Outback Bowl

The Outback Bowl is a college football postseason game played at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla., each year. Previously known as the Hall of Fame Bowl and first contested in 1986, the Outback Bowl now matches up bowl-eligible teams from the Big Ten and Southeastern conferences. Michigan State won the 2012 Outback Bowl, outlasting Georgia in triple-overtime.

The origins of the Outback Bowl date back to 1986, when the NCAA awarded a bowl game to the Tampa Bay area of Florida. Originally called the Hall of Fame Bowl, the inaugural game was played at Tampa Stadium on Dec. 23, 1986, with Boston College defeating Georgia, 27-24.

The postseason game moved to January for its second edition, when major national programs Michigan and Alabama squared off for their first-ever meeting with the Wolverines winning by a 28-24 score. Michigan's conference rival Ohio State then appeared in two of the next four Hall of Fame Bowls, losing in 1992 and 1994.

In 1994, bowl organizers agreed to a multi-year deal to host teams from the Big Ten and Southeastern Conference in the annual matchup at Tampa Stadium. Outback Steakhouse signed on to become the game's title sponsor the following year, and the name of the contest was officially changed to the Outback Bowl beginning with the New Year's Day game in 1996.

Penn State topped Auburn in that 1996 contest, before winning the Outback Bowl again on New Year's Day in 1999 by defeating Kentucky at the bowl's new home, Raymond James Stadium.

After Georgia claimed its second win in three years with a 2000 victory over Purdue, the next two Outback Bowls were matchups between South Carolina and Ohio State. The Gamecocks took both of the 2001 and 2002 contests to give the SEC three straight wins over the Big Ten in Tampa.

Florida represented the SEC for three of the next four years in the Outback Bowl, but could only claim victory in 2006 after a 31-24 win over Iowa that avenged a 2004 loss to the Hawkeyes at Raymond James.

In 2007, Joe Paterno's Penn State team gained its third Outback Bowl triumph by defeating Tennessee, which returned the next season to edge Wisconsin for the Vols' second win in three appearances at the annual bowl in Tampa.

The Big Ten and SEC conferences extended their arrangements in 2009, agreeing to send bowl-eligible teams to the Outback Bowl through the 2014 game. The first matchup following the extension may have been the most exciting game in Outback Bowl history, as Auburn outlasted Northwestern 38-35 in a game that went to overtime and tied or set nine NCAA records and 39 Outback Bowl records. Two years later, Michigan State and Georgia went to triple-overtime, with the Spartans winning, 33-30.