Indiana’s Keys to a TaxSlayer Gator Bowl Victory

Image: Indiana University Athletics

Written by Amanda Pavelka (@amandapavelka3)

From appearing in the national rankings to earning eight wins, the 2019 Indiana football squad has proven themselves one of the best in program history. The TaxSlayer Gator Bowl gives Tom Allen’s squad another opportunity to shine, as the Hoosiers face off with the Tennessee Volunteers in bright and sunny Jacksonville, Florida. In a very winnable game, the Hoosiers look to end the season on a high note, and turn the page to a new chapter of nationally-recognized IU football. 

Get ahead early

The Volunteers’ star receiver Jauan Jennings will serve his suspension for cleat-to-face contact in their previous game versus Vanderbilt, and sit out for the first half of the Gator Bowl. Jennings leads the Vols with 57 catches for 942 yards and 8 touchdowns on his senior season. He has four 100-yard receiving games this season, and had 174 against South Carolina. The Tennessee native leads the nation in broken tackles for his position with 29 on 57 receptions. The Hoosiers need to take advantage of his absence and get ahead going into halftime. In his last game as a Vol, Jennings is not about to leave Jacksonville without a fight. IU defense needs to be aware and ready.

The good news for the Hoosiers is that they have outscored opponents 226-160 including a 130-65 advantage in the first quarter. The Hoosiers have scored on nine (six touchdowns and three field goals) of their 12 opening drives this season. Indiana has started quickly in nearly every game and the importance of that in Thursday’s bowl game does not change. For what it is worth as well, the Hoosiers have outscored opponents 84-70 in the third quarter as well.

Defense, defense, defense

Much of the Hoosiers struggles on the 2019 season have been on the defensive side of the football. Missed tackles and near takeaways have left a lot of “what ifs” in losses. Though much-improved from the 25 missed tackles against Ball State in their season-opener, it is the top priority for the Hoosiers to bring their A-game defensively if they want a chance at their first bowl win since 1991.

The Hoosiers finished ninth in the Big Ten in scoring defense allowing 24.5 points per game, but showed signs of weakness as the season wore on. The Hoosiers allowed at least 28 points in five of their final six games while going 4-2. One of the positives for the Hoosiers however is that the defense started to create more takeaways once the calendar flipped to October as 12 of Indiana’s 15 takeaways came from October 12th on.

Run the football

Indiana’s key to the end zone against UT’s tough pass defense will be the running game. The Vols held their opponents to an average of 137.3 passing yards per game over their last four games, and Kentucky to a measly 25 yards (wide receiver Lynn Bowden was UK’s starting quarterback). With Stevie Scott’s return up in the air, Sampson James may get another chance to shine in the Sunshine State.

The Hoosiers did not run the ball as well as they wanted to for most of the year only averaging 134. 9 yards per game, but they made it work as IU punched it in to the end zone 23 times on the ground. Having Scott back would be a huge boost to the Hoosiers as he led them in rushing with 845 yards and 10 touchdowns while averaging a healthy 4.75 yard per carry average. James played well against Purdue, running for 118 yards, but suffered an injured that knocked him out for most of the second half in the double-overtime win. If the Hoosiers can get both runners back for the game, it would be a major boost to the ground attack.

Mindset and Mentality

Despite a 1-4 start, the Tennessee squad was able to turn their season around to earn a bowl bid and ended their regular season with five straight wins— against South Carolina, UAB, Kentucky, Missouri and Vanderbilt. Not only do the Volunteers head to Jacksonville on a five-game win streak. They also own a four-game win streak against the Big Ten— against Nebraska in 2016 Music City Bowl, Northwestern in the 2016 Outback Bowl, Iowa in the 2014 Gator Bowl, and Wisconsin in the 2007 Outback bowl. Going to bowl games and winning them is an expectation for the national brand of Tennessee football. That expectation does not change going into Thursday’s matchup, where the sea of orange and former Vol, 2014 Gator Bowl MVP QB Joshua Dobbs, who now plays for the Jacksonville Jaguars, will accompany them. 

The Hoosiers have only seen the Vols once before, where they lost 27-22 in the Peach Bowl on the same day, January 2, 1988 in Atlanta. This team has been all about defying odds and they will need that mentality going into the Gator Bowl.

Red Zone Efficiency

The turnaround of the Hoosiers offense from 2018 to 2019 can be thanked in part by a much improved red zone performance. Last season the Hoosiers put up points on 36 of their 44 drives inside their opponents’ 20-yard lines, however only 25 of those 36 scores were touchdowns.

One of the reasons IU hired Kalen DeBoer prior to the 2019 season was due to his red zone efficiency. Not only did the Hoosiers make it to the red zone 15 more times in 2019 than 2018 they scored on 50 of those 59 trips including 38 touchdowns. That is a lot of found points by the outgoing offensive coordinator.

Tennessee has only allowed 42 red zone drives from their opponents this season, 34 of which have ended with scores, including 26 touchdowns. The Volunteers did not face many offenses more potent that Indiana’s in 2019, but one of the reasons Indiana’s offense was able to cover up some holes on defense was due to their deadly red zone performance.

Outside of a few instances in 2019, the Hoosiers have not left many points on the field. In the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl it will be key for the Hoosiers to continue to make the most of their red zone opportunities.