Gator Bowl

[rob in indy]

yes, there are still bowl games going on! and of the two slated to be played Thursday, this one is a helluva lot more interesting than the damn Ticketsmarter Bowl. this poll and threarde is my subtle protest to the fact that the sportsbook only has one of these bowl games eligible to bet on and it's not the Indiana game. i'm indignant with rage about that! i'm flowin like a volcano! this aggression will not stand!

  so take a vote, the betting is pretty even on this game, i got my Hoosiers edging it out though. lots of young football talent will be on display tomorrow night in Jacksonville and I'm hoping for a good showing 

[Front Porch]

bacon

[Boges]

When was the last time UT won anything?

[Outlaw]

When was the last time UT won anything?

Vols coming in on a 5 game winnig streak and have one of the better defenses in the country, particularly against the pass. I'll take the Vols -1.5.

[rob in indy]

Vols coming in on a 5 game winnig streak and have one of the better defenses in the country, particularly against the pass. I'll take the Vols -1.5.

it's quite even, should be a great game!

Tennessee:
the nation's #29 ranked scoring defense (at 21.7 points allowed per game)
#28 in yards allowed (at 337.1)

Indiana offense:
ranked #30 offense in the nation in yards at (433.6 per game)
#35 offense in points scored (32.6 per game)

[Dog]

I'd take a mid-tier SEC team over a mid-tier Big 10 (plus 2) team any day.

Take the Vols and the points.

[frankinhouston]

tennessee pulled it out. big 10 loses another.

f

[rob in indy]

tennessee pulled it out. big 10 loses another.

f

credit to the Vols, they stayed in the game when they could have easily crumpled. First half was all defense, 2nd half all offense (and turnovers)... IU was Jekyll and Hyde in this game, defense kept them in the game in the first half (it seriously felt like 21-0 Tennessee winning at halftime instead of the reality of 6-3 Tennessee leading due to some big defensive stops from IU)... then in the 2nd half IU's offense woke up but the defense either got tired or got figured out by TN. Mix in a couple bad coaching decisions (wasted timeouts, not being ready for a pretty obvious potential onside kick situation), and a couple very questionable referee decisions (phantom pass interference called on IU on a huge 3rd down, and a terrible spot they gave Tennessee (to be fair it got reversed but it just shows how the game was poorly officiated))... fun game to watch, wish IU didn't blow their two score lead but that's life as an IU fan, just used to it by now... but being able to say IU won 8 games and lost a close Gator Bowl is not something you could have said for the past 28 years.

[frankinhouston]

good year for IU.

f

[rob in indy]

good year for IU.

f

they should be even better next year. they're basically only losing their offensive coordinator (took head coach job at Fresno State) and one of their best WR (westbrook). Penix should be the QB (although Ramsey was a more than serviceable backup who saved their season when Penix got hurt) and Stevie Scott will be back as the star RB. if it was Penix/Scott instead of Ramsey/Sampson at QB/RB against the Vols I bet the game would have gone a lot differently