Indiana Rallies, But Comes up Short in 26-20 Outback Bowl Loss to Ole Miss - Sports Illustrated

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TAMPA, Fla. – Indiana's miracle season ended with a thud on Saturday when Ole Miss scored late to sour a Hoosiers comeback. The Rebels won 26-20, and Indiana's 29-year futility in bowl games carries on.

Indiana, which was ranked No. 7 in both the Associated Press and Coaches Poll heading into the bowl season, struggled through most of the day, but erased a 20-6 Ole Miss lead with two touchdowns by Stevie Scott in the fourth quarter. The second one tied the game with 5:58 to go.

But then Ole Miss, which used a fast-paced, quick-pass offense all day to keep Indiana on its heels, flew right back down the field.

With the help of an Indiana unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on the tying extra point, Ole Miss was able to return the kickoff out to its 37-yard line. They scored in just six plays with quarterback Matt Corral, who was the game's Most Valuable Player, completing all four of his passes on the drive, which lasted just one minute, 46 seconds. He hit Dontario Drummond for a 3-yard score. Ole Miss missed the extra point.

Indiana got two first downs on the next drive and had the ball at the Mississippi 33-yard line. But then the oft-maligned Rebels defense stepped up. They stopped a run-pass option throw out in the flat to Whop Philyor for just a 2-yard gain and then quarterback Jack Tuttle was sacked for a 6-yard loss. His final two passes on third- and fourth-and-long were unsuccessful, and that was it.

Tuttle, who was dealing with a shoulder injury early in the game, struggled at times. He was 26-for-45 passing, but for only 201 yards as he was forced to stick to short throws.

"It definitely affected him. I thought he was a real warrior today,'' Allen said. "He had a shoulder separation in his throwing shoulder, and he just had to suck it up. Even though he had it, he was still running and diving and competing his way through it.''

Corral had a huge game for Ole Miss, which finished its season with a 5-5 record. He was 30-for-44 passing for 342 yards, the most passing yards Indiana had given up all season. The two things that concerned Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin the most about Indiana's defense was its ability to pressure the quarterback and create turnovers. So all he did was call a game that took both of those options away, and it worked to perfection.

Ole Miss kept throwing quick passes to avoid blitzes and shorter passes to avoid turnovers. Corral, who threw 14 interceptions this season, didn't have any. They moved the ball and kept Indiana off the field.

"We didn't create any turnovers today, and that's what we've lived off of all year,'' Allen said.

Indiana, which finished 6-2 with its only other loss to national title game participant Ohio State, didn't do much until those two game-tying drives. But Philyor, a Tampa native who played his high school football just a few miles south of Raymond James Stadium, had a record-setting day. He had a school- and Outback Bowl-record 18 catches

Indiana's bowl history hasn't been great, and it is now 3-10 all-time in bowl games and have lost six in a row. The Hoosiers' last win was 29 years in the Copper Bowl against Baylor in 1991.

They lost to another SEC team a year ago, falling 23-22 to Tennessee in the Gator Bowl in Jacksonville. These are the first two January bowl games in Florida that Indiana has ever played in. That's been big, because Florida is a huge recruiting area for the Hoosiers, who have nearly two dozens Floridians on their roster, including 10 from the immediate Tampa Bay area.

The Hoosiers hadn't played since Dec. 5 and were on pause for nearly two weeks because of a breakout of positive COVID-19 tests. It wasn't the perfect way to go out.

"It really truly was a window of time there where we did not practice at all, and I think that really hurts the timing of the offense,'' Indiana coach Tom Allen said. "But you've still got to catch the ball and make plays. We got going there after a while, but it took too long to get started.

"But this is a special group, and some of those seniors have decisions to make. The NCAA has given them another year, and some of them may be back. It was a great season. It was great today to hear fans cheering, because we haven't had that all. It was nice.''

For the first time all year, fans were allowed in a limited fashion. Attendance was 11,025.