out with a big 38-31 win against Nebraska to improve to 6-2. It made the Hoosiers bowl eligible for the first time since 2016 and the first time under head coach Tom Allen.

The bigger story was that the Hoosiers are now bowl eligible with four games still to be played. They have a good shot at finishing the year with eight wins and if they could pull off a huge upset against Penn State or Michigan they could get to nine.

With the possibility of getting to eight wins, come the chances of improving their bowl destination. In the past, the Hoosiers have just squeaked into bowl eligibility and were happy with wherever the committee sent them. This year they could really see themselves getting a bowl slated for the fifth or sixth-best team in the Big Ten.

The Big Ten has tie-ins with nine bowls and that does not include the College Football Playoff. But after the Rose Bowl, which goes to the Big Ten champion if they aren’t in the playoff, the rest of the bowls have an order but they don’t necessarily have to follow it.

If things were to continue to go how the Big Ten has played out so far, it looks like Ohio State will make the playoff. That leaves more than likely Penn State, Wisconsin or possibly even Minnesota for the Rose Bowl.

The next two bowls are the Citrus and Outback, which still might be out of reach for the Hoosiers just because of the teams ahead of them, but then it starts to get interesting.

The Holiday Bowl in San Diego could be a possibility if the Hoosiers get to eight wins and would definitely be one if they got to nine.

The TaxSlayer Gator Bowl is the next on the pecking order and ESPN’s Kyle Bonagura has projected Indiana to go to that bowl. That would be a great spot for Indiana, playing in Florida on January 2nd against an SEC team. It would be a great way to show off the Hoosiers late in the bowl season and see where they stack up against a top league like the SEC.

The Pinstripe Bowl in New York and the Redbox Bowl in San Franciso are the other two likely landing spots for the Hoosiers. There they would play either the ACC or Pac-12. Both bowls would be fine, but Hoosiers fans probably don’t want to see them in New York. When you think bowls you think of warm weather and a nice day and being in New York probably won’t give you that in December.

While the bowl destination is not known yet, we do know the Hoosiers will go bowling. Unlike the past they shouldn’t just be happy to be there, they are shooting for the best bowl possible. Keep winning and Florida or California look very probable. Get there and a rare bowl win and it could mean the beginning of something special for Indiana Football.