Ramsey, Hoosiers Arrive in Florida Ready To Work
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — After missing out on the bowl-game experience the past two years, Indiana is really enjoying having more time together. They arrived here in Jacksonville Saturday afternoon, and they're thrilled to be here.
"We are excited to be down here, and I'm ust looking forward to another week with the guys,'' Indiana quarterback Peyton Ramsey said after arriving in Jacksonville for Thursday night's Gator Bowl game with Tennessee. "Being down here is great, and playing an SEC opponent, that's something that we don't get to do very often. It's an exciting time for our team."
The Hoosiers will have their final three bowl practices here in Jacksonville on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. They've made the most of their practices back in Bloomington, working on a lot of individual techniques. They used their final three practices there to start installing the game plan for Tennessee, and will do the same again this week.
It's been a good time to get better, Ramsey said.
"I think it's a good time to kind of develop and stay sharp and go out there with the guys, get another month of football and have fun with it,'' he said. "I'm happy with where we're at. We had enough practices to stay sharp, so it's been a good little month of football."
Ramsey also sees the importance in finishing strong. Indiana went 8-4 this season, the first time it won eight games since 1993. Getting a ninth win would be huge, and also set the stage for bigger things in 2020.
"I think it matters a lot. Playing a different team, somebody we don't really get to play against and playing well, I think it will carry a lot of momentum (into next season) if we play well in this game and get a win,'' Ramsey said. "It'd be good for recruiting. It'd be good for the young guys to continue to develop and look back and say, 'Look, we can compete with some good football teams.' I think it would mean a lot to us."
