2010 Outback Bowl - Northwestern vs. Auburn

The CFN 2010 Outback Bowl Preview - Northwestern vs. Auburn

2010 Outback Bowl

Northwestern (8-4) vs. Auburn (7-5)

Tampa, FL, Jan. 1, 11 am, ESPN

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Team Pages and 2009 Season
Auburn | Northwestern 
 

- 2009 CFN Outback Bowl Preview
- 2008 CFN Outback Bowl Preview
- 2007 CFN Outback Bowl Preview

National Rankings
A		N
20th	Total Offense	57th
51st	Total Defense	44th
20th	Scoring Offense	76th
73rd	Scoring Defense	48th
13th	Rushing Offense	93rd
80th	Run Defense	36th
56th	Passing Offense	29th
28th	Passing Defense	68th
59th	Turnover Margin	31st

Position Ratings relative to each other
A	5 highest 1 lowest	N
2	Quarterbacks	4
5	RBs	2
3	Receivers	3
3.5	O Line	2
3	D Line	3.5
3	Linebackers	3
4	Secondary	3
4	Spec Teams	4
3.5	Coaching	4

Outback Bowl History

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2009	Tennessee 21, Wisconsin 17
2008	Iowa 31, South Carolina 10
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 St 28
2001	South Carolina 24, Ohio State 7
2000	Georgia 28, Purdue 25 (OT)
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
1994	Michigan 42, NC State 7
1993	Tennessee 38, Boston Coll 23
1991	Clemson 30, Illinois 0
1990	Auburn 31, Ohio State 14
1989	Syracuse 23, LSU 10
1988	Michigan 28, Alabama 24
1986	Boston College 27, Georgia 24

You know how the SEC is supposed to be so much faster than the slow, stodgy, Big Ten, and how it’s supposed to be light years ahead talent-wise? Don’t tell that to the Outback Bowl.

The best ammo for Big Ten fans in the ongoing fight for respectability has been this game as their conference has managed to hold serve with the mighty SEC over the last eight years going 4-4 and being more than just competitive in the losses. When the game has been a blowout, at least recently, it’s been the SEC that went into the tank with Florida losing to Iowa 37-17 in the 2004 game and South Carolina deciding not to show up last year against the Hawkeyes in a 31-10 drubbing. Northwestern has to try to keep the Big Ten’s string of nice Outback performances going, and it has to prove that it really does belong here.

Technically, the Wildcats deserved this bowl having beaten Wisconsin in the Big Ten regular season finale, but there was some thought that because the Badgers bring the fans, and because the loss in Evanston was sort of an aberration in a strange see-saw game, that the wrong team was making the trip. Instead, Wisconsin is off to the Champs Sports Bowl (which won’t exactly be a layup against Miami) while the Wildcats will try to win just their second bowl game after losing six straight. The lone bowl win came over California in the 1948 Rose Bowl, while the six losses since 1995 have come in all shapes and sizes.

There was the Rose Bowl loss to USC to cap off a great 1995 season, there was an embarrassing 2003 Motor City Bowl loss to the MAC’s Bowling Green, there was the 66-17 nail-biter of a 2000 Alamo Bowl loss to Nebraska, and there was last year’s heartbreaking overtime loss to Missouri in the Alamo. In the six losses the defense has given up an average of 44 points per game, but it hasn’t helped that the Cats had to face a few legendary college quarterbacks like Peyton Manning, Eric Crouch, and Chase Daniel.

Pat Fitzgerald doesn’t care.

No player, no coach, and no fan in America cares more about his college football team than the Northwestern head man, and he really and truly believes that his program should be in the mix for the Big Ten title, and more, each and every season. Beating Auburn in a New Year’s Day bowl game would go a long way to show that Fitzgerald might be right.

The Tigers came up with a successful first season under head coach Gene Chizik, and while there were some bumps along the way, just getting to the Outback Bowl is a tremendous step forward after the monster disappointment of the 2008 losing season. The team might be limping into the post-season after losing five of their last seven games, but they pushed Alabama to the final minute, lost by a touchdown at Georgia, and beat Ole Miss after starting out the season 5-0. The Gus Malzahn offense hasn’t always been smooth, but it’s a night-and-day improvement over the struggles the Tiger attack had last year. The defense as struggled, but Chizik is a defensive-minded coach and is expected to turn things around in a hurry. Stopping Northwestern and winning the bowl game would be a good step.

Auburn was fantastic in bowls under former head man Tommy Tuberville and is on a run of five wins in the last six. So either a nice bowl streak will continue and an ugly one will go on, or Northwestern will come up with one of the biggest wins in school history and Auburn will have an offseason of grumpiness. This might not be the premier Big Ten vs. SEC matchup (that’s the Capital One Bowl), but the first college football game of the New Year should be entertaining enough to ease you into the long day of games.

Players to Watch: The best quarterback in the Big Ten this year was … Darryl Clark? Close. Terrelle Pryor? Hardly. Northwestern senior Mike Kafka was originally known as a running option after tearing off 217 yards as a fill-in to beat Minnesota last season, but turned into a whale of a passer with good decision-making skills, a nice touch on his short throws, and the ability to get the ball to players where they could do something with it. While he only threw 12 touchdown passes, he was almost always clutch and had a great knack for making up for his errors. Three of his seven interceptions came early against Indiana, but he made amends by leading the Cats to a thrilling 29-28 win with 312 yards and two touchdown passes. He threw for over 300 yards against both Illinois and Wisconsin in the final two games of the regular season to lead the way to the wins needed to get here, and he’s going to have to throw for well over 300 again if Northwestern is going to pull off the upset.

If everything is clicking for Auburn’s offense, Ben Tate will have a big game. The senior started out red hot with six 100-yard games in the first nine, and wasn’t needed for more than 12 carries against Furman, but Georgia and Alabama were able to keep him under wraps. More of a powerful back instead of a speed one, like future star Onterio McCalebb , Tate is at his best when he’s able to barrel inside and get a little bit of a crease to tear off yards in chunks. If he’s running well, then Malzahn can play around with all the other parts of the offense.

Trying to keep Tate and the Auburn under wraps will be Northwestern DE Corey Wootton, who’s coming full-circle after suffering a knee injury in last year’s Alamo Bowl. He was a fringe first-round prospect had he stayed healthy and had he decided to come out early, but he looked at the injury as a possible positive. Blessed with tremendous size and a world of talent, his work ethic was in question, and he admitted as much. But to get back to healthy he had to bust his tail to get back on the field, and while the production hasn’t been there compared to his pre-injury form, he’s starting to come back with four sacks in his final five games.

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Best Wildcat Bowl Moment: No contest. When you’re the Big Ten’s perennial doormat and you haven’t been to a bowl game in 47 years, an unexpected berth in the Rose Bowl is more than a great bowl moment—it’s the modern day high point for your program. Such was the case for the 1995 ‘Cats, which shocked the world by winning the conference title and earning a trip to Pasadena. They led favored USC early in the fourth quarter before succumbing, 41-32.

Best Tiger Bowl Moment: Over the years, the Tigers have given their fans plenty to cheer about in the postseason. High on the list of shining moments was the school's only Sugar Bowl win, a 9-7 triumph over Michigan in 1984. In a classic defensive struggle with the Wolverines, Auburn pulled out the game when Al Del Greco split the uprights with under a minute left. The 11-1 Tigers finished No. 2 in the polls behind a Miami team that upset unbeaten Nebraska in the Orange Bowl.

Northwestern Bowl History (1-6)

2008	Alamo	Missouri 30, Northwestern 23 OT
2005	Sun	UCLA 50, Northwestern 38
2003	Motor City	Bowling Green 28, Northwestern 24
2000	Alamo	Nebraska 66, Northwestern 17
1996	Citrus	Tennessee 48, Northwestern 28
1995	Rose	USC 41, Northwestern 32
1948	Rose	Northwestern 20, California 14

Auburn Bowl History (19-13-2)

2007	Clemson	Auburn 23, Clemson 20
2007	Cotton	Auburn 17, Nebraska 14
2006	Capital One	Wisconsin 24, Auburn 10
2005	Sugar	Auburn 16, Virginia Tech 13
2003	Music City	Auburn 28, Wisconsin 14
2002	Capital One	Auburn 13, Penn State 9
2001	Peach	North Carolina 16, Auburn 10
2000	Citrus	Michigan 31, Auburn 28
1997	Peach	Auburn 21, Clemson 17
1996	Independence	Auburn 32, Army 29
1995	Outback	Penn State 42, Auburn 13
1990	Peach	Auburn 27, Indiana 23
1989	Hall of Fame	Auburn 31, Ohio State 14
1988	Sugar	Florida State 13, Auburn 7
1987	Sugar	Auburn 16, Syracuse 16
1986	Citrus	Auburn 16, Southern California 7
1985	Cotton	Texas A&M 36, Auburn 16
1984	Liberty	Auburn 21, Arkansas 15
1983	Sugar	Auburn 9, Michigan 7
1982	Tangerine	Auburn 33, Boston College 26
1974	Gator	Auburn 27, Texas 3
1973	Sun	Missouri 34, Auburn 17
1972	Gator	Auburn 24, Colorado 3
1971	Sugar	Oklahoma 40, Auburn 22
1970	Gator	Auburn 35, Ole Miss 28
1969	Astro-Bluebonnet	Houston 36, Auburn 7
1968	Sun	Auburn 34, Arizona 10
1965	Liberty	Ole Miss 13, Auburn 7
1963	Orange	Nebraska 13, Auburn 7
1955	Gator	Vanderbilt 25, Auburn 13
1954	Gator	Auburn 33, Baylor 13
1953	Gator	Texas Tech 35, Auburn 13
1937	Orange	Auburn 6, Michigan State 0
1936	Bacardi	Auburn 7, Villanova 7