Auburn vs. Northwestern in the 2010 Outback Bowl

By now you already know that Auburn accepted a bid to play in Tampa on New Year’s Day in the 2010 Outback Bowl.  Auburn will be going bowling again after missing last season’s festivities with its 5-7 record. Starting the season 5-0had most Auburn fans flying high.  However, they were quickly brought back to earth finishing the season 2-5 and  leading most fans to believe that there were definitely positives and negatives for Coach Gene Chizik’s first season. The combination of fan support and a strong showing in the Alabama game helped to convince Outback Bowl officials that Auburn was the 7-5 team they wanted.

Auburn’s opponent will be the 8-4 Northwestern Wildcats. The Wildcats come into the game riding a 3 game winning streak including wins over some pretty impressive opponents (Iowa and Wisconsin). In case you don’t know who or what Northwestern is, I present to you my cheat sheet to the Outback Bowl:

Northwestern University
2009 Overall Record: 8-4
Nickname: Wildcats
Location: Evanston, Illinois
Founded: 1851
Conference: Big Ten (Record 5-3, Tied 3rd Place)
Colors: Purple and White
Students: Approx: 18,208
Mascot: Willie the Wildcat

Athletics:

Coach: Pat Fitzgerald

Notable Players:
Mike Kafka, QB, Senior
Corey Wootten, DL, Senior
Sherrick McManis, CB, Senior

Rankings:

Total Offense: 57 (avg: 386 y/pg)
Scoring Offense: 76 (25.17 p/pg)
Total Defense: 43 (avg: 344 ya/pg)
Scoring Defense: 48 (23.3 pa/pg)

Schedule:

Northwestern’s football team has a history of futility; its all-time record is 468-614-44 (0.435) giving it the all-time record for Division I-A losses.^{[133][134][135]} Other dubious distinctions include being on the losing end of the greatest comeback in Division I-A history^[136] and holding the record for the longest losing streak in Division I-A, losing 34 consecutive games between 1979 and 1982.^[137][138] In 2004, Northwestern broke a 33-year losing streak (46 years at home) by defeating No. 7-ranked Ohio State 33-27.^[139] Although the team was invited to the 1996 Rose Bowl, 1997 Citrus Bowl, 2000 Alamo Bowl, 2003 Motor City Bowl, 2005 Sun Bowl, and 2008 Alamo Bowl, the last bowl game Northwestern won was the 1949 Rose Bowl.^[140] Following the sudden death of football coach Randy Walker in 2006,^[141]31-year old and former All-American Northwestern linebacker Pat Fitzgerald assumed the position becoming the youngest Division I FBS coach at the time.**

**Courtesy of Wikipedia

Outback Bowl Information
Date: January 1, 2010
Location: Raymond James Stadium – Tampa, FL
Time: 11 a.m. kickoff (ET)
Stadium Capacity: 65,657
Title Sponsor: Outback Steakhouse
Network: ESPN
Teams: Big Ten 3rd pick vs. SEC 3rd pick
Payout: $3.3 million (minimum) per team

Buy Auburn Outback Bowl Tickets: Here

Outback Bowl Events: Outback Bowl Official Website