Unfortunately, I was unable to cover all of the bowl dealings last week, including Sunday's teleconferences with the involved parties (read the post below for more details). But that's in the past and as Mark McGwire would say, I'm not here to talk about it. Let's look forward, shall we? Auburn will play Northwestern in the Outback Bowl (purchase tickets here) on Jan. 1 at an early hour. Let's take a closer look at the matchup.

So just who are the Northwestern Wildcats?

First, the facts. Northwestern is the only private school in the Big (11) Ten. It's a fine academic institution but doesn't necessarily keep up with the conference's big shots in terms of recruiting (for an SEC comparison, think Vanderbilt).

The Wildcats were once the perennial doormats of the conference. From 1979-82, Northwestern set the record for the longest losing streak in Division I history with 34 straight losses. Former Vikings and Cardinals coach Dennis Green was actually the one who broke the streak. And look how svelte Denny was back then.

Things changed under Gary Barnett, who, when he was not belittling female kickers in Colorado, was once a pretty good coach. Barnett did the unthinkable when he led the Wildcats to the Rose Bowl after the 1995 season. Current head coach Pat Fitzgerald was an All-American linebacker on that team, playing along with quarterback Steve Schnur and running back Darnell Autry. It was the team's first Big Ten championship since 1936. The Wildcats ended up losing to a Keyshawn Johnson-led USC squad in the Rose Bowl that year. They would be Big Ten co-champs the following year.

After the 1998 season, Barnett bolted for Colorado, where he faded into oblivion. Northwestern hired Randy Walker from Miami of Ohio (I was a student sports reporter at Wisconsin at the time; Walker humorously referred to himself as "Johnny off the pickle boat" at the Big 10 media day, endearing himself to everyone immediately). Walker brought the spread to Northwestern at a time when Joe Tiller was introducing it to the rest of the conference at Purdue. (This article suggests Walker should really be given a lot of credit for the proliferation of the spread nationwide.) Walker had some good success despite having inferior talent, going 9-4 in 2000 with a trip to the Alamo Bowl, where NU was clobbered by Nebraska.

Walker was 37-46 in seven seasons before he died of a heart attack at age 52 prior to the 2006 season. Fitzgerald, who was a linebackers coach at the time, was promoted to head coach, a move that many thought would happen many years down the line once Walker retired. Fitzgerald was 31 at the time of his hiring, making him the youngest coach in Division I-A by five years. Only Tennessee's Lane Kiffin is currently younger, by about six months. Fitzgerald has since gone 27-22 at Northwestern, leading the Wildcats to 9-4 and 8-4 records the last two years.

Despite Northwestern's recent relative success, it is still 1-7 all-time in bowl games, with its only victory coming in the 1949 Rose Bowl.

Enough of the history lesson, though. How about some info about this year's team (for more, read this full scouting report by the USA Today):

• Northwestern was beaten out by Iowa in last year's bowl pecking order despite having the same record. This year, the athletics department put in a lot of work to be considered for the Outback Bowl, according to this Chicago Tribune article by Teddy Greenstein. The bowl took the 8-4 Wildcats over 9-3 Wisconsin, a team Northwestern beat late in the season.

• The Wildcats have had some weird games this year. They lost at Syracuse 37-34 and to Minnesota 35-24. The Orange finished 4-8. The Gophers limped to a 6-6 finish. But Northwestern finished strong, handing then-No. 4 Iowa its first loss, a 17-10 win in Iowa City. Two weeks later, the Wildcats knocked off then-No. 16 Wisconsin 33-31 in a wild game. They won four of their last five to finish 8-4 overall. It was the first time since 1995 and '96 that the school won eight games in consecutive seasons.
  

• Northwestern's got a weird offense. It's almost entirely pass-based, it's out of the spread and like Auburn, it's up-tempo (read: FAST!), meaning this could be a really entertaining game to watch. Quarterback Mike Kafka, a second-team All-Big Ten selection, has thrown for 2,898 yards this season, topping the 300-yard mark five times. He has 12 touchdowns to seven interceptions. Northwestern is all about quick, high-percentage passes, and Kafka completes them at a 66 percent clip. (He can run it too, with 265 yards and seven scores on the ground.) As a team, the Wildcats are 29th nationally in passing offense, averaging 266.1 yards per game. They'll spread it around too. Zeke Markshausen leads the team with 79 receptions for 774 yards and three touchdowns. Andrew Brewer has 49 catches for 792 yards and seven scores. (As a side note, I'm delighted to have a quarterback named Kafka being pursued by Auburn outside linebacker Eltoro Freeman, a philosophy major.)

• The Wildcats have struggled to run the ball. Their leading rusher, freshman Arby Fields, averages 24.5 yards per game. They're 93rd nationally in rushing offense, averaging 119.9 yards per game. This seems like a perfect matchup for an Auburn defense that has struggled to stop the run.
  

• Northwestern has a decent defense that's ranked 43rd nationally, allowing 344.3 yards per game. The Wildcats are 36th nationally against the run, giving up 123.5 yards a game. Their only first-team All-Big Ten selection is on defense. That would be safety Brad Phillips, who leads the team with 84 tackles. (DB Sherrick McManis was a second-team pick.)

• Place-kicker Stefan Demos was a second-team All-Big Ten selection. He's 18-for-23 this season.

• Northwestern isn't strong on the rest of its special teams. It's 99th nationally in punt and kick returns and 115th in net punting. Of course, that shouldn't be a problem against Auburn.

• As of now, there's not too much analysis of the bowl matchup. (I'm sure there will be more in depth stuff later Monday). But here's what ESPN.com SEC blogger Chris Low had to say about the game from Auburn's perspective. Big Ten blogger Adam Rittenberg chimed in with a Northwestern perspective.