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Outback Bowl matters to Auburn, Wisconsin
- Updated: December 31, 2014
Seventy-six teams are bowling this season.
While critics wonder if the system is out of control and the total number of games should be trimmed like a Christmas tree during the latter days of the Holiday season, most coaches don’t see a problem.
“You know who cares about them? The players care about them,” said Barry Alvarez, Wisconsin’s interim coach. “That experience is something you’ll remember the rest of your life.”
In the minds of Gus Malzahn and Alvarez, any bowl, regardless of stature, is an opportunity to change the record. In fact, the Outback Bowl could also serve as a launching pad — even if the Space Coast is on the other side of the Florida peninsula — for next season.
Auburn and Wisconsin both fell short of in-season goals and are trying to battle through disappointment. Auburn (8-4) lost four games despite aiming for a repeat trip to the national championship. No. 18 Wisconsin (10-3) is coming off a 59-0 loss to Ohio State in the Big Ten Championship.
“It’s very important the way the players and coaches look at the bowl, no matter what bowl it is, it’s very important,” Malzahn said. “The extra practice time, especially for your young guys, is very important.”
Bowl games serve as a time to celebrate seniors and to send them off with a victory. A win can also propel the team with some much-needed confidence in the offseason. The Tigers sure would like a victory after losing three of their last four games.
“You’ve got momentum the whole offseason,” Malzahn said. “Of course you’re always thinking recruiting and everything that goes with that, so I think it’s very important.”
Wisconsin is in transition mode under Alvarez as he hands the reins to newly-hired coach Paul Chryst, who was hired away from Pittsburgh following the surprising defection of Gary Andersen to Oregon State.
Alvarez knows a thing or two about momentum. He led Wisconsin to three wins in the Rose Bowl in his career, though his first trip to Pasadena was the most memorable.
Former UCLA coach Terry Donahue, who later lost 21-16 to the Badgers in 1994, shared a story with Alvarez about success and failure in his first season with the Bruins in 1976. Donahue’s team went 8-0-1 during the regular season. They were good and a feel-good surprise that season, but the Bruins lost 36-6 to Bear Bryant’s Alabama Crimson Tide in the Liberty Bowl.
“They forgot how good a year we had and the offseason was all focused on the bowl game,” Alvarez said, recalling Donahue’s story. “As Gus said, it can carry over momentum for next season. People remember this game. They’ll remember the last game.”
