2020 Outback Bowl

2020 Outback Bowl
34th Outback Bowl
Minnesota Golden Gophers Auburn Tigers
(10–2) (9–3)
Big Ten SEC
31 24
Head coach: 
P. J. Fleck		 Head coach: 
Gus Malzahn
APCoachesCFP
161618
APCoachesCFP
91312
1234 Total
Minnesota 101407 31
Auburn 10770 24
DateJanuary 1, 2020
Season2019
StadiumRaymond James Stadium
LocationTampa, Florida
MVPTyler Johnson (WR, Minnesota)[1]
FavoriteAuburn by 7[2]
RefereeDuane Heydt (ACC)[3]
Attendance45,652
PayoutUS$6,400,000[4]
United States TV coverage
NetworkESPN
AnnouncersJason Benetti (play-by-play)
Rod Gilmore (analyst)
Quint Kessenich (sideline)
Outback Bowl
 < 2019  2021 > 

The 2020 Outback Bowl was a college football bowl game played on January 1, 2020, with kickoff at 1:00 p.m. EST on ESPN.[5] It was the 34th edition of the Outback Bowl, and was one of the 2019–20 bowl games concluding the 2019 FBS football season. The game was named after its title sponsor, Outback Steakhouse.

Teams

The game matched the Minnesota Golden Gophers from the Big Ten Conference and the Auburn Tigers from the Southeastern Conference (SEC). This was the first meeting between the programs.[6]

Minnesota Golden Gophers

Main article: 2019 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team

Minnesota entered the game with a 10–2 record (7–2 in conference). They finished tied with Wisconsin atop the Big Ten's West Division—Wisconsin advanced to the Big Ten Championship Game due to their regular season win over Minnesota. The Golden Gophers were 1–2 against ranked FBS opponents, defeating Penn State while losing to Iowa and Wisconsin. This was Minnesota's first appearance in the Outback Bowl.

Auburn Tigers

Main article: 2019 Auburn Tigers football team

Auburn entered the game with a 9–3 record (5–3 in conference). They finished in third place in the SEC's West Division. The Tigers were 3–3 against ranked FBS opponents, defeating Oregon, Texas A&M, and Alabama while losing to Florida, LSU, and Georgia. This was Auburn's fifth Outback Bowl; the Tigers were 2–2 in their previous appearances.

Game summary

2020 Outback Bowl
Quarter 1 2 34Total
No. 18 Minnesota 10 14 0731
No. 12 Auburn 10 7 7024

at Raymond James Stadium • Tampa, Florida

Game information
First Quarter
  • (12:17) AUB – Anders Carlson 24 yard field goal (Drive: 4 plays, 6 yards, 1:13; Auburn 3–0)
  • (6:36) MINN – Michael Lantz 40 yard field goal (Drive: 10 plays, 53 yards, 5:41; Tied 3–3)
  • (6:23) AUB – Noah Igbinoghene 96 yard kickoff return, Anders Carlson kick (Auburn 10–3)
  • (4:05) MINN – Mohamed Ibrahim 16 yard rush, Michael Lantz kick (Drive: 3 plays, 40 yards, 1:14; Tied 10–10)
Second Quarter
  • (7:09) MINN – Seth Green 1 yard pass to Bryce Witham, Michael Lantz kick (Drive: 12 plays, 92 yards, 5:52; Minnesota 17–10)
  • (4:15) AUB – Bo Nix 37 yard pass to Sal Cannella, Anders Carlson kick (Drive: 7 plays, 69 yards, 2:54; Tied 17–17)
  • (0:32) MINN – Tanner Morgan 2 yard pass to Tyler Johnson, Michael Lantz kick (Drive: 9 plays, 75 yards, 3:43; Minnesota 24–17)
Third Quarter
  • (5:04) AUB – JaTarvious Whitlow 3 yard rush, Anders Carlson kick (Drive: 13 plays, 86 yards, 5:15; Tied 24–24)
Fourth Quarter
  • (10:26) MINN – Tanner Morgan 73 yard pass to Tyler Johnson, Michael Lantz kick (Drive: 1 play, 73 yards, 0:11; Minnesota 31–24)

Statistics

Statistics MINN AUB
First downs 23 13
Plays–yards 75–494 53–232
Rushes–yards 45–215 26–56
Passing yards 279 176
Passing: comp–att–int 20–30–1 17–27–0
Time of possession 37:35 22:25
Team Category Player Statistics
Minnesota Passing Tanner Morgan 19/29, 278 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT
Rushing Mohamed Ibrahim 20 carries, 140 yards, 1 TD
Receiving Tyler Johnson 12 receptions, 204 yards, 2 TD
Auburn Passing Bo Nix 17/26, 176 yards, 1 TD
Rushing JaTarvious Whitlow 9 carries, 24 yards, 1 TD
Receiving Anthony Schwartz 6 receptions, 49 yards

References

  1. ^ @outbackbowl (January 1, 2020). "OUTBACK BOWL MVP! @GopherFootball Tyler Johnson!" (Tweet). Retrieved January 1, 2020 – via Twitter.
  2. ^ "Minnesota vs. Auburn - Game Summary". ESPN.com. Retrieved January 1, 2020.
  3. ^ "2019-20 bowl officiating assignments". footballzebras.com. December 9, 2019. Retrieved December 12, 2019.
  4. ^ "2019 Bowl Schedule". collegefootballpoll.com. Retrieved December 13, 2019.
  5. ^ "2019-20 college football bowl schedule, games, dates, times, TV channels". CBSSports.com. Retrieved June 7, 2019.
  6. ^ "Minnesota Golden Gophers vs. Auburn Tigers football series history". winsipedia.com. Retrieved December 8, 2019.