• What: Outback Bowl
• Where: Tampa, Fla.
• When: Friday, 11:00 a.m. ET, ESPN
• Last meeting: Teams have never met

Auburn's Chris Todd weathered some ups and downs to have a solid overall season. The senior threw for 2,377 yards and a single-season Auburn record 21 touchdowns, all while limiting himself to just six interceptions. Northwestern's Mike Kafka has thrown for more yards (2,898) but fewer touchdowns (12), although the fifth-year senior adds another element with his running ability (he has seven rushing touchdowns). Edge: Push

Ben Tate has an outside chance of passing Joe Cribbs for fourth on Auburn's all-time rushing list, needing to add 155 yards to his career total of 3,213 to get the job done. Tate has 1,254 rushing yards this year. Northwestern's leading rusher, freshman Arby Fields, has 294 yards. Enough said. Edge: Auburn

The Tigers' 1-2 punch of Darvin Adams and Terrell Zachery is hard to top. Combined, they have 72 catches for 1,321 yards and 15 touchdowns. But the Wildcats match up well. Zeke Markshausen and Andrew Brewer have combined for 128 receptions, 1,566 yards and 10 touchdowns. Auburn might have more big-play potential, but Northwestern has more depth. Edge: Push

Auburn has used the same starting five in all but two games (when Byron Isom served a two-game, team-imposed suspension). The group, led by left tackle Lee Ziemba and center Ryan Pugh, helped pave the way for the SEC's fourth-best rushing offense. Northwestern starts a junior, three sophomores and a redshirt freshman. Edge: Auburn

Antonio Coleman turned into a terror on the line in the second half of the season for Auburn, finishing atop the SEC leaderboard in sacks and tackles for a loss. But Northwestern has been better across the board. Led by defensive end Corey Wootton, who battled back after tearing his ACL and MCL in last year's Alamo Bowl, the Wildcats are poised to break the school record for rushing defense, allowing 123.5 yards per game. Edge: Northwestern

Josh Bynes and Craig Stevens have rarely taken a snap off this season, combining for 183 tackles, 12 tackles for a loss and 2.5 sacks. If Eltoro Freeman is healthy, it gives Auburn a solid starting three. Northwestern's Quentin Davie finished with 81 tackles and a team-best nine tackles for a loss. Nate Williams added 79 tackles. Edge: Push

Auburn has experienced corners, led by senior Walt McFadden and sophomore Neiko Thorpe, who has played since stepping onto campus. But question marks still exist at safety, where Demond Washington has three games of experience. That's not a problem for Northwestern, which is led by senior Brad Phillips, who has started 33 career games and led the team with 84 tackles this year. He and cornerback Sherrick McManis were both first-team All-Big Ten picks. Edge: Northwestern

Wes Byrum only missed one field goal this year for Auburn, and Clinton Durst quietly averaged 40.7 yards per punt. Stefan Demos handles both duties for Northwestern. He was 18-for-23 on field goals and averaged a mere 35.3 yards per punt. Edge: Auburn

Washington gave Auburn the spark in the return game it was looking for late in the season. When he was able to secure the ball, he was fantastic, particularly on kickoffs, where he averaged 32.2 yards per return and took one back 99 yards for a touchdown. While the Tigers had five different players return at least one kick more than 30 yards, Northwestern had one: Stephen Simmons, who had a 64-yard return against Wisconsin. Edge: Auburn

This is Gene Chizik's first bowl game as a head coach, although he's been involved in plenty of high-profile bowl games (anyone remember the Vince Young national title game against Southern Cal?). Northwestern's Pat Fitzgerald coached the Wildcats to the Alamo Bowl last year but lost to Missouri. In the absence of a bowl track record, we'll go with experience. Edge: Auburn

Most of these categories were extremely close. The only major edges I came up with were at running back and offensive line. Everything else was close, which is the way I imagine this game ending up. The line started at 7 and has increased to as much as 8 in some places. That seems high to me. I expect each side to do what they do best with plenty of success. Auburn will run it down Northwestern's throat. Northwestern will throw it at will. Both teams will score, but the Tigers will score just a little bit more. Auburn in a wild one, 37-34.