After a one-sided first half, the Outback Bowl between Indiana and Ole Miss came to life. The number 11 Hoosiers recovered from a 14-point drop and drew 5:58 from the end, but the rebels responded in their next attempt with a 26-20 victory at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida – a result that the head coach of the first year Lane Kiffin savored the opportunity earlier this week.
“I think it’s good, especially if you’re in one of the most viewed,” said Kiffin on Wednesday. “So it’s more advertising for recruiting. I think it’s good because it usually means you have a winning record. If you’re not (in a bowling game) it obviously means you’re not in a good place, if you don’t go bowling. When you had more workouts, the theory used to be that you had 15 more workouts, so this year you’re going to improve your team for the future, instead of not having any training. It’s a little different now, because there wasn’t dispense like theirs. “
Despite a disdain for New Year’s Six bowl games, Indiana’s fourth-year coach Tom Allen embraced facing Ole Miss.
“The buy-in here is extremely high,” said Allen on Monday. “They understand what we are trying to build and they want to be a part of it.”
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Ole Miss (5-5, 4-5 SEC) did this without a number of important players, including two first-timers on the offensive side on the senior wide receiver Braylon Sanders and sophomore running back Jerrion Ealy. The media noted an applauding effort by the rebels and weighed in on a disappointing defeat for Indiana (6-2, 6-1 Big Ten).