No. 14 Northwestern beat Auburn 35-19 to claim the Citrus Bowl and win his fourth bowl victory in the past five seasons on Saturday in Orlando. The Wildcats found themselves in control of the game from start to finish. They marched 75 yards in nine moves in possession of the game’s starting ball. They doubled on another scoreboard before the end of the first quarter, thanks to a second touchdown pass from Peyton Ramsey.
It was Ramsey’s best game as a Northwestern Wildcat. The move to Indiana set the season’s highest mark with 291 passing yards, and his three touchdown passes tied the three he gave in a road win over Purdue earlier this season. Ramsey even decided to show the wheels a bit, running for 50 yards a day, including a 30-yard touchdown run in the third quarter that helped the Wildcats establish control again after Auburn reduced the deficit to 14-13.
Ramsey was helped by Wildcats running back Cam Porter, who ran for 98 yards himself. He also put the finishing touches on the game with a fourth period touchdown to 35-19.
Bo Nix finished with 292 yards for Auburn and led the team with 32 yards, but it was not enough to keep the Tigers in play. Let’s take a look at Orlando’s four biggest conclusions.
1. Northwestern’s defense can play anyone
This was a fitting tribute to longtime defensive coordinator Mike Hankwitz, who has just trained the final game of a long and successful career. While Auburn finished with 19 points and 361 yards of attack, six of those points and 75 of the yards came at the end of the fourth period, when the game had already been decided, and Northwestern was happy to let the clock melt. Before that, the Wildcats’ defense kept Auburn in check all day, out of a big move for Elijah Canion.
Where Northwestern really won the game was third. Auburn converted only two of his 13 attempts at the third down, and they went 0-to-6 on the third down when they needed four yards or less. Time and again, Hankwitz bombarded Nix to force him to make quick decisions, and he often failed. It was a classic Hankwitz game and a fitting way for him to end an incredible career.
2. Northwestern is a good football program
There is a tendency to dismiss this team as a bunch of gifted hardworkers. It is presented in a way that says that working hard and exceeding expectations is a negative quality. It is also a way to demote a team, saying it is not as good as its results. Well, although I don’t think anyone will mistake Northwestern for the kind of team that can compete for national titles, it is solidly among the top 25 programs in the country.
Much was said about how many Auburn players were missing from this game, and although those absences had an impact on the team’s ability to win the game, they ignored that Northwestern had lost some players. Eku Leota, who led the team with four sacks this season and had 5.5 tackles to defeat, did not play. He’s on the transfer portal. The same can be said about running backs Drake Anderson and Isaiah Bowser and the team’s second biggest receiver, Kyric McGowan.
His absences did not prevent the Wildcats from putting 457 yards and 35 points on Auburn.
3. I appreciate how Pat Fitzgerald treats bowling
Some programs see them as friendly matches and an opportunity to prepare for the next season. Northwestern approaches gaming as a kind of vacation, but it is a vacation she plans to have a lot of fun with. I mean, look at how Fitzgerald is dressed. He looks like a father ready to dominate his kids on a shuffleboard court.
Fitzgerald’s teams are always playing to win and will not play in fear. So, when faced with a fourth and final situation on their own territory, they will not kick. They are going for this. And again. It is refreshing to see, and honestly, more teams should take the same approach during the regular season.
4. What does the future hold for Nix?
When you consider that they were being led by an interim coach who is not going to stop here and a whole team of assistants who don’t know their future, what can you really take away? Add opt-outs and unavailable players due to undisclosed medical reasons and things get even darker.
However, I wonder what the future holds for Bo Nix. Nix is a legacy of Auburn and was handpicked by Gus Malzahn to be his QB. Will Bryan Harsin feel the same way? It is hard to imagine that Nix will arrive in 2021 as the unquestionable holder. Although he has all the talent and potential in the world, it’s hard to deny that he didn’t show much growth during his second season. The moments of brightness are few and far between the moments that make you pull your hair out of your head. This does not mean that the potential is not there. If Harsin and his new team can help Nix to develop further, they have a legitimate Heisman candidate at hand. Still, I expect Auburn to be aggressive in the undergraduate transfer market in this off-season to bring a minimum of competition.