When the Indiana Hoosiers and Mississippi Rebels kick off on Jan. 2, 2021, it will mark the 35th annual Outback Bowl, and for Outback Bowl President Jim McVay, the game will feature two teams that he is very excited about hosting in Tampa.
In an with TheHoosier.com Monday, McVay said this year's Outback Bowl features two teams with impressive head coaches and a matchup he is excited about seeing.
"Great matchup, can’t wait. Wish game was tomorrow. We are getting a lot of positive comments about the game. Tom Allen and Lane Kiffin are dynamic guys, dynamic personalities successful guys, competitive guys and they find a way to relate to the players and players want to play for them. These are guys you want your kids to play for, way they conduct themselves, aggressiveness and desire to win. These are two special guys and fortunate to have them," McVay said.
McVay said the bowl game will end a season that won't be forgotten anytime soon by anyone.
"Tip your hat to the players, and this has been a lot. It has been a challenging year, and a lot of uncertainty and one of those years you hope you have a good partnership with the conferences, tv contract and title sponsor. You hope there’s enough teams that want to play and you have opportunity to put teams on a national stage and take hard work they’ve accomplished and put them on tv," McVay said. "We have two good football teams coming and let the country see how they are. We are fortunate things have worked out and we are ready to go. Love the coaches, players and teams. This will be a fun week. Game is always the key when talking about the bowl week."
At 6-1, the Indiana Hoosiers enter Tampa fresh off not getting a New Year's 6 Bowl berth despite being ranked 7th in the AP Top 25 and 11th in the CFP rankings.
With that said, Allen noted he is excited about returning to Tampa, where his coaching career began, and bringing many Tampa area players back with him in the hopes of claiming a bowl victory.
"Florida is a special place to us. I've lived down there. A lot of great memories. I'm excited to be able to take a team back down to that state for another bowl game. Think about this. 1992 I started coaching high school football and it was in Tampa, Florida. We came up with a phrase of Dare to Believe and challenged team to do something that hadn't happened in 17 years, and some of those young men still live in Tampa. Pretty cool year all this is going on and we have historic season, from Temple Heights to the Big Ten. It started in Tampa and has a way to end in Tampa, and kind of poetic justice. Special place for me. That is the home to so many of our guys and their families can come see them play, that to me is pretty awesome thing," Allen said.
McVay said he is impressed with the Hoosiers and Allen this season.
"To have a season like the Hoosiers have put together and the coaches have organized things to keep guys pointed in right direction, says a lot about the players and culture. They overcame all the obstacles and challenges and are a really good football team," McVay said. "They deserve a star for the season they have had, and that is not easy to be. Tom Allen has done a spectacular job. IU is the No. 11 team in country, beating Penn State and outstanding record and coach is a cult figure with way he relates to players and they relate to him, they are a tough, physical football team."
Having Allen and a large number of Florida players back in Tampa is something that McVay said will be special to the Outback Bowl.
"Lot of great football players come out of the Tampa area. Tom has a history in this market and at USF. He is well known and very famous in this area and everybody is very proud of him and what he has accomplished," McVay said.
On the other side of the field will be the University of Mississippi Rebels, who will bring in a 4-5 record under Kiffin.
Despite the record, McVay said the Rebels are an exciting team with an explosive offense.
"Ole Miss is a really exciting football team. They play in the SEC and had LSU beat. They have an offense and Lane is an offensive guy, they have a quarterback, wide receivers and the whole package. They are dynamic and scored against Alabama. This is a good football team and their record could have had a few more wins on it," McVay said.
This game will also mark the first time Indiana has played in front of a crowd that wasn't entirely family, something that McVay noted he is excited about.
"We are allowed to sell 16,000 tickets to fans and that will accommodate a lot of friends and family. It is terrific, huge thing for the parents to watch their kids play. These kids got to be great athletes at a Big Ten school because of a lot of people in their development, someone has been a part of them growing up to be fine young men and football players at a very talented level. Parents and guardians are a part of this success. This is big and really good for these kids to have family and friends come, it is special for everyone. You don’t realize how important it is until it is taken away."
----
• Talk about it inside The Hoops Forum or The Football Forum
• Subscribe to our podcast on iTunes
• Follow us on Twitter: @IndianaRivals
• Like us on Facebook.
