Bowl Preview: Outback Bowl

Outback Bowl
Raymond James Stadium, Tampa
Northwestern vs. Auburn
Date: Jan. 1
Time: 11 a.m.
TV: ESPN
Line: Auburn -8

About Auburn (7-5): The Tigers/War Eagles/Plainsmen brought in a new coach in Gene Chizek and after being a complete disaster at Iowa State, Chizek was at least passable in his first year at Auburn. The T/WE/P have crazy Gus Malazahn's wacky offense and score lots of points.

Intangibles:
Bo Jackson: +4
Brent Fullwood (look it up, kiddies): -2
Terry Bowden: -2
Terry Bowden in that hat and tie: -4

About Northwestern (8-4): This is probably the biggest bowl for NOrthwestern since the Wildcats went to the Rose Bowl in the mid-90s. NU doesn't do anything great, but they aren't bad at anything. Pat Fitzgerald, who was one of the dirtiest MFers you ever saw play, is a decent coach.

Intangibles:
Pompous alumni: -3
Windy as hell off lake: -2
1980s: +3

Impact Player: Northwestern QB Mike Kafka. This is where I make some witty Franz Kafka reference to show how well-read I am. Except I don't really remember anything by Kafka that I might have read. Maybe something about a jungle? Anyway, Kafka - good runner. Needs to complete some passes too.

Bowl slogan: "We're got a Pirate Ship!"

Little known fact: This game is a complete academic mismatch. I'll let you figure out which way.

Watchability (1-5): 3.6

The pick: Northwestern 35, Auburn 30

Bowl projections

Heading into championship weekend, here is how we see the bowl match ups shaping up for everyone...

Phil's predictions
New Mexico
Wyoming vs. Fresno State

St. Petersburg
South Florida vs. Central Florida

R+L Carriers New Orleans
Southern Miss vs. Troy

MAACO Las Vegas
BYU vs. Oregon State

San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia
Utah vs. Arizona

Sheraton Hawaii
SMU vs. Nevada

Little Caesars
Minnesota vs. Central Michigan

Meineke Car Care
Boston College vs. West Virginia

Emerald
Florida State vs. Stanford

Gaylord Hotels Music City
North Carolina vs. South Carolina

AdvoCare V100 Independence
Texas A&M vs. Auburn

EagleBank
Bowling Green vs. Marshall

Champs Sports
Miami vs. Michigan State

Roady's Humanitarian
Northern Illinois vs. Idaho

Pacific Life Holiday
Oklahoma State vs. USC

Bell Helicopter Armed Forces
Air Force vs. East Carolina

Brut Sun
California vs. Oklahoma

Texas
Iowa State vs. Navy

Insight
Northwestern vs. Kansas State

Chick-fil-A
Clemson vs. Georgia

Outback
Penn State vs. Tennessee

Capital One
Iowa vs. LSU

Konica Minolta Gator
Virginia Tech vs. Pittsburgh

Rose Bowl
Ohio State vs. Oregon

Allstate Sugar
Alabama vs. Cincinnati

International
Connecticut vs. Temple

Papajohns.com
Rutgers vs. Kentucky

AT&T Cotton
Missouri vs. Mississippi

AutoZone Liberty
Houston vs. Arkansas

Valero Alamo
Wisconsin vs. Texas Tech

Tostitos Fiesta
Boise State vs. Nebraska

FedEx Orange
Georgia Tech vs. Texas

GMAC
Notre Dame vs. Ohio

Citi BCS National Championship
Florida vs. TCU


Tom's predictions
New Mexico
Wyoming vs. Fresno State

St. Petersburg
South Florida vs. Central Florida

R+L Carriers New Orleans
Southern Miss vs. Troy

MAACO Las Vegas
Utah vs. Oregon State

San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia
BYU vs. Arizona

Sheraton Hawaii
SMU vs. Nevada

Little Caesars
Ohio vs. Middle Tennessee State

Meineke Car Care
Boston College vs. Cincinnati

Emerald
Miami vs. Stanford

Gaylord Hotels Music City
North Carolina vs. South Carolina

AdvoCare V100 Independence
Auburn vs. Texas A&M

EagleBank
Marshall vs. Bowling Green

Champs Sports
Georgia Tech vs. Wisconsin

Roady's Humanitarian
Idaho vs. Northern Illinois

Pacific Life Holiday
Nebraska vs. USC

Bell Helicopter Armed Forces
Air Force vs. East Carolina

Brut Sun
Oklahoma vs. Notre Dame

Texas
Navy vs. Iowa State

Insight
Missouri vs. Minnesota

Chick-fil-A
Georgia vs. Virginia Tech

Outback
Northwestern vs. Mississippi

Capital One
Iowa vs. LSU

Konica Minolta Gator
West Virginia vs. Florida State

Rose Bowl
Ohio State vs. Oregon

Allstate Sugar
Alabama vs. Pittsburgh

International
Rutgers vs. Temple

Papajohns.com
Connecticut vs. Kentucky

AT&T Cotton
Oklahoma State vs. Tennessee

AutoZone Liberty
Arkansas vs. Houston

Valero Alamo
Texas Tech vs. Michigan State

Tostitos Fiesta
TCU vs. Boise State

FedEx Orange
Penn State vs. Clemson

GMAC
Central Michigan vs. California

Citi BCS National Championship
Florida vs. Texas

WVU fans beware - animated loss to Auburn

FULL SCREEN VERSION
(Drive chart courtesy of SBNation's Rocky Top Talk)

Both 'Eye and 'Eer watched every play of this game, but apparently we needed to relive the horror through this fancy schmancy animated drive chart. Auburn still wins 41-31 and WVU still turns the ball over six times. (Note to OC Jeff Mullen: No more middle screens).

Observations from Saturday's games (Sept. 19)

This isn't easy to do right now. I'm trying to watch my Mountaineers at Auburn, so my observations may be random and incoherent.

So let's get to the 'Eer's observations for today.

1. Bad day for Utah. Looks like two BCS Busters are going down today. Oregon failed to beat Boise State, but give the Ducks credit for taking down Utah and the nation's longest winning streak. Florida State and BYU are still playing, but the Seminoles have gone to Provo, Utah, and appear to be doing what Oklahoma couldn't the first week of the season. Can you believe the 'Noles almost lost to Jacksonville State?

2. USC upset. Did anyont really think the Trojans wouldn't find a way to lose a Pac-10 game on the road this season? Pete Carroll may be a great recruiter and coach, but he's too flaky. The Pac-10 isn't good enough to do this year in and year out.

3. Hot seat. Virginia's Al Groh jumped ahead of Colorado's Dan Hawkins as the most likely to get fired before the end of the season. The Cavaliers 37-34 loss to Southern Miss may have sealed his fate. Not too far behind is Maryland's Ralph Friedgen, whose Terrapins lost to Middle Tennessee State, 32-31, at home.

4. Holy Pitt. Let's not crown the Panthers the Big East champ just yet, but Pitt has avoided the normal early season slip up that we've come to know under Dave Wannstedt. Beating Navy 27-14 is bigger than it may appear. The Midshipmen are always a tough foe, and even Bill Stull is playing OK.

5. No moral victories. How did Tennessee hang with Florida today? Easy. Monte Kiffin's defense. He outcoached Urban Meyer (just don't tell UF fans because they'll want to argue with you for an hour). If the Vols had any offense, they'd be creating the ol' man with the win.

6. Statement game. Maybe I'm alone in thinking this, but Iowa's 27-17 victory over Arizona was important for the Big Ten. The Wildcats may be a middle of the pack, lower-tier bowl team from the Pac-10, but Iowa hasn't been that impressive this year. Should be an interesting game next week when the Hawks travel to Penn State.

7. Weakens the cause. As much as Iowa's win helps the Big Ten, Purdue's loss to Northern Illinois gives ammonition to those who trash the conference.

8. Best option. Tim Tebow and Colt McCoy remain the favorites to win the Heisman Trophy, but Cal's Jahvid Best should top the list. His five-TD performance in a road win at Minnesota was impressive.

9. Not sure. Butch Davis has a great defense at North Carolina, and the Tar Heels may be 3-0. But can anyone tell me if they are really an ACC contender?

10. Alabama shower. After about an hour delay because of inclement weather, one of ESPN's talking heads said about the Auburn fans who waited in the stands during the downpour: "they just took off their shirts and took a free shower." Timing was good, it was their day to shower.

Podcast: Episode 40

This week it is the ’Eer and his WVU Mountaineers who have the big game as they travel into SEC country to take on Auburn. He is optimistic the Mounties can continue their recent dominance of SEC foes.

On the flip side, ’Eye is going to stay home and watch the Buckeyes travel to Cleveland and take on Toledo. He needs the break after the tough loss to USC last week. However, he does an excellent job of breaking down OSU's offensive woes, what the future is for Terrelle Pryor and what is lacking in Jim Tressel’s playbook.

We also look at the potential whipping that Lane Kiffin may take at the hands of Urban Meyer and the Florida Gators. Folks, strap ’em on, this should be another great week of College Football.

Video: Bama's claim to 12 titles a bit bogus

Clearly this video was made by an Auburn fan still smarting from the Tigers' failure to claim any part of the 2004 championship after going undefeated. But it doesn't mean this historical look at Alabama's claim of 12 national championships is not accurate. (Note to Facebook fans, go to our blog to watch video).

Podcast: Episode 29

Who was supposed to babysit Joe Paterno this week? Whoever it was didn't do their job. The legendary coach was spouting off about expanding the Big Ten to 12 teams so they could have a championship game. One of his choices to join? Pitt, a school he won't schedule right now as a great non-conference matchup. We also evaluate the value of preseason College Football magazines like Athlon, Street & Smith and Phil Steele and the value of the Mock Drafts. Let's not forget, we also update our picks for the Fulmer Cup.

Ready for the prom

So what is Auburn's Gene Chizik trying to accomplish?

When he took over the Tigers program he promised an all-out, aggressive approach to recruiting. One of those goals is to re-establish the Auburn brand in Alabama. I guess showing up at high schools in a stretch limousine is all it takes. So either there is someone important in that limo or its prom-time in the south.

Now Chizik can't visit the schools in the limo (per NCAA restrictions), but this has his redneck fingerprints all over it. The Mobile (Ala.) Press-Register reported, seven Auburn assistant coaches piled into a limo decorated with Auburn decals and flags and headed south to Mobile, an important in-state recruiting ground for the Tigers.

And it appears this road show is not over. Similar visits in other Alabama communities are expected to take place this week, according to the newspaper.

I've seen more class from Virginia Tech fans. Let's face it. This is so SEC.

Gene Chizik all day, every day

We know the folks in the SEC are crazy about their football. But as I follow college football news around the nation, I can't decide if I'm impressed with the endless stories, videos and coverage of SEC football.

The Birmingham News and its stable of beat writers does an excellent job of covering Alabama, Auburn and SEC football in general. While the Tide remains the main focus, Auburn gets its fair share of coverage. Gene Chizik usually makes a daily appearance in the paper and online.

Above is a recent interview with Chizik that appeared on the Auburn blog on the Birmingham site, who may have been a good choice. He's put together a pretty good coaching staff and if given time might get Auburn back to the top of the SEC. He looks a little annoyed to have to do another interview, but he'll either get used to it in The Plains or flame out in a few years.

Let the cheating begin

According to a report on ESPN.com, former Auburn football coach Terry Bowden will return to the sidelines in 2009 at Division II North Alabama.

You thought Terry cheated at Auburn. Think what he'll do at a D-2 school. He'll take all those sneaky, back-handed lessons he learned from his papa and elevate his cheating to a whole new scale.

He won't be at North Alabama long enough to face the NCAA probe and future punishment. This is just an audition for Terry, who hopes to land a bigger, more profile D-1 job. He hopes to get the West Virginia gig if Bill Stewart steps down or is forced out. But don't count on that one (unless Gov. Manchin steps in again).

Bowden, 52, has an impressive resume. He arrives in Florence, Ala., with a 111-53-2 record. He should do well at North Alabama. The Lions went 12-2 last season and advanced to the semifinals of the D-2 playoffs.

With a few "minor" violations, Bowden can certainly get them to the title game.

Iowa State irony

So is this Jamie Pollard’s idea of a joke?

If it is, I love this guy.

A week after losing his head football coach to Auburn University, the Iowa State Director of Athletics is introducing Paul Rhoads as his new head coach of the Cyclones. Why is this so funny?

Well, Rhoads was the defensive coordinator for the Tigers last season, a job Gene Chizik held just a few years ago.

Let’s be honest, Rhoads does not have the coaching cred that Chizik had when he arrived in Ames. But don’t overlook the good work Rhoads has done. He did an excellent job at Pittsburgh, with minimal talent. He also put together the scheme that kept West Virginia out of the BCS Championship last year with that magnificent defensive performance in Morgantown in the season finale.

His Auburn defense was also strong this season, but the offense was so bad the job he did was overlooked. That seems to be his curse. While his defenses do well the teams he is with are usually bad.

A factor that could make him a better fit than Chizik ever was at ISU is that fact that Rhoads is an Iowa native, coached the secondary for the Cyclones in the late 1990s and he understands the challenges of Iowa State.

Joke or not, this is a pretty good hire. Iowa State may have gotten the better end of this deal. And $750K from Auburn to top it off.

TNT buddies take jabs at Barkley

I saw this at The Quad on the New York Times site. Pretty funny job of mocking Charles Barkley on the TNT NBA set, and using the shoe-throwing incident with President Bush. For those who don't know, Barkley has been pretty outspoken about his alma mater's hiring of Gene Chizik instead of Turner Gill at Auburn.

Easy decision

Let's make this easy on Jamie Pollard.

All Iowa State's Director of Athletics needs to do is call, email, text or Twitter Turner Gill and welcome him back to the Big 12 as the new football coach of the Cyclones. He'll make you like a genius and Auburn gets stuck with the dud Gene Chizik.

See, it's Gill who should have gotten the job at Auburn, Syracuse, Clemson or Tennessee. He should be the "It" coach like Urban Meyer was a few years ago and Lane Kiffin was this year. So why has Gill gotten the interviews, but no offers?

He's charismatic, knowledgeable, good recruiter, and has resurrected a Buffalo Bulls program that was at the bottom of the Mid-American Conference—one of the least respected FBS conferences. So why is Gill still in Buffalo getting his team ready for the International Bowl to face UConn?

It comes down to one simple fact: he's black.

Even as we get ready for the first African American President in U.S. history, there are still colleges and universities who won't or can't put a black football coach on the sideline because of the underlying racism that exists within the alumni.

Look Ball State's Brady Hoke got to San Diego State (a job he has earned), and Chizik go to Auburn (a job he has no business getting).

Iowa State isn't shedding any tears over the loss of Chizik to Auburn. Heck, the Cyclones will get $750K from Auburn as part of his buyout. Use that money to lock up Gill now. If he can win a conference title at Buffalo, think of the magic he could do with the resources of ISU and the clout of the Big 12?

It's really that simple Jamie.

First impressions

We noted yesterday that the hiring of Gene Chizik as Auburn's replacement for Tommy Tuberville caught us off guard. Clearly the reaction of the Tiger fans (OK, maybe just one fan) at the airport Saturday wasn't a great start.

Dr. Saturday at YahooSports.com noted today that this is in stark contrast to the welcome that Nick Saban received when he became Alabama's coach.

Wow. didn't see this one coming at all...

Well, there's no way Gene Chizek can go 5-19 in the next two years at Auburn, right?

So, Turner Gill takes Buffalo, BUFFALO?, to a bowl game and the War Eagle/Tigers/Plainsmen hire this guy?

Who's up for the 'Cuse?

Reports out of North Carolina this morning are saying that East Carolina's Skip Holtz has turned down the Syracuse job and the $12 million offer. If that's the case, who's up next?

Maybe now Syracuse AD Daryl Gross will get serious about the best candidate—Buffalo's Turner Gill. Rumors coming out of The Plains are that Gill isn't going to get the Auburn job to replace Tommy Tuberville. Gill just seems like a great fit for the Orange.

He's a proven winner, overall good person and better recruiter than Greg Robinson. Hey Daryl, don't mess this one up buddy. Go get Gill now.

For the latest on the Orange go to the blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician.

Is it a protest ...

... If no one really shows up?

OK. So a few dozen people rallied through the Auburn campus to the president's house to voice their displeasure in the "firing" of Tommy Tuberville. According to SI.com there were about 70 people chanting and waving signs. "You don't throw a man's career away for one lousy season," said alumnus Linda Ashurst.

Really? 70 people. That's all the love the Tiger Nation has for Tuberville? His mother can't be pleased about this. While Tuberville has been pretty hush-hush on what happened (of course $5.1 million would keep most of us pretty quiet), his mommy is all about talking.

Mama Tuberville says her son was fired, so it sparked a whole 70 folks to protest. That's worse than Bush's approval rating right now.

Protest? Don't think so. Sounds more like a few students and alumni with nothing better to do on a Tuesday. Once Turner Gill is finally hired the "protests" should stop.

Video push for Turner Gill

The folks at Tiger TV, big fans of Auburn football, have made it clear who they want to replace Tommy Tuberville. Seems the only question now is does Turner Gill like The Who ...



or Switchfoot.



Turner seems more of a Ray Charles fan.

Observations from Saturday's Games (Dec. 6)

With West Virginia leading 10-7 at half of the Mountaineers' White Out against South Florida, there is no time to relax. But obligations are just that. So here go some observations from Saturday's games (and one from Friday).

1. Nice lids. It's too bad Army isn't more competitive in the Army-Navy game, but the Cadets were sporting some interesting uniforms and helmets Saturday. Army, instead of the traditional gold helmet, was donning camouflage helmets and matching pants. Nike made new blankets for the Army mules to match the new uniforms.

2. ACC Chumps. So, did anyone watch Virginia Tech rip Boston College in the ACC Championship? It doesn't look like it based on the empty seats at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa. I'd say the stadium was no more than 40 percent full. The "new" ACC has been a joke since its inception.

3. Rilvary renewed. UCLA was totally outmanned by USC, but the Bruins showed great spunk in a 28-7 loss. They created turnovers and took an early lead. While 'Eye agree with me, Rick Neuheisel will have UCLA competing on a more level standing with the Trojans within two years.

4. Go with Gill. Would someone stand up and pay attention to the job Turner Gill has done at Buffalo? Well, it seems Auburn has gotten permission to speak with him for its opening. Could be an interesting fit since Gill has no SEC experience, but when you go 8-5 with the Buffalo Bulls and win the Mid-American Conference championship ... you can win and win big at Auburn.

5. Aloha Bearcats. It means hello and good-bye. With Big East champ Cincinnati playing at Hawaii tonight, will anyone see it, hear it or care about it?

6. Not so Pitt-iful. As tough as this is to say, Pitt has grown this year under Dave Wannstache. With its win over UConn and a win over Oklahoma State in the Sun Bowl the Panthers would have 10 wins this season. (Hey Lesean, you're ready for the NFL).

7. Mizzou mess. Missouri may have been the most overrated team this fall. The Tigers can't even score against a porous Oklahoma defense. The Big 12 needs to consider realignment so the best two teams actually get into the championship game.

8. Good pay. According to the Seattle Times, Steve Sarkisian will sign a five-year contract with Washington paying him $1.85 million a year. Good luck Steve. Mark your calendar. USC travels to Seattle on Sept. 19.

9. Looking good. East Carolina looked like the Pirates that opened the season with upset victories over Virginia Tech and West Virginia. ECU, behind a last-second field goal, defeated Tulsa 27-24 in the Conference USA championship. How long to Skip Holtz leaves? Seems Syracuse is hot and heavy after Lou's son.

10. Best game. I'm still trying to figure out what would be the best national championship game. I have a few options: Oklahoma-Florida, Oklahoma-Texas or Utah-Florida, Utah-Texas or Oklahoma-Utah. Any suggestions?

Tuberville "resigns" at Auburn

Beating Bama six of the last seven years apparently wasn't enough on The Plains, as Tommy Tuberville "resigned" Wednesday after 10 years as the coach of Auburn.

I'm not sure exactly who Auburn thinks they're going to hire that's better than Tommy Tuberville. Going up in state against the monolithic Tide and their evil master Saban every year in recruiting with a second-hand budget is not going to appeal to the elite level coaches. Although Bobby Petrino might be looking.

Tuberville did sort of aim the gun at his own head this season with the Tony Franklin debacle. Five offensive coordinators in the last seven years while retaining the rest of his offensive staff was just an odd way to run things.

According to the above ESPN article the Plainsmen/Tigers/War Eagles have already made contact with Mike Leach. If you listened to the podcast, this is exactly the type of crap I'm talking about. Auburn figures it's going to have a decent offense come hell or high water - they don't care how good a fit Leach would actually be.

If Leach isn't interested, look for Auburn to hire an offensive "guru." Maybe those guys in California who invented the A-11 should send in a resume.