Northwestern to play in Outback Bowl against SEC foe
For the second time in six years, Northwestern is going to the Outback Bowl.
The Wildcats will get to take on Tennessee in the Outback Bowl on Jan. 1 at noon ET in Tampa Bay. It’ll mark the Wildcats’ first bowl game in three years.
The last time Northwestern was in the Outback Bowl, it fell to Auburn in a thrilling overtime game.
Following two straight seasons without a bowl game, Northwestern recorded a double-digit win season in 2015. It was the third time since Pat Fitzgerald took over that the Wildcats accomplished such a feat.
They’ll take on a Tennessee squad that was a few tough breaks away from making it to the College Football Playoff. Blown late leads to Florida and Oklahoma prevented the Volunteers from finishing among the nation’s elite.
The Wildcats will have to find an answer for one of the nation’s better running backs in Jalen Hurd. Northwestern did rank 14th in the country against the run and will enter the New Year’s Day showdown riding a streak of five straight victories to end the regular season.
The program will look to earn its first bowl victory since 2012, when it snapped a 64-year bowl-less streak.
Northwestern was one of 10 B1G teams to earn bowl bids.