Update December 8, 4:30 p.m.: It’s now official with the announcement of the Belk Bowl participants. Indiana will be facing the University of Tennessee Volunteers after a last minute change in plan for the Music City Bowl selection.
Indiana finally knows its bowl game destiny after the conclusion of the conference championship slate on Saturday, and the release of the updated College Football Playoff rankings. With signs all pointing to Kentucky leading up to the day, the Hoosiers will face a different SEC opponent shortly after the new year.
Indiana will be facing Tennessee in the 75th TaxSlayer Gator Bowl hosted on Thursday, January 2, 2020. The game will take place at TIAA Bank Field in Jacksonville, Florida.
Instead of the revitalization of the “Bourbon Barrel” game between Indiana-Kentucky, the final last minute call gave Tennessee the final selection (7-5, 5-3) in the Gator Bowl. The decision came due to Tennessee wanting to play away from Nashville, and because of the pecking order of team’s, Kentucky was bumped instead to the “lower” Belk Bowl. The Music City Bowl instead got the selection of Louisville and Mississippi State.
The Hoosiers are currently 0-1 against the Volunteers in the history of the series, with the last and only match up between the two taking place in the 1987 Peach Bowl that ended in a 27-22 victory for the Volunteers. That game took place on January 2, 1988, exactly 32 years prior to the two teams’ upcoming Gator Bowl matchup.
With the huge number of ties between Indiana and the state of Florida, the option to play in the Sunshine State gives an opportunity for parents and families of 26 players to attend — all within driving distance from home. This will be the first time Indiana has played in a Florida bowl game in program history.
| Event | 2020 TaxSlayer Gator Bowl |
| Time and Date | Thursday, Jan. 2, 2020 (7:00 p.m. ET) |
| Location | TIAA Bank Field (Jacksonville, Fla.) |
| Tickets | SeatGeek |
| SEC Fans | Home Team (West Side) |
| Indiana Fans | Away Team (East Side) |
| Television | ESPN |
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The Hoosiers are going to be competing in just their 12th bowl game in program history and they would be seeking only their fourth bowl victory. After the resignation of head coach Kevin Wilson, Tom Allen took the Hoosiers to the 2016 Foster Farms Bowl game as his first game as the new Indiana head coach. Allen now becomes just the second coach to take Indiana to multiple bowl games, behind the legendary Bill Mallory who took the Hoosiers to a program record six bowl games between 1986 and 1993.
Featured Photo: IndianaHQ
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This is my 60th year as the Indiana football fan. I am so happy, and so excited. So very proud of all of our bid who have brought us to this point. And I think God for Coach Tom Alad his family and our coaches. And a big thank you to our athletic director Fred glass who had the courage to hire this great man to be our football coach and to know that he’s going to be here for the next seven years but above thrills my heart. I am one happy Hoosier.