The college football post season is all about exciting match-ups, finishing strong and winning championships, but like all other bowl games, the Outback Bowl is doing more off the field than on the field. The Outback Bowl has “generated an estimated $1 billion in economic impact for the Tampa Bay region over its history.” Perhaps the greatest match-up in Tampa Bay is when Outback meets college football. Perhaps finishing strong means the local community sees exponential economic support during the final days of the year. Perhaps players and coaches aren’t the only ones to win; rather the fans, local businesses and surrounding community win when the Outback Bowl is in town. The Outback Bowl provides an opportunity to travel, make memories and win. From players and coaches to families and communities, this bowl game provides many opportunities that are BIGGER THAN THE GAME.
For more information, visit outbackbowl.com.
HISTORY
| YEAR |
TEAM |
SCORE |
TEAM |
SCORE |
| 2017 |
Florida |
30 |
Iowa |
3 |
| 2016 |
Tennessee |
45 |
Northwestern |
6 |
| 2015 (OT) |
Wisconsin |
34 |
Auburn |
31 |
| 2014 |
LSU |
21 |
Iowa |
14 |
| 2013 |
South Carolina |
33 |
Michigan |
28 |
| 2012 (3OT) |
Michigan State |
33 |
Georgia |
30 |
| 2011 |
Florida |
37 |
Penn State |
24 |
| 2010 (3OT) |
Auburn |
38 |
Northwestern |
35 |
| 2009 |
Iowa |
31 |
South Carolina |
10 |
| 2008 |
Tennessee |
21 |
Wisconsin |
17 |
| 2007 |
Penn State |
20 |
Tennessee |
10 |
| 2006 |
Florida |
31 |
Iowa |
24 |
| 2005 |
Georgia |
24 |
Wisconsin |
21 |
| 2004 |
Iowa |
37 |
Florida |
17 |
| 2003 |
Michigan |
38 |
Florida |
30 |
| 2002 |
South Carolina |
31 |
Ohio State |
28 |
| 2001 |
South Carolina |
24 |
Ohio State |
7 |
| 2000 (OT) |
Georgia |
28 |
Purdue |
25 |
| 1999 |
Penn State |
26 |
Kentucky |
14 |
| 1998 |
Georgia |
33 |
Wisconsin |
6 |
| 1997 |
Alabama |
17 |
Michigan |
14 |
| 1996 |
Penn State |
43 |
Auburn |
14 |
| 1995 |
Wisconsin |
34 |
Duke |
20 |
MEMORABLE GAMES
2013:
South Carolina quarterback Dylan Thompson, who didn’t start and divided time with Connor Shaw, found Bruce Ellington with a 32-yard game-winning touchdown pass with only 0:11 left, giving the Gamecocks a 33-28 victory over Michigan. Both Thompson and Shaw had two touchdowns passes in the win which saw four lead changes in the final quarter.
2012:
One of the most recent edition of the Outback Bowl became one of the closest, as Michigan State finally prevailed in a 33-30 triple-overtime decision on Dan Conroy’s 28-yard field goal. The game marked only the third time in NCAA bowl history that a game went into three overtimes.
2010:
In what has been described as one of the most exciting college football games ever, Auburn and Northwestern combined for more than 1,000 total offensive and broke or tied 32 Outback Bowl records as well as several NCAA bowl records, before Auburn finally prevailed 38-35 in overtime. Northwestern ran 115 offensive plays, an all-time bowl-game record.
2003:
The first appearance by a home-state team (Florida) turned into a wide-open shootout, with the Gators and Michigan trading the lead eight different times in the Wolverines’ 38-30 victory. Michigan running back Chris Perry set a school and Outback Bowl record with four rushing touchdowns.
2000:
Despite Drew Brees’ record-setting performance as Purdue’s quarterback, Georgia rallied from a 25-0 firsthalf deficit and posted a 28-25 overtime victory. At the time, it was the biggest comeback in NCAA bowl history
STANDOUT PLAYERS
Drew Brees, QB, Purdue, 2000
Threw for 378 yards and set or tied six Outback Bowl records, and threw for three touchdowns in the first quarter alone and four in the first half. But Georgia still rallied to take a 28-25 win over the Boilermakers.
Mike Bobo, QB, Georgia, 1998
Completed 19 straight passes, setting a bowl record, on the way to the game’s most accurate performance ever by a quarterback. His 26-of-28 passing effort helped the Bulldogs take a 33-6 win over Wisconsin. Hines Ward had 12 of those catches.
Jamie Morris, RB, Michigan, & Bobby Humphrey, RB, Alabama, 1988
In only the game’s second staging, the two running backs put the then-Hall of Fame bowl on the map, combining for 383 rushing yards and five touchdowns in Michigan’s narrow 28-24 win. Morris also had a 77-yard scoring run, still the longest in the bowl’s history.
MORE
- The Outback Bowl boasts the longest title sponsor among college bowls in Outback Steakhouse, who signed on with the game in April of 1995 and whose contract runs through the January 2020 bowl game.
- The game has been played on ESPN/ABC for 26 years, and this year’s game will mark the 27th year the game has been in the traditional New Year’s Day lineup.
- The Outback Bowl was the first national sporting event of the new millennium, kicking off on January 1, 2000, eight minutes before the AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic that year.
CONFERENCE AFFILIATION
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TRAVEL
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