Why Outback Bowl is a big deal

[aubiefifty 16,767]

247sports.com

Why Outback Bowl is a 'big deal' for Auburn

ByBrandon Marcello

3-4 minutes

AUBURN, Alabama — Playing in the Outback Bowl is a “big deal” for Auburn because of what’s at stake for the legacy of the 2019 team, coach Gus Malzahn said Sunday night.

The coach and the program conducted their annual awards banquet Sunday evening, just a few hours after learning they would play Minnesota in the Outback Bowl on New Year’s Day.

“It’s what we’ve been talking (about),” Malzahn said, according to a team spokesperson. “A month ago we said a 10-win season is our goal. We won the last two and this would be the 10th. It’s very important to our team and very important to send our seniors out with a legacy of a 10-win season at Auburn with the schedule that we played, which is the toughest in college football.”

The combined winning percentage of Auburn’s opponents, which includes three losses to top 10 teams and two wins against top-15 teams, ranks second nationally behind South Carolina. The No. 12 Tigers (9-3) are soaring after a 48-45 victory against rival Alabama, which dropped from No. 5 to No. 13 in the College Football Playoff rankings. The two rivals are tied for ninth nationally in the AP poll.

The matchup with No. 18 Minnesota (10-2) figures to be a tough one in the trenches. Sophomore right tackle Daniel Faalele is an incredible 6-foot-9 and 400 pounds, but injured a knee in the Gophers’ season finale. The Australian native may not be available for the Outback Bowl, which is based in Tampa, just south of his high school of IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida. The Gophers’ large offensive will likely face off against defensive tackle Derrick Brown, who is a finalist for seven national awards.

“Derrick is one of the best all-around football players in the entire country. Any position,” Malzahn said Sunday. “It’s not a coincidence he’s up for a lot of these awards. I expect him to win quite a few of them. He’s a real special player. He’s had an unbelievable year. He’s played his best football in the biggest games when they matter the most. That’s a sign of a great player.”

Minnesota is coming off its first 10-win regular season since 1905 under second-year head coach P.J. Fleck, who recently agreed to a contract extension with the Big Ten’s Gophers.

“He’s a dynamic coach,” Malzahn said. “He’s a very exciting coach. During one of our off weeks [ESPN’s] College GameDay was there when they played Penn State and they won. I got a chance to watch a little bit of that game and was very impressed. I’ve always been impressed with him as a coach and obviously he’s got a very good team.”

Auburn coaches were on the road recruiting last week and left the Tigers’ annual banquet Sunday night to continue their recruiting tours. The Iron Bowl victory has certainly helped the Tigers’ efforts on the road as the early signing period approaches (Dec. 18).

“It was a great win for our program beating our rival at home with the best environment in college football,” Malzahn said. “It’s given us great momentum not only in recruiting but looking forward to the bowl. This is a big deal for us with a chance to win a 10th game.”

[Carnell 592]

3 hours ago, aubiefifty said:

247sports.com

Why Outback Bowl is a 'big deal' for Auburn

ByBrandon Marcello

3-4 minutes

AUBURN, Alabama — Playing in the Outback Bowl is a “big deal” for Auburn because of what’s at stake for the legacy of the 2019 team, coach Gus Malzahn said Sunday night.

The coach and the program conducted their annual awards banquet Sunday evening, just a few hours after learning they would play Minnesota in the Outback Bowl on New Year’s Day.

“It’s what we’ve been talking (about),” Malzahn said, according to a team spokesperson. “A month ago we said a 10-win season is our goal. We won the last two and this would be the 10th. It’s very important to our team and very important to send our seniors out with a legacy of a 10-win season at Auburn with the schedule that we played, which is the toughest in college football.”

The combined winning percentage of Auburn’s opponents, which includes three losses to top 10 teams and two wins against top-15 teams, ranks second nationally behind South Carolina. The No. 12 Tigers (9-3) are soaring after a 48-45 victory against rival Alabama, which dropped from No. 5 to No. 13 in the College Football Playoff rankings. The two rivals are tied for ninth nationally in the AP poll.

The matchup with No. 18 Minnesota (10-2) figures to be a tough one in the trenches. Sophomore right tackle Daniel Faalele is an incredible 6-foot-9 and 400 pounds, but injured a knee in the Gophers’ season finale. The Australian native may not be available for the Outback Bowl, which is based in Tampa, just south of his high school of IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida. The Gophers’ large offensive will likely face off against defensive tackle Derrick Brown, who is a finalist for seven national awards.

“Derrick is one of the best all-around football players in the entire country. Any position,” Malzahn said Sunday. “It’s not a coincidence he’s up for a lot of these awards. I expect him to win quite a few of them. He’s a real special player. He’s had an unbelievable year. He’s played his best football in the biggest games when they matter the most. That’s a sign of a great player.”

Minnesota is coming off its first 10-win regular season since 1905 under second-year head coach P.J. Fleck, who recently agreed to a contract extension with the Big Ten’s Gophers.

“He’s a dynamic coach,” Malzahn said. “He’s a very exciting coach. During one of our off weeks [ESPN’s] College GameDay was there when they played Penn State and they won. I got a chance to watch a little bit of that game and was very impressed. I’ve always been impressed with him as a coach and obviously he’s got a very good team.”

Auburn coaches were on the road recruiting last week and left the Tigers’ annual banquet Sunday night to continue their recruiting tours. The Iron Bowl victory has certainly helped the Tigers’ efforts on the road as the early signing period approaches (Dec. 18).

“It was a great win for our program beating our rival at home with the best environment in college football,” Malzahn said. “It’s given us great momentum not only in recruiting but looking forward to the bowl. This is a big deal for us with a chance to win a 10th game.”

Agreed wholeheartedly.  Would add that people say overall we are a better team overall than Minnesota which is correct but their strengths match to our weaknesses.  They have a good quarterback and receivers and lead the Bid 10 in passing going against our secondary.

[eibua12 81]

Tampa is North of IMG but who is counting.

Minnesota QB sacks this year 30. (Tanner Morgan)  (Nix: 15)

Minnesota SOS 61, Sagarin rating 29th

UGA offensive line across the board is bigger, They have a 5 star QB, an NFL running back, and better receivers than UM.

I am not saying we should be taking UM lightly but everyone needs to take a huge breath and compare apples to apples. 

Auburn's secondary isn't as bad as you might think 

Not sure I see anyone they have played who has a front seven like Auburn.  If they had played tOSU maybe.

 

 

[Win4AU 4,052]

10 wins is huge.  I heard this morning that Gus would have more 10 win seasons than any other Auburn coach in the same time frame.  If you told most folks Auburn would end the season with 10 wins and an Iron Bowl victory after last year I think they’d been a little surprised.

[LKEEL75 2,566]

20 minutes ago, Win4AU said:

If you told most folks Auburn would end the season with 10 wins and an Iron Bowl victory after last year I think they’d been a little surprised.

Most "experts" had us 6-6 to 8-4.  The thought of 10 was not on any of their minds.  Most fans were in the same boat as well.

[TigerTale 357]

23 minutes ago, Win4AU said:

10 wins is huge.  I heard this morning that Gus would have more 10 win seasons than any other Auburn coach in the same time frame.  If you told most folks Auburn would end the season with 10 wins and an Iron Bowl victory after last year I think they’d been a little surprised.

10 wins is huge can't be said enough. Gus needs this and I believe the players want it. Bo Nix said as much just a few weeks back before the Bama game. Saying you were part of a 10 win team is important to these guys.

[auburn4ever 1,266]

IMO, the Tigers will have their hands full when we play Minnesota who is 10-2. I still think we can beat'em though.

[AURaptor 1,122]

We'll see if changes as some decide to play or not, but AU -7.5 seems pretty decent on a neutral field. 

[Dual-Threat Rigby 8,662]

If they can boatrace a team that dumped PSU on their neck and finished 3rd in a pretty competitive B10...I think you'd look at this as a fairly successful season overall. The game by game analysis might be a little bit less fair towards Gus, but in aggregate...3-3 against top 18 teams isn't the worse

[SuperAUsome09 738]

Minnesota doesn't have the ace up the sleeve! Siposs has taught our players first hand knowledge on how to bowl in th e Outback.

[Leftfield 2,595]

16 hours ago, Win4AU said:

I heard this morning that Gus would have more 10 win seasons than any other Auburn coach in the same time frame.  

A little misleading, as Gus is the only coach (besides Chizik) to have 12-game regular seasons his entire Auburn HC career.

[McLoofus 35,182]

48 minutes ago, SuperAUsome09 said:

Minnesota doesn't have the ace up the sleeve! Siposs has taught our players first hand knowledge on how to bowl in th e Outback.

Solid.

[aucanucktiger 1,791]

One of the most bizarre stats in all college football is a program like Auburn with 12 undefeated seasons having so few back to back 10 win seasons. Get er done against Minn and IMHO we are set to do back to backs next season.

[creed 1,635]

I’m not really set on us having a great game against Minnesota. My expectations are:

1) our seniors showing the under classmen on practicing hard regardless of the game. Basically setting a standard.

2) our seniors being motivators and cheer leaders to the under classmen and making them aware they are the future. 

3) play as many non starters as possible.

4) win by 1 point  

What are your expectations?

[I_M4_AU 7,801]

42 minutes ago, creed said:

I’m not really set on us having a great game against Minnesota. My expectations are:

1) our seniors showing the under classmen on practicing hard regardless of the game. Basically setting a standard.

2) our seniors being motivators and cheer leaders to the under classmen and making them aware they are the future. 

3) play as many non starters as possible.

4) win by 1 point  

What are your expectations?

I hope to see CCM’s influence on the offense and playing as many non starters on the defense as possible, while still winning.  I don’t expect it.

[Win4AU 4,052]

Wonder when bowl practice starts?  Interested to see how much effect Morris has on the offense in a short amount of time.  Biggest thing is to get 2nd team Oline reps with the starters and start the process.