A season ago, Indiana junior running back Stevie Scott III put together a banner season only to miss the Old Oaken Bucket Game against Purdue and the Gator Bowl against Tennessee due to an injury.
As he watched his teammates fall to the Volunteers 23-22 in the Gator Bowl, Scott stood knowing he could make plays to help but couldn’t do anything to help the Hoosiers, who squandered away a lead late.
“Last year, just watching my team and not being out there to make plays I know I can make and help this team was definitely hard to watch,” Scott told the media this week ahead of Saturday’s Outback Bowl against Ole Miss.
With his injury behind him this season, Scott, who has rushed for over 2,000 yards in his career and garnered All-Big Ten team honors, went to work immediately to get his body ready for the rigors of the 2020 season.
Doing so without spring drills or a true fall camp were tricky, but Scott returned home and went to work with his father before returning to Bloomington when it became apparent the Hoosiers would indeed have a season.
“Me and my dad would get up every day to work out so when I came back to school, I could just try to keep the routine going and continue trying to be a better player,” Scott said.
The hard work paid off, as the junior was a bright spot in a rushing attack that was lackluster at times this season. Scott rushed for eight touchdowns in seven games and 462 yards on the season. Scott’s best game this season came against Maryland, as he found the end zone three times out of the wildcat formation. He has scored a touchdown in 16 of his last 23 games.
“Bounced back this year and back to another bowl game, I can’t be any more excited to go out there with my brothers and show the world what we’ve been doing this year,” Scott said.
What the Hoosiers have been doing is picking up wins, as Indiana enters the Outback Bowl at 6-1 and with a rushing attack that has picked up 701 yards on the season and 10 touchdowns.
Scott hopes to continue that success Saturday in Tampa in what he says is a “dream come true” scenario.
“I am definitely very excited, and I can’t wait. It is a dream come true for me just playing in a bowl game, possibly being able to make history and get us a bowl win,” Scott said.
As one of the elder statesmen in the locker room, Scott completely understands what it would mean to the program and its fan base to secure Indiana’s first bowl victory in 29 seasons. It is one major reason why he and his teammates were wanting to play despite being passed over for a New Year’s Six game.
“We were definitely bummed about what happened with the New Year’s Six game, but we’ve just kind of used that as fuel to the fire. We all decided let’s just play this game and show the world that it doesn’t matter what adversity we have to face. We are just going to go out there and do what we have to do to get the job done. We haven’t won a bowl game in 29 years and being able to play this week and help my team get a w is a great feeling,” Scott said.
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