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Northwestern bumps Indiana further down bowl order as Wildcats grab Citrus Bowl bid

Kristian Dyer

By Kristian Dyer

Published:

Is Tom Allen sending a message about his team’s accomplishments, this despite a season where they were one of two Big Ten teams to finish in the top 10 of the AP Top 25 Poll?

Northwestern has accepted a spot in the Citrus Bowl to play Auburn, a bit of a slap in the face to Indiana. Despite Northwestern qualifying for the Big Ten Championship Game, which they lost to Ohio State 22-10 on Saturday afternoon, they are ranked behind Indiana.

Indiana is No. 7 in the latest AP Top 25 Poll. Northwestern remains at No. 15. Indiana has undoubtedly had one of the best seasons in the nation, and that is with no disrespect to Northwestern and their accomplishments.

Allen tweeted a message on Sunday afternoon that seemed to be about the lack of respect being shown his team, his message about earmuffs and blinders seemingly focused on his team need for his team to block out all the noise.

In fact, the social media post is Allen likely trying to fire-up and focus his team to block-out all the outside noise as the Hoosiers were shutout of the New Year’s Six Bowl games, a dig perhaps at a program that has historically struggled. After all, Indiana is not considered a blueblood among college football’s elites, having not won a bowl game since the 1991 Copper Bowl (now the Cheez-It Bowl).

But such is the job done by Allen, who had his team at 6-1 this year after beating three ranked teams. The Hoosiers’ lone defeat came in a 42-35 road loss to No. 3 Ohio State.

In their only ever previous match-up, Northwestern lost to Auburn in the 2010 Outback Bowl.

Kristian Dyer