IU will play in the 2016 Foster Farms bowl against No. 19 Utah in Santa Clara, California, on Dec. 28.The postseason matchup will kick off at 8:30 p.m., with IU looking for its first bowl victory since 1991.
“Our team is thrilled to play in the Foster Farms Bowl,” IU Vice President and Director of Athletics Fred Glass said in a release from IU Athletics. “Making a second straight bowl game is an enormous milestone for the program and our students will enjoy going against a high caliber opponent in the Utah Utes. We can’t wait to bring Hoosier Nation to the Bay Area on December 28th to compete in one of the most beautiful areas of the country.
The Hoosiers finished their second consecutive regular season 6-6, clinching bowl berths two years in a row for the first time since 1990-91. They lost the 1990 Peach Bowl to Auburn and won the 1991 Copper Bowl against Baylor.
Utah finished its regular season 8-4, including back-to-back losses to finish the season. This season the Utes defeated USC and UCLA, among others, and suffered a narrow defeat to No. 4 Washington, 31-24.
IU will be without former head coach Kevin Wilson, who resigned Thursday. New head coach Tom Allen will assume head coaching responsibilities after serving as IU’s defensive coordinator for the regular season.
"We’re excited to be able to go to the Foster Farms Bowl in California to play the Utah Utes,” IU Coach Tom Allen said in the release. “It’s a great opportunity for us to match up against another great conference in this country in the Pac-12 and play one of their better teams. The Hoosiers are fired up to be heading west.”
Taylor Lehman
