If you’re looking for this weekend’s most intriguing and explosive bowl games, Saturday’s Outback Bowl between Indiana and Ole Miss may be what you’re looking for. The 11th place Hoosiers had a season of dreams, but inexplicably missed the New Year’s Six bowl game. Despite that, it was a tremendous year for coach Tom Allen. With 6-1, Indiana achieved one of the best seasons in the show’s recent history, thanks to an explosive attack that had more than a few moments of brilliance.
The rebels went wild in their first year under Lane Kiffin. Quarterback Matt Corral has been the trigger man for one of the country’s highest octane units, which has the ability to score points in groups and stress defenses in a variety of ways.
Can the Hoosiers end a magical season under Allen or Kiffin and the rebels light up the scoreboard again on the way to finishing 5-5 in the year? Let’s take a closer look at the clashes and stories to follow in Tampa before making any expert choices either directly or against the spread below.
Storylines
Indiana: The loss of quarterback Michael Penix Jr. definitely hurt the final stretch. The Hoosiers managed just 4.09 yards per game at the end of the season against Wisconsin and 4.85 the week before against Maryland. That was the bad news. The good news is that the defense has improved dramatically, yielding only a total of just 17 points. Despite that, Ole Miss usually forces his “basketball on the grass” style on most opponents, meaning that new quarterback Jack Tuttle may have to have his best game.
Olé Miss: Wide receiver Elijah Moore and tight end Kenny Yeboah – the two biggest recipients of the rebels – chose to leave before the bowling game. This will put a ton of pressure on Braylon Sanders and Jonathan Mingo to compensate, and Kiffin to be more creative with the play-call. Corral has already announced that he is coming back, and a big game against a defense that had its ups and downs would go a long way in preparing the rebels to fight for SEC West and prepare for the Heisman Trophy in 2021.
View information
Games: Outback Bowl
Meeting: Saturday, January 2 | Time: 12:30 ET
Location: Raymond James Stadium – Tampa, Florida
TV: ABC | Live broadcast: fuboTV (try for free)
Outback Bowl prediction, choices
Most recent odds:
Indiana Hoosiers -7.5
Take the points, but you won’t need them because Ole Miss will win this game right away. Even if Moore and Yeboah are not there, Kiffin will have a lot up his sleeve and will want to put on a national TV show with the world of college football watching. Corral has moments of awkwardness, but that will not happen now that he has had a little more time to improve his craft. Choose: Ole Miss (+8.5) | Ole Miss 45, Indiana 42
So, who wins Ole Miss against Indiana? And which side of the spread reaches more than 50% of the time? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of Indiana vs. Ole Miss spread back, all from the advanced model in a 56-36 race in their top rated college football choices this season.