Tag: auburn northwestern

Twitter reacts to Auburn’s loss against Northwestern

Auburn kept it close for a bit but Northwestern ultimately pulled away in a frustrating and embarrassing loss for the Tigers.

Nothing summarizes the last eight years of Auburn football better than a 35-19 loss to Northwestern. The Tigers were 2-13 on third down and the defense gave up 457 total yards. It’s worth noting that Auburn was without a head coach as well as their best defensive back, running back, and second-best wide receiver.

The game lasted about three hours, but felt like an eternity. When the clock struck zero it was safe to say that many were just relieved to see that it was over. Here’s what fans had to say.

The ultimate takeaway from this loss is that Bryan Harsin has A LOT of work to do starting with a new staff and offensive line. The Tigers may not have started off 2021 with a win, but they have an opportunity to completely hit the reset button and that’s much needed right now.

Keys to Auburn’s disappointing loss to Northwestern in the Citrus Bowl

Auburn couldn’t get anything going in the running game while Northwestern’s offense eventually wore down the Tigers on defense.

The Citrus Bowl was a disaster for Auburn. The offense looked inept, the defense got warn down, the Tigers were missing key players on both sides of the ball and, to cap it off, Bo Nix went down and was limping around on Auburn’s final drive.

But this game was never about winning or losing. There is a reason Auburn moved on from Gus Malzahn earlier in the season and the Bryan Harsin era is set to begin shortly.

Here were the keys in Auburn’s 35-19 loss to Northwestern.

2021 Citrus Bowl first half analysis: Northwestern 14, Auburn 6

It has been mostly a rough first half for Auburn in the 2021 Citrus Bowl against Northwestern.

Well, that happened.

The end.

No, I really wanted that to be the entire analysis but Auburn has made it interesting after falling behind by 14 points early with the Tigers trailing 14-6 at halftime.

Let’s get to my thoughts:

  • 4th and 8 and you rush three men, dropping eight and a guy gets WIDE OPEN for a big gain. How is that even remotely possible?
  • Bo Nix got a little chippy at the end of that half with some trash talking to a Northwestern defensive player.  I sort of liked that.
  • ANNNNNDDDDD then he went and tried this and, no Bo. Just no.

  • I must say this once more before the season ends: this offensive line is atrocious. It is comically bad. How bad would they have been with actual crowd noise this season?
  • It’s amazing how different I look at Kevin Steele after all the news broke of how he was basically throwing a coup. He went from lovable granddad who can coach to evil Bond villain in a matter of weeks.
  • Speaking of, Cole Cubelic reported the obvious but it needed to be said that Steele will not be on Bryan Harsin’s staff. With all the back-stabbing, Steele should consider politics.
  • What is Harsin thinking watching this unfold before his eyes? He has to be a little bit concerned about the talent he has been handed. The transfer portal will be huge.
  • I mentioned how before the 2006 Citrus Bowl (it was the Capital One Bowl back then) that while tailgating beside the big lake outside the stadium, cops and ambulances pulled up and drug a dead body out of the water. I found my friend’s pic of that very moment.

  • Interestingly enough, Auburn would come out and play dead for that entire game in an upset loss.
  • I wonder if Bo Nix wears an Apple Watch during games because I would like to see how many steps he gets in just from escaping pressure on every pass play.
  • Auburn’s defense played much better after the two touchdowns so credit is due there.
  • Pat Fitzgerald’s legs have not seen the sun since August, it seems.

  • Ummmm ….. I think that is all I have. Did you have a great New Year’s Eve? I did.

2021 Citrus Bowl: 3 reasons Northwestern beats Auburn

Auburn’s season will come to a close Friday in a Citrus Bowl showdown with Northwestern. Here is why Aubrn will lose to Northwestern.

Auburn’s season will come to a close Friday in a Citrus Bowl showdown with Northwestern. It will likely be the final game for several of Auburn players and coaches as Brian Harsin will be taking over shortly after the game ends.

Both these teams are carried by their defenses and points will likely come at a premium as both offenses have struggled throughout the season.

Here are three reasons why Northwestern will win Friday.

2021 Citrus Bowl: Everything Kevin Steele ahead of Auburn vs. Northwestern

Auburn interim head coach/defensive coordinator Kevin Steele previewed the Tigers matchup against Northwestern in the 2021 Citrus Bowl.

Q. I wanted to ask you about your defense, a guy who came up was Zakoby McClain and his effort this year, what can you say about his performance this season and what have you seen out of your D-Line this year?

KEVIN STEELE: Yes, as far as Zakoby, No. 1, he’s an outstanding young man. Great family. Comes to work every day, infectious personality in a positive way, on the field, off the field — a high-energy guy and his nickname is Ricochet Rabbit for a reason; it’s an old cartoon, a bounce-around guy that never was still. Very productive obviously, and that’s kind of the way he plays football. Very productive obviously with over a hundred tackles. That’s hard to do. He’s a very, very good football player.

As far as the defensive line goes, we’ve been a work-in-progress with a very, very talented group of young men; that it would have been beneficial to have had spring practice. We didn’t have that in terms of replacing the starters we’ve had. And they have grown throughout the year and have become very effective and improving all the time. So we have got a good group. There’s a pretty big group of numbers there and they are all very talented and have good D-Line strengths for SEC football.

Q. Talk about this has been a strange season for these kids with COVID and all that stuff and then a strange month for these kids at the end. Just talk about what you’ve seen from them and how they have coped with all that stuff.

KEVIN STEELE: Yeah, we’ve really talked about in this light: You know, experiences in life come in different ways and experience is not what happens to you. The experience is what you do with what’s happened to you.

And these guys have adjusted, been flexible: Well, we’re not going to have spring practice; well, we are going to move it back; well, we are not going to have it; we are on Zoom calls. Everybody knows that scenario of just, we’re going to play a game, we’re not playing a game, this is who we are playing and now we have got another opponent, just all kinds of change on top of the same SEC schedule.

So these guys have been very, very resilient. They have gained experience that will pay dividends for them for the rest of their life in terms of how they — they are finishers, they are fighters and they are true Auburn men, and that’s kind of what this group is. I think they will forever be remembered by this coaching staff and by each other as people you can depend on and they fight through adversity.

Q. Curious why you didn’t consider elevating one of your assistants to be the acting defensive coordinator for this game.

KEVIN STEELE: Well, it’s because we just had a short, condensed week of doing that. I’m the defensive coordinator. We have a head coach, so I’m the defensive coordinator, and I think it was just better to keep it the way we’ve done it all year.

Q. Obviously this Bowl season is much different because of opt-out guys. Have you guys had some, anybody that’s not expected to play in the game?

KEVIN STEELE: Well, Schwartz and Mark-Antony Richards, for sure.

Now we have some other guys and I’m not going to disclose that because I take a little bit more of an NFL approach of not letting the opponent know exactly what, but we have some guys that are injured, and we have some guys that are in COVID protocol that may or not be cleared from Dr. Goodlett.

It’s a work-in-progress because we’ve had guys in and out of practice. We’ve got some just regular football injuries that we’re dealing with. It’s going to be a little bit mix-and-match possibly. We may get some of those guys back. We may not get them back. And so it’s kind of touch and go in terms of what we will have.

Q. You mentioned the COVID protocols. As acting head coach, do you have any reentry numbers that you can provide us?

KEVIN STEELE: Yeah, I mean, I don’t know the specific numbers. I’ve kept up with who is at practice and who is not, but I’m not at this point in time, I don’t have them in front of me. So I would be giving you misinformation trying to remember.

Q. Ladarius Tennison started at Mississippi State. Just wondered how he played, and do you see him starting in the Bowl game? And also, the secondary, are you guys going to be up to full speed in the secondary for the Bowl?

KEVIN STEELE: Ladarius played really, really good. He played like a starter. We do see him starting at the star position in this game. He really has just progressed and is a very good football player. Yes, we see that.

What was the other part of your question?

Q. I was going to ask you about the secondary.

KEVIN STEELE: Yeah.

Q. Healthy? You’re ready to go in the secondary?

KEVIN STEELE: We’re a little banged up. Sherwood is probably the biggest question. He had a little ankle injury and so he’s a little bit of a question but there’s a chance. There’s a chance.

Q. I know you were talking about possibly moving an off-field coach into an on-field role for this game. Is that something you still foresee happening?

KEVIN STEELE: We did that, actually, just for a game day headset. And then we had a positive graduate assistant and so we had to get someone in that could coach the scout team.

So Brandon Fisher is going to move on to the active coaching roster. That’s more for a headset reason and communication on game day than it was actually coaching or coaching practice, because he helped run the scout team. But game day, we needed him on the headset because we are down one with the headset, obviously.

Q. You’ve had a week to prepare. How did you go about it, and are they similar in any fashion offensively to any teams you’ve encountered in the SEC in recent years?

KEVIN STEELE: In terms of their scheme, they are a little bit like Georgia schematically. And maybe in some ways

Kentucky. I would say most similar would probably be Kentucky in terms of schematically. They are very, very, very well-coached. They play extremely hard. They do not beat themselves. They execute very well.

Q. How do you compartmentalize preparing for this game and weighing the uncertain future with a new coaching staff coming in and whether or not assistants will be retained and all that?

KEVIN STEELE: Right. Well, that’s a good question, and it is compartmentalized. There’s the personal side of it and it involves your family and the other families on the staff and then there’s our players.

This has got to be all about the players and helping them be successful on game day. We’ll cross that other when it’s time — that bridge, when we get to it. We are not to that. We have to get through this game and represent Auburn well and give everything we have to Auburn and to players here, and don’t allow anything else to be a distraction. I mean, we owe that to each other as a team, as a team, as a staff, to each other. And it’s really not as hard as what people might think it would be.

Q. How much contact have you had with Coach Harsin and has he been out there watching any of the practices?

KEVIN STEELE: Well, it’s been minimal because obviously he has a lot on his plate. So he’s doing what he does and we’re doing something totally separate and they are not joined at this point in time.

But I’ve seen him around the building, and then we’ve had — he had a Zoom conference call with all of us. And then he’s been around some of the players. I think it’s good that they are getting to see him and get a feel for him.

But other than that, it really has not, you know, been in terms of — he’s here. So he’s kind of involved in the Bowl. He’s allowed us to keep that totally separate from him.

Auburn vs Northwestern: Vrbo Citrus Prediction, Game Preview

Auburn vs Northwestern: Vrbo Citrus Bowl prediction and game preview

Auburn vs Northwestern: Vrbo Citrus Bowl prediction and game preview.

Auburn vs Northwestern: Vrbo Citrus Bowl Broadcast

Date: Friday, January 1
Game Time: 1:00 pm ET
Venue: Camping World Stadium, Orlando, FL
Network: ABC

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– All of the CFN Fearless Predictions

Auburn (6-4) vs Northwestern (6-2) Game Preview

For latest lines and to bet on the NFL, go to BetMGM 

Three Reasons Why You Should Watch The Vrbo Citrus Bowl

– It’s a big game for the Big Ten. Northwestern played for the Big Ten Championship, it pushed Ohio State a bit in the 22-10 loss, and it has one of the hottest head coaches in all of football with the NFL about to be knocking on Pat Fitzgerald’s door.

It’s Northwestern, but it’s supposed to beat a mediocre Auburn team with interim head coach Kevin Steele keeping the seat warm before newly hired head man Bryan Harsin takes over.

– Yeah, it’s a big game for the Big Ten. Not only does it supposedly have the better team, and not only has Auburn gone 2-5 in its last seven bowls since 2011, but the conference has struggled lately against the SEC in this thing. Michigan’s loss to Alabama last year made it 1-7 in the last eight in the Citrus between the two power conferences.

– If you like lots of fun, exciting, high-octane offense, this isn’t for you. However, Northwestern doesn’t miss a whole lot of tackles – despite getting run over by Trey Sermon and Ohio State in the Big Ten Championship – it leads the nation in pass efficiency defense.

Auburn’s D has been sneaky-decent, and QB Bo Nix is a hit-or-miss playmaker who could use a big performance going into the offseason. This should be a close, tough battle.

Why Auburn, Northwestern Will Win
What’s Going to Happen, Prediction, History

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What national media are saying about Auburn vs. Northwestern

Auburn takes on Northwestern for only the second time in history when the Tigers and Wildcats meet in the 2021 Citrus Bowl.

It should be a defensive battle when Auburn takes on Northwestern on Friday in the Citrus Bowl to ring in 2021.

The Wildcats are fifth in the FBS in scoring defense, allowing just 15.5 points per game but 97th in scoring offense, averaging 23.4 points per game. Auburn’s offense has had its troubles against top defenses in Alabama, Georgia and Texas A&M so it will be an interesting matchup.

Here is what the media that cover Northwestern and others are saying about the matchup:

InsideNU.com’s Three matchups to watch:

Tank Bigsby vs. Northwestern’s front seven

After successfully containing the run against talented Big Ten running backs all season, Northwestern’s front seven was decimated on the ground by Ohio State’s Trey Sermon in the Big Ten Championship. Sermon was able to hit big hole after big hole on his way to a program-record 331 yards and two touchdowns.

Northwestern’s defense faces another difficult task ahead in Tank Bigsby, Auburn’s freshman running back who won SEC Freshman of the Year and averages a whopping six yards per carry. To make matters more difficult for the ‘Cats, they will be without starting defensive end Eku Leota who elected to enter the transfer portal following the loss to Ohio State. Stopping the run will not be easy against the talented Tigers, and after a poor last showing against the Buckeyes, it will be interesting to see how the rest of Northwestern’s front seven responds to the challenge that Auburn and Bigsby presents.

WGN.com:

Both teams have their conference’s freshman of the year.

Auburn running back Tank Bigsby was selected the Southeastern Conference’s top freshman after rushing for 834 yards on 138 carries in 10 games. He added 300 kick-return yards and 84 receiving yards for 1,218 all-purpose yards.

Northwestern safety Brandon Joseph won the Freshman of the Year award for the Big Ten, the first strictly defensive player to win the award since Deion Barnes in 2012. Joseph leads the nation with six interceptions.

The game will also be the last in the career of Northwestern’s defensive coordinator Mike Hankwitz, who would reach 400 career wins if the Wildcats win the Citrus Bowl.

Saturday Down South:

How badly does Auburn want to be here? The Tigers ended the regular season in high enough spirits, busting a move in celebration of a win at Mississippi State and a 6-4 record, only for Gus Malzahn to get the boot a few hours later. The subsequent search for his replacement was characterized (as these things tend to be) by public rumors, competing agendas and behind-the-scenes intrigue.

In the end, the hiring of Boise State’s Bryan Harsin seemed to satisfy everyone except the small-but-loud group of boosters backing defensive coordinator Kevin Steele, who (awkwardly) will remain in the interim role through the end of the week before (presumably) moving on in the new year. The incentives to play this game begin and end with “because it’s there.”

One thing that should get the Tigers’ juices on offense is the prospect of lining up against a run defense that was just steamrolled for 399 yards on 9.1 per carry by Ohio State. Northwestern (6-2) has excelled against the pass, finishing No. 1 nationally in pass efficiency D and limiting Justin Fields to the worst game of his OSU career. All-Big Ten DB Brandon Joseph is an interception machine with 6 in just 8 games, tied for the national lead. But once OSU finally made up its mind to load up and run right at the Wildcats in the second half there was nothing they could do about it. Auburn’s o-line isn’t Ohio State’s, by a long shot, but if the Tigers can ride Tank Bigsby to even half of the Buckeyes’ success on the ground it will have the luxury of treating the passing game as an afterthought.

YardBarker.com:

Auburn’s offense has been lacking all season, but in Auburn’s final regular-season game Tank Bigsby broke out. The freshman running back (who I was high on before the season) ran for 192 yards on Mississippi State and found the rhythm he lost during November. Bigsby will go up against what was thought of as a great run defense in Northwestern … until they allowed Ohio State’s Trey Sermon to blast them for 331 rushing yards. Auburn will need Bigby carrying the offensive load and become the star heading into the new era of Tigers football in 2021.

ESPN’s FPI gives Auburn good shot at winning Citrus Bowl

Auburn and Northwestern face off for only the second time in history on Friday in the 2021 Citrus Bowl.

While Auburn will likely enter the Citrus Bowl as underdogs to Northwestern per BetMGM, the Tigers have a good chance per ESPN’s Football Power Index.

The matchup predictor has Auburn with a 60% chance of winning the game against the 6-2 Wildcats.

Northwestern has one of the top defenses in the nation, finishing 5th in the FBS by allowing just 15.5 points per game. Star cornerback Brandon Joseph, a true freshman, will be a tough matchup for Bo Nix and Seth Williams in the passing game. He recorded six interceptions this season including a highlight-worthy pick in the Big Ten title game against Ohio State.

Here’s a look at the rest of SEC bowl action and what the ESPN FPI says of their chances:

Florida (42.7%) vs. Oklahoma

Mississippi State (40.1%) vs. Tulsa

Arkansas (30.7%) vs. TCU

Georgia (70.7%) vs. Cincinnati

Alabama (81.1%) vs. Notre Dame

Kentucky (57.2%) vs. NC State

Ole Miss (26.6%) vs. Indiana

Texas A&M (63.6%) vs. North Carolina

Auburn to face Northwestern in Citrus Bowl

Auburn will face Northwestern in the Citrus Bowl on Jan. 1, 2021 to start the post-Gus Malzahn era.

The post-Gus Malzahn era for Auburn will begin in Orlando.

On Sunday, the Tigers were invited and accepted a bid in the Citrus Bowl to play against the Northwestern Wildcats on Jan. 1, 2021.

The Wildcats won the Big Ten West and stand 6-2 after a loss to Ohio State, 22-10, in the Big Ten Championship game on Saturday.

The two programs have met once, a 38-35 Auburn victory in the 2010 Outback Bowl.