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Well, it's time for the final recap of our Throwback Thursday of the summer. Today we take a look back at the Hoosiers first bowl game since 2007. The Pinstripe Bowl was special, especially being from New York, but it was ultimately the cherry on top of a season filled with close calls. This was one of the better bowl games of the 2015 season and I would not be shocked to see this in ESPNU's Top-25 Games.
Read MoreOpponent: Duke Blue Devils
Location: Saturday December 26th, Yankee Stadium (Bronx, NY)
Why They Played: The Hoosiers and Blue Devils met in the fifth annual Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium which pitted the ACC against the Big Ten.
What The Game Meant:
This was a chance for the Hoosiers to win a bowl game for the first time since 1991 and clinch a winning season for the first time since 2007. They were on national television and could very well have had the eyeballs of the entire college football world on them.
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IU missed a tying field goal in OT.
Written by: TJ Inman (@TJ_HoosierHuddle)
Indiana fell just short of winning its first bowl game since 1991 but a pair of missed field goals doomed them as they lost 44-41 in overtime to the Duke Blue Devils in the 2015 Pinstripe Bowl.
The Duke Blue Devils got on the board first as Ross Martin connected on a 52-yard field goal. Indiana turned it over on downs but Rashard Fant was able to snag an interception to keep the score at 3-0 but Nate Sudfeld was intercepted by Dwayne Norman and, in the first of several long plays, Duke's Shaun Wilson scampered 85 yards for a touchdown to put Duke ahead 10-0 at the end of the first quarter.
Nate Sudfeld threw another interception but the IU defense forced a pair of Duke punts to keep the Hoosiers in the game and Sudfeld found Luke Timian for the first IU score of the day. The Hoosiers Devine Redding put IU ahead at 14-10 with a 17-yard run. Duke responded quickly as quarterback Thomas Sirk ran up the middle for a 73-yard touchdown run. Indiana marched down the field and Griffin Oakes connected on a 45-yard field goal to tie the game at the half at 17.
Ross Martin hit another field goal to regain the lead for Duke but Nick Westbrook scored his first career touchdown on a 3-yard pass from Nate Sudfeld to put IU back up by four points. The two sides traded scores as no team led by more than one possession for the remainder of the game. The Hoosiers missed a chance to win the game as Griffin Oakes was unable to nail a 55-yard field goal and the contest headed to overtime. Duke hit a field goal with the first possession and Griffin Oakes missed for the second time as the referees determined that his field goal attempt went narrowly outside the left upright and the Hoosiers fell 44-41.
Devine Redding led the Hoosiers with a new IU bowl record in rushing yards as he carried the ball 35 times for 227 yards. Nate Sudfeld threw for 389 yards and three touchdowns with two interceptions in his final game as a Hoosier. Indiana finishes the season at 6-7 while the Duke Blue Devils improve to 8-5.
Hoosier Huddle will have complete coverage of the Pinstripe Bowl and continuing coverage of the offseason.
For the first time since the 2007 season, my freshman year at IU, the Hoosiers are taking part in the postseason, in one of the most storied venues of all-time, Yankee Stadium. And while it may not be the same one that Babe Ruth, Yogi Berra , Lou Gehrig and Joe DiMaggio made famous, the stage is no less impressive.
Coach Wilson and his resilient squad enter their match up with the Duke Blue Devils in the Pinstripe Bowl on a two-game winning streak. On paper, this looks like a very even match up , the Hoosiers at 6 and 6 and the Blue Devils 7 and 5. The teams played one common opponent this season, Wake Forest, who the Indiana defeated by 7 and Duke beat by six.
Read MoreI had a chance to send over some questions to Ryan Hoerger, a writer with Duke's student newspaper The Chronicle. I want to thank Ryan for taking the time to answer my questions.
Read MoreHoosier Huddle writers Sammy Jacobs and Nick Holmes take a deeper look inside the Hoosiers matchup against Duke in the Pinstripe Bowl. We will look at key match-ups, injury updates, and take questions from fans.
What: New Era Pinstripe Bowl: Indiana (6-6, 2-4) vs. Duke Blue Devils (7-5, 4-4)
When: Saturday, December 26 at 3:30
Where: New Yankee Stadium in New York City
How to Watch: The game will be broadcast on ABC. You can also listen on the IU Radio Network.
What’s at Stake: A victory gives the Hoosiers a winning record and their first bowl win since 1991 (a win in the Copper Bowl). It would also continue the good momentum the Hoosiers are experiencing right now as they head into an important offseason. The teams are playing for the George M. Steinbrenner Trophy.
Read MoreIt truly is the most wonderful time of the year. The bowl matchups were announced yesterday and we thought it would be a fun exercise to rank the matchups involving B1G teams. The rankings are based on stakes, prestige and the expected viewing pleasure and intrigue. Obviously, these rankings are strictly my opinion and each of these bowl games are probably going to be more enjoyable than whatever else is on TV at the time. Just remember, the offseason is coming quickly and we’ll long for even the most unappetizing of matchups when it’s 90 degrees outside and football is months away. So, as dreadful of a game as Minnesota vs. Central Michigan may seem, it’s better than nothing!
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Written by: TJ Inman (@TJHoosierHuddle)
Head Coach: David Cutcliffe
Record: 7-5 (4-4 in ACC)
S&P+ Rankings: Offense – 91/Defense – 45/Total - 74
Schedule
@ Tulane – 37-7 (W)
NC Central – 55-0 (W)
Northwestern – 10-19 (L)
Georgia Tech – 34-20 (W)
Boston College – 9-7 (W)
@ Army – 44-3 (W)
@Virginia Tech – 45-43 (W – 4OT)
Miami-FL – 27-30 (L)
@ North Carolina – 31-66 (L)
Pittsburgh – 13-31 (L)
@ Virginia – 34-42 (L)
@ Wake Forest – 27-21 (W)
Players to Know
QB – Thomas Sirk – 6’4” JR – Sirk missed the Blue Devils loss to Pitt but has started the other 11 games. He threw for 2,462 yards with a 60% completion rate and had 15 TDs and 6 INTs. Sirk is also the team’s leading rusher, carrying the ball 133 times for 701 yards and six touchdowns.
RB – Shaquille Powell – SR – Powell leads all Duke running backs with 534 yards on 122 carries. His season-high game total is 98 yards against UNC but he didn’t exceed 46 yards in the three games afterwards. Powell is joined in the backfield by Shaun Wilson (321 yards on 75 carries) and Jela Duncan (370 yards on 56 carries, average of 6.6 ypc).
WR – This is a balanced receiving corps with four pass catchers garnering more than 50 targets and gaining more than 450 yards. Max McCaffrey leads the group with 48 catches for 601 yards and five touchdowns. T.J. Rahming has 40 catches for 522 yards, Johnell Barnes has 34 catches for 411 yards and Anthony Nash (6’5”) caught 31 passes for 471 yards.
OL – According to the S&P+ ratings, Duke has the fourth-best adjusted sack rate in the nation. They are led by 1st Team All ACC center Matt Skura.
Defense – Safety Jeremy Cash is the best player on a pretty solid defense. He earned a 1st Team All ACC spot at safety and was second on the team in tackles and first on the team in tackles for loss (18). Dwayne Norman is the top tackler (80.5 tackles) and he landed on the 3rd Team All-ACC squad.
Matchup at a Glance
The Duke Blue Devils started out quite well as they raced out to a 6-1 record. However, they have lost four of their last five and sputtered to a 7-5 finish. Duke has a solid defense that defends the run much better than they defend the pass. The offense hasn’t been very good but they have a dual-threat quarterback and four receivers that have proven capable of making plays. This is a winnable matchup for Hoosiers in what appears to be a pretty evenly-matched game. Hoosier Huddle will have a ton of preview content including a much more detailed “primer” on the Pinstripe Bowl so check back often!
Pack your jackets! For the first time since 2007 the Indiana Hoosiers football team will be playing a game in December. It was announced Sunday evening that the Hoosiers will head to New York City to participate in the New Era Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium. The Hoosiers will face a 7-5 (4-4) Duke team that finished fourth in the ACC-Coastal. This will be the Hoosiers 10th ever bowl game, they are 3-6 in the previous nine.
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