The 2014 Outback Bowl is upon us, and it’s taken a preeminent place in this year’s bowl rotation as one of the top bowl games that won’t feature one of the four national semifinalists. It’s among a simultaneous triple-header of bowls — Outback, Capital One and Cotton — on New Year’s Day you can surf through before the two national semifinals, the Rose and Sugar bowls, kick off later in the day.
2014 Outback Bowl, Auburn vs. Wisconsin: Date, time, location and more
Now that the BCS has its four-team playoff, the Outback Bowl is one of the top, well, dead-end bowls.
The LSU Tigers won by a touchdown in last year's Outback Bowl over the Iowa Hawkeyes. The Tigers controlled most of the game, and the final margin was only within one score because of an Iowa touchdown with 20 seconds to play. Of course, the spread favored LSU by 7.5 points. This year, it will be Wisconsin and Auburn, according to ESPN.
Date and time: Thursday, Jan. 1, 1 p.m. ET
TV channel: ESPN2
Location: Tampa, Fla.
Stadium: Raymond James Stadium; 65,657
Last year’s score: LSU 21, Iowa 14
Last year’s attendance: 51,296
Last year’s TV rating: 3.2
Last year’s payout for each school: $2,500,000
Team with the most all-time appearances: Georgia and Michigan, five
Team with the most all-time wins: Georgia, Michigan, Penn State and South Carolina; three each
Auburn (8-4, 4-4 SEC)
This was a tale of two seasons for Auburn. In the first eight games of the year, the Tigers were bona fide national title contenders. Cameron Artis-Payne was filling in nicely en route to leading the SEC in rushing, and quarterback Nick Marshall and wide receivers Sammie Coates and Duke Williams made for an explosive passing game. Only a loss at Mississippi State, which held several weeks at No. 1 in the polls, blemished Auburn’s 7-1 record.
But, coming off a thrilling win at Ole Miss and slotted third in the College Football playoff rankings, the Tigers fell in a stunner at home to Texas A&M. Two potential game-winning drives ended on a bad handoff exchange and bad snap, respectively. Williams injured his knee in the defeat and missed the next two games, a blowout loss at Georgia and a lackluster home win over Samford. In the regular season finale against Alabama, the offense exploded for more than 40 points and 600 yards, but the defense imploded in a 55-44 loss. Defensive coordinator Ellis Johnson lost his job the next day.
Last bowl game: 2014 BCS National Championship Game vs. Florida State, 34-31 loss
All-time bowl record: 22-14-2
Head coach’s bowl record: Gus Malzahn, 0-1
Wisconsin Badgers (10-3, 7-1 Big Ten)
Under second-year head coach Gary Andersen, Wisconsin has continued its power-running ways. Melvin Gordon had a record-setting year for the Badgers, helping lead one of the most explosive rushing attacks in the country in a division-winning campaign.
The Badgers had an odd trio of losses. They opened their season with a narrow defeat to what was a ranked LSU team, before falling to a Northwestern team that would miss a bowl just a few weeks later. Wisconsin won the rest of its regular season games, including victories over divisional contenders Nebraska and Minnesota, before being crushed, 59-0, by Ohio State in the Big Ten Championship Game.
Last bowl game: 2014 Capital One Bowl vs. South Carolina, 34-24 loss
All-time bowl record: 11-14
Head coach’s bowl record: Gary Andersen, 1-2
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