With the 2019 college football season officially in the books, it’s time to look back on how the Big Ten did in bowl games.
As we go through all the bowls, in no particular order, we will focus on two main things:
1. How did the bowl performance end the 2019 season? Was it a fitting end or a poor performance, etc.
2. What impact, if any, will it have on the 2020 season.
2020 Gator Bowl: Indiana vs Tennessee
The matchup
Indiana came into the game as an underdog. The Hoosiers were a solid team, but facing an improving Tennessee team that had better recruits, better skill athletes, and ended the season on a five-game winning streak. Indiana, meanwhile, did not beat a single team of note during the season, but also avoided bad losses. It was a huge opportunity for the Hoosiers, but they couldn’t take advantage.
What went right
Indiana punched well above its weight class for almost the entirety of this game. The Hoosiers had a brilliant offensive strategy, got precisely the quarterback play it needed, and had the defense hang with Tennessee’s talent all game long. Tom Allen and his team very clearly brought a perfect game plan, which they managed to execute almost to perfection. The longer the game went, the clearer it was that Indiana was the better-coached and better team. But the Hoosiers let Tennessee stick around.
What went wrong
There’s a lot I can point to throughout the game about this, but I’m only going to focus on the mistakes towards the end. In a terrible minute-long span, Indiana played horrible defense, wasn’t at all prepared for an onside kick, and then played terrible defense again. In the blink of an eye, a 13-point lead turned into a one-point deficit.
Indiana fans and the program should be all over Tom Allen for not being prepared for that onside kick. He coached an incredible game and season, but he couldn’t do the little things that were absolutely needed. This tweet sums it up better than I could:
Next… 2019 wrap-up and 2020 impact
2019 wrap-up
What did this loss mean for Indiana’s 2019 season? Losing a close game as an underdog isn’t really a negative. The impact of this game is entirely in its missed opportunity.
With a win, Indiana could have had its first bowl win since 1991, its first ranked season since 1987, and its first nine-win season since 1945. This could have been a pivotal game in Indiana football history. Instead, the Hoosiers are relegated to being a decent team that had a decent year. That’s actually pretty good by Indiana football standards, but it could have been so much more.
Similarly, it’s a missed opportunity for the entire Big Ten. We could have seen the conference have a nation-leading seven ranked teams. Instead, the conference will tie the SEC with six ranked teams (assuming Texas A&M gets in the final polls, which it should). The SEC will have the national champion and a 2-1 head-to-head record against the Big Ten. Before bowl season began, the Big Ten had a serious claim to being the best conference this year. Now, though, that claim seems impossible to make–and this game played a big part in it.
2020 Impact
Indiana already has far more momentum heading into a football season than it ever expects. The Hoosiers are coming off their best season in decades, with a coach who has proven that he can impress at this program. The loss is a missed opportunity for even more momentum and possibly some extra recruiting points, but looking ahead it doesn’t seem like it will have too much impact.
Indiana plays a painfully easy nonconference schedule next season, and gets to face both Illinois and Purdue in cross-divisional Big Ten play. Winning eight games again might be a stretch, but if the Hoosiers perform anywhere near the level they did this year, they will absolutely go bowling again in 2020. It probably won’t be on or after New Years’ Day, but maybe Indiana can finally win one. Play in enough and the wins will come eventually. And Tom Allen definitely looks like he’ll have Indiana playing in them.
