Utah vs. Indiana, Foster Farms Bowl 2016: Utes squeak past Hoosiers

Miami began the Russell Athletic Bowl with five consecutive three-and-outs. Late in the first quarter, WVU pulled off the same feat. The Mountaineers only once drove more than 40 yards in a possession, and Miami finished the game gaining 42 yards on its final 15 plays.

This was a game of droughts ... and one burst. When UM’s Brad Kaaya and Ahmmon Richards connected for a 51-yard score with 6:30 left in the first half, it tied the game at 7-7 and kick-started a short run of Hurricane success. They drove 59 yards in six plays to go up 14-7 on their next possession, then improbably went 70 yards in five plays in the final minute of the first half go up 21-7. They took advantage of a dubious third-down pass interference penalty to score a touchdown on their first drive of the second half, and that was about it. They tacked on a field goal to pull away for a 31-14 win in Orlando.

Utah won the 2016 Foster Farms Bowl on Wednesday night, beating Indiana, 26-24.

It turned out to be a dramatic evening. Utah led 17-7 at one point in the second quarter, but Indiana battled back and took a 24-23 lead on a Devine Redding touchdown run in the fourth quarter. The teams traded stops after that, and IU kicker Griffin Oakes missed a 40-yard field goal with 5:34 left that kept Utah within a point.

One of the more surprising coaching changes of 2016 came when Indiana announced in December that head coach Kevin Wilson would be resigning after his sixth year. He’s been replaced from within by former defensive coordinator Tom Allen for the Foster Farms Bowl against Utah and beyond.

New head coaches usually don’t participate in transitional bowl games, but since Allen was already on staff, it makes sense for him to simply start his tenure now.

The 2016 Foster Farms Bowl has a nondescript time slot, but the matchup between Indiana and Utah could be a sneaky fun game. Both teams are capable of playing at a high level, but can also ruin things for themselves in a hurry.

Utah had a run in the middle of the season where it was in the mix for the Pac-12 title, but it lost three of its last four games to end the regular season on a bit of a down note. The Utes are sticking with their traditional formula of physical defense and running the football, so there won’t be many surprises for them.

Both sides are right. Bowls are a cynical money-making exercise, an excuse for ESPN inventory, and an outdated way for all the wrong people to maintain some semblance of control over college football. They’re also happy, bonus football.

We are at both extremes in 2016. We once again had 80 bowl bids to give out and fewer than 80 bowl-eligible teams, a sure sign of bloat and excess. We’re also loaded with perhaps more interesting bowl matchups than we’ve ever seen.

Bowl games are good. There are too many of them. Both things are true.

We’re holding steady at 41 on this year’s schedule, counting the National Championship, and again have multiple 5-7 teams that made it in because we ran out of 6-6 teams (Mississippi State and North Texas this time).

College football’s bowl season is upon us. A full schedule is here.

There are 40 bowl games spread from Dec. 17 to Jan. 2, with the National Championship on Jan. 9. Unless you’re watching on multiple monitors and are really committed, you won’t catch all of them. (If that is your plan, more power to you.)

Also, head over here for the fully updated bowl season calendar as it fills in, from the New Orleans Bowl through the Rose Bowl. We’ll also add picks, scores, and more to that calendar over time.

The Foster Farms Bowl is set for Dec. 28 in California. It’s not a new bowl game, heading into its 15th year. But it feels new, because it’s played in a newish NFL stadium and has a relatively new name. (It used to go by “Fight Hunger Bowl,” “Emerald Bowl” and “San Francisco Bowl,” having debuted after the 2002 season.

On Thursday, Indiana defensive coordinator Tom Allen was named the new head coach of Indiana football after IU athletic director Fred Glass announced Kevin Wilson had resigned.

Citing philosophical differences as the reason Wilson and Indiana football cut ties, Glass said Allen would be head coach permanently, and that his role will not be a temporary or interim one.

Indiana head football coach Kevin Wilson has resigned during his sixth season, as officially announced by Indiana Thursday evening. An IU source confirmed the news to SB Nation earlier on Thursday. Administration objected to multiple issues regarding player treatment, per the source.

During a press conference on Thursday night, IU athletic director Fred Glass made the news official, and stated that Wilson’s departure from the program was a “resignation” due to “philosophical differences in how to run a football team.”