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Tom Allen following Indiana’s Gator Bowl loss: ‘You had history in your fingertips and you let it slip away’
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An ugly drought that has hovered over Indiana’s football program for nearly three decades will last at least another season.
The Hoosiers had a chance to end a 28-year drought without a bowl victory on Thursday night, taking on Tennessee in the Gator Bowl. And through 55 minutes of the game, it looked like Indiana was going to break that streak and make history.
Indiana owned a 22-9 lead with less than five minutes to play in the game, needing a defensive stop and a couple first downs to ice the game. But a Tennessee touchdown followed by an onside kick and another Volunteers score put the Hoosiers behind 23-22 with under three minutes to play.
Peyton Ramsey and the Hoosier offense was able to move the ball down the field twice, but a missed field goal and a turnover on downs cost IU the victory. The chance to be the first team since 1991 to win a bowl game was erased.
“It’s been a long time since Indiana’s won eight games,” Tom Allen said after the game. “You had history on your fingertips and let it slip away.”
Indiana finished the season with an 8-5 record, becoming the first Hoosiers team to hit the eight-win mark since 1993. It was also the first bowl trip of the Allen era, after finishing 5-7 each of the last two seasons.
While Indiana did have an historic season in some regards, Allen wants to continue to build a winning culture in Bloomington. He wants the Hoosiers to be competing in these games on a regular basis, not every few years.
“We’ve got to keep developing, keep recruiting. We’re building a program that expects to be in these game every year. We’ve just got to stay the course. That’s what GRIT is all about.”
Allen has done an excellent job on the recruiting trail since taking over in 2017, landing the program’s two highest-rated classes in 2018 and 2019. There are plenty of reasons to be excited about the future in Bloomington.
Right now, though, the aftermath of the Gator Bowl still stings.
Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB