Indiana Football: Early look at Gator Bowl opponent Tennessee
By Adam Childs
The Indiana football team will travel to Florida for a bowl game for the first time ever. What do you need to know about their opponent?
Indiana is headed to a bowl in Florida for the first time and they get a date with an SEC school. The Hoosiers will face the Tennessee Volunteers for just the second time ever. The first time, and only other time they played, was in the 1988 Peach Bowl when the Volunteers used a late score to win 27-22.
Playing in Florida against an SEC opponent is a great opportunity for the Hoosiers and playing a team they have rarely played makes it more fun also. While the Hoosiers would have enjoyed playing any opponent, the fact that they get a new opponent makes it exciting and brings more unknown to the game.
The Hoosiers are coming off of their emotional win against Purdue to bring home the Old Oaken Bucket. It got them to eight wins for just the first time since 1993 and sets them up to possibly win nine games for just the third time in program history.
If they can win the bowl game against the Volunteers it would be just the fourth bowl win in their history. Winning a bowl game in Florida is the best possible scenario for a Hoosier team that already recruits well in the Sunshine State.
Tennessee will be a tough team based on how they have been playing lately but not an impossible team to beat. Indiana fans probably know very little about the Vols. The one thing that is for sure, is they will be playing a lot of Rocky Top at the game (personally I think it’s one of the best fight songs in the country). With so many unknowns, let’s try to get to know the Volunteers a little bit before they square off on January 2nd.