Today at 12:00 p.m. ET on ESPN2 the Outback Bowl will get underway. This matchup between the No. 18 Wisconsin Badgers (10-3) and No. 19 Auburn Tigers (8-4) will be a clash of two of college football's top conferences. Live stream the matchup free by clicking this link. Badgers fans can listen to the action on 1310 WIBA, while Tigers fans may do likewise on 102.5 The Game.
Wisconsin was shaken up recently by the departure of their head coach Gary Andersen, who bolted for the same position at Oregon State. Today they will be coached by athletic director Barry Alvarez, who said he was shocked by Andersen's decision to leave.
"I had no idea this was in the works," Alvarez said. "Gary felt like this was an opportunity for him and his family to get back to that part of the country."
Alvarez does have coaching experienced, having led the Badgers from 1990 to 2005. He also has a ready-made blueprint for success-hand the rock to running back Melvin Gordon, who held the NCAA single-game rushing record for a week after piling up 408 yards in three quarters vs. Nebraska.
Gordon finished the season with 26 rushing touchdowns and 2,663 yards along with three receiving touchdowns. He is going to be going up against a Tigers defense eager to please new defensive coordinator Will Muschamp.
"Our defensive players have responded. He's just trying to get to know our players, evaluate our current guys and our players have responded extremely well," Auburn coach Gus Malzahn said.
"They're trying to impress him, trying to show what they can do. They're in evaluation mode and he's trying to evaluate what we have and thinking about next year and putting his pieces of the puzzle."
Auburn's got a potent ground game in their own right-- Cameron Artis-Payne rushed for 1,482 yards and 11 touchdowns. His TD total was matched by quarterback Nick Marshall, who also threw for 2,315 yards and 18 scores through the air.
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