Ranking All 39 College Football Bowl Games: From Must-See to Must-Miss (#7. Outback Bowl, MN vs Auburn)

[BleedGopher]

per Athlon:

7. Outback Bowl – Auburn (9-3) vs. Minnesota (10-2)

Jan. 1 – 1 p.m. ET – ESPN

Row the Boat versus War Eagle in Tampa is a nice way to ring in the new year. The emergence of quarterback Tanner Morgan and a talented trio of receivers helped the Golden Gophers make a run at the Big Ten West Division title this fall. However, Minnesota’s offensive line gave up 30 sacks and figures to have its hands full against Auburn’s standout front, which features likely first-team All-American Derrick Brown. The Tigers finished out the regular season on a high note by beating Alabama 48-45 in dramatic fashion. The extra bowl practices should help quarterback Bo Nix continue to develop under Gus Malzahn, while the ground game will test a Minnesota defense that ranked seventh in the Big Ten against the run.

Early Pick: Auburn 31, Minnesota 24

Ranking All 39 College Football Bowl Games: From Must-See to Must-Miss

College football’s regular season is over and the matchups for the 2019-20 bowl season are set. In the CFB Playoff, Oklahoma meets LSU in the Peach Bowl, with

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Go Gophers!!

 

[BleedGopher]

CBS chimes in with its ranking:

7. Outback Bowl -- No. 12 Auburn vs. No. 18 Minnesota -- Jan. 1, 1 p.m.: I don't know how this game will end, but I know what everybody will be saying about it. Either Auburn will win, and everybody will say, "I told you Minnesota wasn't any good," or Minnesota will win, and everybody will say it was because "Auburn didn't care about this game." Well, I care about this game. I want to see Minnesota's giant offensive line against Auburn's giant defensive line.

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Go Gophers!!

 

[BleedGopher]

Yahoo Sports chimes in:

7. Outback Bowl: No. 12 Auburn (9-3) vs. No. 18 Minnesota (10-2) — Jan. 1, 1 p.m. (ESPN)
Minnesota spent the last few weeks of the season in the top half of the CFP rankings until losing to Wisconsin to end the season. It should be fun to see how Minnesota schemes against Auburn’s great defensive front to get the passing game going to wide receivers Rashod Bateman and Tyler Johnson. A win would give Minnesota its best season since 1904 while Auburn is gunning for a 10-win season for the second time in the last three years.

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Go Gophers!!

 

[MGGopher]

CBS chimes in with its ranking:

7. Outback Bowl -- No. 12 Auburn vs. No. 18 Minnesota -- Jan. 1, 1 p.m.: Either Auburn will win, and everybody will say, "I told you Minnesota wasn't any good," or Minnesota will win, and everybody will say it was because "Auburn didn't care about this game."

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Go Gophers!!

LOL, this is so spot on...hilarious!

I expect a great game. Too bad a lot of the country will miss it since it's on TV at the exact same time as another top 5 bowl game that being broadcast on ABC. Hardcore football people will flip back and forth, but I gotta think most eyeballs will be on the Citrus.

 

[stocker08]

LOL, this is so spot on...hilarious!

I expect a great game. Too bad a lot of the country will miss it since it's on TV at the exact same time as another top 5 bowl game that being broadcast on ABC. Hardcore football people will flip back and forth, but I gotta think most eyeballs will be on the Citrus.

That's the main reason why the Citrus Bowl is the preferred destination.....but really......the two Big Ten and the two SEC teams were basically interchangeable.

I'd expect there to be buzz surrounding both games....and I bet that in comparison to previous year.....viewership will be a bit more even.

 

[GophersInIowa]

LOL, this is so spot on...hilarious!

I expect a great game. Too bad a lot of the country will miss it since it's on TV at the exact same time as another top 5 bowl game that being broadcast on ABC. Hardcore football people will flip back and forth, but I gotta think most eyeballs will be on the Citrus.

It's pretty well known that the SEC hasn't lost a bowl game they cared about in many years.

 

[RememberMurray]

It's pretty well known that the SEC hasn't lost a bowl game they cared about in many years.

Ha! So true...

After the Gophers beat Georgia Tech (a team from the ACC) in the bowl game last season, I made of a list of excuses that could be used whenever the Gophers won a game if someone wanted to minimize the Minnesota win. I compiled this list of excuses directly from stuff that was posted here as well as stuff I heard on local sports talk radio after the 2018 Purdue, Wisconsin and Georgia Tech wins.

Some of these excuses were:

— (Other team) "felt disrespected"; therefore didn't want to be there

— Bad weather; therefore other team didn't want to be there

— Caught them (other team) in "a down year"

— Refs blew several key calls

— (Other team) was playing short-handed due to injuries

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I can only imagine that if Minnesota springs an upset against Auburn (a team from the much-revered SEC), we're sure to hear some of these and maybe some new ones as well.

 

[Great Plains Gopher]

Auburn chat lines showing some concern that Brown and maybe one or two others may declare for the draft.

 

[go4rob]

CBS chimes in with its ranking:

7. Outback Bowl -- No. 12 Auburn vs. No. 18 Minnesota -- Jan. 1, 1 p.m.: I don't know how this game will end, but I know what everybody will be saying about it. Either Auburn will win, and everybody will say, "I told you Minnesota wasn't any good," or Minnesota will win, and everybody will say it was because "Auburn didn't care about this game." Well, I care about this game. I want to see Minnesota's giant offensive line against Auburn's giant defensive line.

Ranking the 2019 college football bowl games, 39-1: Fiesta Bowl rematch, intriguing Sun Bowl

Not all bowl games are created equal, and we prove that by ranking every one on this year's slate

www.cbssports.com

Go Gophers!!

Thank you, Pat Reusse!

 

[Gophers7NatTitlesBadgers0]

USA Today:

9. Outback Bowl: No. 13 Auburn vs. No. 16 Minnesota, ESPN, Jan. 1, 1 p.m. — Unheralded heading into the season, the Golden Gophers actually played themselves into Playoff contention until the final week. They’ll be pleased with this sunny destination, but Auburn, a team built somewhat like Wisconsin with stout defense and a strong running game, will be a tough assignment for them.

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