WHO: Indiana (8-4) vs. Tennessee (7-5)
WHAT: The 75th TaxSlayer Gator Bowl
WHEN: January 2nd at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN
WHERE: TIAA Bank Field in Jacksonville, Fla.
THE SKINNY: After ringing in the New Year with some college football, why not recover from the festivities with... some more college football?
You can start with the Hoosiers, who are playing in their third bowl game in the last five seasons as Tom Allen continues to do a great job in Bloomington elevating the program’s level of consistency. The team has posted marks not seen in nearly three decades and are searching for their first bowl win since 1991 to cap it all off. Remarkably (or not, given their history) this is the first time IU has ever played in the postseason in the state of Florida and they’ll get to do so against an SEC opponent to boot.
One of the Sunshine State natives who have led the way for Indiana is star wideout Whop Philyor, a speedster who is dynamite with the ball in his hands. He’s done a great job putting up numbers despite injuries at the quarterback position, though veteran Peyton Ramsey has finished the season strong behind center. Though Allen is a defensive-minded head coach, it’s clear the Hoosiers are led by their typically high-flying offense to win games and make up for any shortcomings (especially against the run) they have on that other side of the ball.
As for Tennessee, few teams have done a 180 quite like the Vols have this season. A 1-4 start that included home losses to Georgia State and BYU led many to write off Jeremy Pruitt amid calls for a mid-year firing. The second-year head coach has righted the ship, however, and lost just twice since October rolled around (to Alabama and Georgia) and won their final five games. The competition level hasn’t been great, to be fair, but the group that earned this bowl berth look hardly anything like the one that was stuck in a malaise to start the year.
Quarterback Jarrett Guarantano leads the offense after quite the up-and-down season on Rocky Top. The one-time future under center was benched for freshmen, had to take over due to injury and then eventually earned his job back down the stretch. He forms quite a connection with wideout Jauan Jennings, who will be suspended for the first half but is still worth watching in the second. Defensively, safety Nigel Warrior is both aptly named and the one guy to keep an eye on as he roams the secondary.
All in all, it should be a pretty evenly-matched football game between two surging teams. Turnovers figure to be key to whoever emerges victorious as a result of that so, despite UT being able to run the ball fairly well in this one, the Hoosiers get the job done in the end with a key stop and long touchdown in the fourth quarter for elusive win No. 9.
THE PICK: Indiana 28, Tennessee 27
