There may not be a better way to start the new year than to face Novestern Auburn in the Citrus Bowl on Friday 14th. Maybe if you wake up on New Year’s Day and then get $ 1 million under your bench when you sit down to watch Northwest take on Auburn in the Citrus Bowl, it would be better, but that’s probably not a realistic scenario.
So I’m going to say that there is nothing better than starting your year with this game. I mean, there’s just something comforting about a Big Ten team playing an SEC team in Florida on New Year’s. It’s like slipping into an old pair of shoes that just fits right.
This year, Citrus Bowl is a rematch of the 2010 Outback Bowl. In that game, Auburn survived a late return from Northwestern to beat the Wildcats 38-35 in overtime. If this year’s meeting is half as entertaining as the one, it’s fun for us. This match also serves as the only other time in history that these teams have met on a soccer field.
It is also an important match for Northwest. Rumors are still circulating about coach Pat Fitzgerald, possibly leaving Evanston for the NFL as he continues to overcome Northwestern. His Wildcats have just won their second division title in three years and want to end another remarkable season with a New Year’s Day victory – it has won four of its last five games since 2012 under Fitzgerald. Let’s look at the storylines we need to follow in Orlando.
Stories
Auburn: It’s been a tough season for Auburn. The Tigers have entered the 2020 season hoping to compete for a division title and possible SEC championship. This hope suffered a serious blow in the second game of the season when the Tigers lost 27-6 to Georgia, and two weeks later the hope was completely destroyed by a 30-22 loss to South Carolina – ‘ a game that would prove to be one of only two wins for the Gamecocks. Losses to Alabama and Texas A&M would follow, and a 6-4 season contributed to the dismissal of Gus Malzahn. Kevin Steele will serve as interim coach for the Tigers in this game, but things can get awkward because Steele was hoping to get the permanent post, but Auburn decided to take Bryan Harsin out of Boise State instead.
Northwest: Last year, at this point, Northwestern was not in a fight. It just ended a 3-9 season and won only one conference game. When coach Pat Fitzgerald said at a press conference at the end of the season that the Wildcats would turn things around in 2020 and play for a Big Ten championship, you could be excused for raising an eyebrow in disbelief. Well, here we are 12 months later and Northwestern is 6-2, won the Big Ten West and played for a Big Ten Championship. It certainly lost the game 22-10 to the state of Ohio, but it’s hard to argue that this season was nothing short of a resounding success for the Wildcats. It’s a team led, as usual, by its defense, which makes this Citrus Bowl bitterly sweet. This will be the final match for longtime defense coordinator Mike Hankwitz, who is retiring after a long, successful career, including the past 13 seasons in the Northwest.
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Games: Citrus
Date: Friday 1 January | Time: 13:00 ET
Location: Camping World Stadium – Orlando, Florida
TV: ABC | Live stream: fuboTV (Try for free)
Forecast of citrus bowl, choose
Last chance:
Northwest Wildcats -4
If you are harming a kitchen game, you need to consider the motivation of a team to play in the game. I have absolutely no doubt in my mind that Northwestern will be ready to play in this game; this is the way Pat Fitzgerald executes his program and how his teams handle the preparation of the bowl. There’s also the extra motivation that this is Hankwitz’s last game as defense coordinator. I can not say that I am confident that Auburn will be just as motivated. As mentioned above, this is a team that comes in a disappointing season under an interim coach who wants a full-time job and does not get it. Northwestern’s offense is not good enough to make me believe the Wildcats can run away with this game, and letting Auburn hang around may be all the motivation he needs. I do think the Wildcats are finally covered. Select: Northwest -3.5 | Northwest 23, Auburn 17
So who wins Northwest against Auburn? And which side of the spread hits more than 50 percent of the time? Visit SportsLine now to see which side of the Auburn vs., all from the advanced model who scored a 56-36 run with his best college soccer football pick this season.