Postcard From Florida: Hitting Golf Balls With Your Pals

One of the nice things about bowl games is getting to do other fun activities as a group that you wouldn't do at home. Hitting golf balls turned out to be pretty funny.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Being out of their element was a major understatement when Indiana's football players went to Top Golf on one of their bowl game outings on Monday. A lot of the guys have never played golf before, so there was plenty of laughing going on.

But the away-from-football event, something they've been able to do a few times this week, also generated some surprises. Big freshman left tackle Matt Bedford was smooth with a club in his hand, and hit several long drives.

"Bedford really impressed me. He was hitting balls to the back of the net,'' fellow freshman Sio Nofoagatoto’a said. "Caleb (Jones, Indiana's huge right tackle) too. They were both hitting them. Me, I was pretty average, so I would say I'm a better bowler than a golfer.''

Tight end Peyton Hendershot said he picked up golf last summer and it's become his new hobby. And like a lot of golf days, he said he was hitting the ball great ... for a while.

"I got a little confidence going and hit about seven good ones in row, Drilled it into the net, but you know how golf gets the best of you. I was hitting them everywhere after that,'' Hendershot said. 

After Tuesday's practice, the Hoosiers all went to the Mayport Naval Base during the afternoon and got tours of the USS Indianapolis and the USS Billings ships. 

On Wednesday, there is one final press conference with coach Tom Allen and his team captains, along with Tennessee group. There is a pep rally at 5 p.m. for Indiana fans.

The game is Thursday night at 7 p.m. ET. The game is televised on ESPN.

🗣 Foooooore! pic.twitter.com/l8i97ZPTTi

— Indiana Football (@IndianaFootball) December 31, 2019