Outback Bowl Preview: Northwestern vs. Auburn
December 28th, 2009 by Mike Ware
Northwestern QB Mike Kafka (thanks Icon SMI)
New Year’s Day in Tampa Bay. Big Ten vs. the SEC. Mojitos vs. Margaritas.
It beats looking at the snow I see in my yard. And the football game is usually a treat as well. Six of the last eight Outback Bowls have been won by 10 points or less. And to make this one even better, Auburn (7-5) will face Northwestern (8-4) for the first time. Coach Gene Chizik gets the Tigers to a bowl game in his first season at Auburn while Pat Fitzgerald gets the Wildcats to their first back to back bowl appearances since 1996.
Northwestern is led by QB Mike Kafka who ended the season strong throwing three TD’s and no interceptions in his last two games. The rushing game (yes they have one) should not pose much of a threat in this game but the Wildcats have lived on the air game all year. Andrew Brewer and Zeke Markshausen both have over 750 yards in receptions this year. Markshausen has 79 receptions so far this season. The Wildcats average 25.2 points and 266.1 passing yards per game. That is just the kind of offense that will give Auburn a huge headache on New Year’s Day.
Auburn returns to Tampa for the first time in 14 years. And the Tigers bring a running game that ranked 13th in the nation. Ben Tate had six 100 yard plus games this season on his way to compiling 1254 yards. QB Chris Todd threw for 21 TD’s this season while only throwing six interceptions. Darvin Adams is the main receiver with 10 TD’s this year. The Tigers also are ranked 20th in scoring offense. That is not good for the Wildcat defense. Despite the headache the Wildcat passing attack will present the Tigers should prevail in this one. They just have the weapons needed to attack all day. Look for Kafka and the Wildcats to make it interesting though.
Prediction: Auburn 31 — Northwestern 30.
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