Quarterback Cameron Newton, the No. 1 junior college recruit in the country, committed to Auburn on Thursday night with plans to enroll in school in the next week.

Auburn's three recruiting Web sites — AuburnSports.com, Inside the Auburn Tigers and AuburnUndercover.com — first reported the news Thursday night.

The 6-foot-6, 245-pound Newton, who was once Tim Tebow’s backup at Florida, becomes an instant candidate to succeed Chris Todd as the Tigers’ starting quarterback in 2010.

A five-star recruit according to Rivals, Newton picked Auburn over Mississippi State and Oklahoma.

The dual threat led Blinn (Texas) Community College to the junior college national title this season, throwing for 2,833 yards and 22 touchdowns and adding another 655 yards and 16 scores on the ground.

Because he’ll enroll in January, he can participate in spring drills, an important step in competing for the starting quarterback job.

The Tigers’ other candidates include current juniors Neil Caudle and Kodi Burns, redshirt freshman Barrett Trotter and true freshmen Clint Moseley and Tyrik Rollison. Of those players, only Burns, who switched to wide receiver this season, has started a college game at quarterback.

Newton signed with Florida in 2007 and served as Tebow’s backup for two years. He was suspended last fall after being arrested and charged with stealing another student’s laptop and eventually chose to leave the program last January. Those charges were dropped earlier this month after he completed a pretrial intervention program for first-time offenders, according to the Associated Press.

Because he earned a medical redshirt his sophomore year, he’ll have two years to play two at Auburn.

He is the fifth recruit who plans to enroll in January, joining two high schoolers — defensive end Craig Sanders and linebacker Jessel Curry — and two other junior college transfers — offensive tackles Roszell Gayden and Brandon Mosley.

All five will count back against last year’s signing class. The Tigers have 22 other current commitments for 2010.

Northwestern (8-4, 5-3 Big Ten) vs. Auburn (7-5, 3-5 SEC)

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

QUARTERBACKS

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

RUNNING BACKS

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

RECEIVERS/TIGHT ENDS

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

OFFENSIVE LINE

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

DEFENSIVE LINE

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

LINEBACKERS

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

SECONDARY

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

KICKERS/PUNTERS

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

RETURN GAMES

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

COACHES

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

PREDICTION

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.

In extremely unsurprising news, former Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville has expressed interest in the vacant Texas Tech head coaching job, according to Tony Barnhart at CBSSports.com.

Tuberville's name has been linked with varying degrees of seriousness to many offseason job openings, including Notre Dame and Kansas. The 55-year-old Tuberville, who still lives in Auburn, worked this season doing commentary work on TV.

"It feels like it's time to get back in," Tuberville told CBSSports.com. "I'm still young and I feel good. We'll see if anything happens."

Tuberville made this ESPN list of possible candidates to replace Mike Leach, who was fired for cause Wednesday after allegedly mistreating wide receiver Adam James, the son of ESPN commentator Craig James.

Other names being thrown out there are Baylor head coach Art Briles, Texas Tech defensive coordinator/interim head coach Ruffin McNeill, Southern Miss coach Larry Fedora and Arizona offensive coordinator Sonny Dykes.

TAMPA, Fla. — It's been 34 days since Auburn last played a football game, but the Tigers only have 24 more hours to wait before facing Northwestern in the Outback Bowl.

"Our football team is to the point right now that we're ready to play," Auburn coach head Gene Chizik said. "When you have your last game close to a month ago, there's a lot of stuff in between, but now I think our football team is really focused in on the last 24 hours. And we need to be."

The Tigers will have a walkthrough at Raymond James Stadium this morning before being dismissed briefly at 1 p.m. They'll convene again at 6 p.m. to begin going through their normal routine the day before a game, with dinner, a devotional and meetings.

"It's going to be exactly like we do it when we leave to go to LaGrange every week," Chizik said.

Kickoff tomorrow is at 11 a.m. ET. The game will be televised by ESPN.

Chizik thinks the team has had more than its share of time to prepare, which can be both good and bad.

"Sometimes the evils of this much time is you have every game, you see everything, so if a team does something once in a game, or twice in a game, or two or three times in a game, but very infrequently, you have to prepare for that in your mind and you think this is a possibility," he said. "Too much knowledge of what they do ... that can happen to you. So I think when you go to bowl seasons, I think that what you do is you stick to what you do, you try to be simple, you let your guys play fast and don't be paralyzed by knowing too much."

Northwestern hasn't won a bowl game in 60 years, so it should be plenty motivated. Chizik thinks his squad will be just as ready to play, however.

"As we told our football team, this is not necessarily the last football game of 2009," he said. "It's the first game of 2010."

Here are a few other notes and quotes from today ...

• Chizik doesn't necessarily mind the early start time. "Our players like it and our coaches like it because you don't have to get up all day and think about it, watch everybody else," he said. "You get up, you eat, you go to the stadium and you play. I think that's the way that our coaches and players would prefer to do that. We like that. We like getting up and getting going."

• Northwestern will spend its night like it usually does -- watching the TV series "24." Why "24"? "Jack Bauer," Wildcats coach Pat Fitzgerald said. "That's all that needs to be said. He's a modern day MacGyver." Somewhere Richard Dean Anderson is smiling.

• It might rain tomorrow. Fitzgerald doesn't think that will mean it'll be a low-scoring game. "I think when the weather is inclement, it's an advantage for the offense," he said. "I've always thought that way. The offense knows the count, knows what direction of the play, especially when you're throwing the ball, you don't have to worry about slipping." He doesn't necessarily think it favors a running-based team.

• Fitzgerald on Northwestern's 60-year bowl win drought: "There's an 800-pound gorilla in the corner of the room and I'm really looking forward to getting it off our back and you guys can stop talking about it. But since Day 1, our goal has been to win a bowl."

• Fitzgerald thinks highly of Auburn: "It's not going to be easy. It's going to be against the best team we've played all year." That's high praise ( or perhaps a predictable platitude on the eve of a bowl game) from a coach whose team played and beat an unbeaten Iowa team that was ranked in the Top 5.
  

I wrote a story for today's newspaper about cornerback Walt McFadden. Here's how it starts:

TAMPA, Fla. — A wide smile crept across Walt McFadden’s face when a few Auburn beat writers informed the cornerback that he was the first recipient of the “Good Guy” award, an honor meant to recognize a player who is consistently congenial with the media.

His response stopped just short of wishing for world peace.

“I want to thank the world,” he said, stammering a bit. “I want to thank everybody who’s been listening to and reading my comments. I just want to thank everybody.

“I feel like I’m at an awards show.”

It might have been the first time this season the senior struggled to find the right words. McFadden, who will play his final college game Friday in the Outback Bowl against Northwestern, fully embraces his role as a team leader.

Read the rest here. And follow the blog on Twitter.

TAMPA, Fla. — Auburn might have averaged the most plays per game of any team in the SEC, but that’s not fast enough to appease offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn, whose offense is based on speed.

“It’ll get faster, there’s no doubt,” he said “We’re not happy with our pace right now. Our number of plays needs to increase, and that comes with execution and getting first downs, too. We expect it to get quite a bit faster.”

The Tigers ran 842 plays a game this year (70.2 per game), ranking 38th out of 120 Football Bowl Subdivision teams. That’s only a marginal increase from the 810 plays Auburn ran last year with a disjointed offensive coaching staff.

In his two years at Tulsa, Malzahn’s offenses led the nation in number of plays, with 1,097 in 2008 and 1,126 in 2007.

For Malzahn, the magic number is 70 per game, although the higher, the better.

“We do pride ourselves in the number of snaps,” he said. “That’s a big thing for us. We’d like to get 70-plus snaps, and when we don’t reach that and we don’t win, that’s not good. Usually, if we have 70, we like our chances.”

Follow the blog on Twitter. And read some more notes from Wednesday ...

• It was a full day for Auburn's players, who attended an early-morning Fellowship of Christian Athletes breakfast where former NFL coach Tony Dungy, a Tampa resident, was the keynote speaker. “As you’re preparing (for the Outback Bowl), I just ask you to remember one thing,” Dungy said. “In the meetings that you have left, the preparation and concentration, in practice and in that game on New Year’s Day, do everything you can to win. But remember, it’s just a game. It’s not life. Don’t win the game, but lose your soul.”

• Head coach Gene Chizik and a few players visited the West Tampa Boys and Girls Club. He handed out 101 tickets to the Outback Bowl so the kids could attend the game. “It’s really neat when you can come to a Boys and Girls Club and give back to these guys,” Chizik said. “There are so many guys in our football program that grew up around a Boys and Girls Club or a YMCA, so anytime you can visit with those young people and give the community something back, it’s always special.”

• Freshman running back Dontae Aycock, a Tampa native, also spoke to the group of kids. He played basketball at the club when he was younger. “It was good seeing the kids in the club and not out in the streets doing something they’re not supposed to be doing," he said. "They’re here with all their friends playing games and enjoying themselves. It was a good experience for me.”

• Can't remember if I mentioned this before or not, but Auburn will wear blue uniforms Friday while Northwestern will wear white.

• And lastly, a few Auburn players (mostly walk-ons and redshirts) enjoyed a day at Clearwater beach, where there was a tug-of-war competition between the teams' cheerleaders. Apparently, Auburn won the overall competition. Here are a few photos:

Under sunny skies and in warmer weather, Auburn had its final full-scale practice before Friday's Outback Bowl against Northwestern, working out for just over two hours at the University of Tampa this morning.

"Just a great day today," Auburn head coach Gene Chizik said. "Obviously the weather is beautiful. Hopefully it's close to this on game day. Today was really our final preparation for the bowl. And I really thought focus was sharp and they were focused and tuned in, so I think it was a great way to end practice, really our last practice of the year. It was a good day."

Auburn will do a walkthrough tomorrow at Raymond James Stadium, site of the bowl game, treating it like a Friday gathering during a normal game week.

Although today was sunny, there is a 60 percent chance of rain for Friday's game, with a predicted high of 64 degrees.

"We'll just play it by ear," Chizik said. "All our preparation's been done and in. And obviously circumstances can change what you may or may not do, but for the most part it's set."

I wrote a story for today's newspaper about Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald. Here's how it starts:

TAMPA, Fla. — No official line of succession had been planned, but Northwestern’s players already had a sense of how it would unfold.

Pat Fitzgerald, the young, well-spoken, former All-American-turned-linebackers coach would someday take the reins at his alma mater from Randy Walker, the self-described “Johnny off the pickle boat” who returned the Wildcats to respectability in the Big Ten following Gary Barnett’s departure.

Unfortunately, the timetable was accelerated following Walker’s unexpected death of a heart attack at age 52 in the summer of 2006.

“I think what (Walker) set was a precedent for Northwestern and what we’re about,” quarterback Mike Kafka said. “I think Coach Fitz has taken that to the next level and the team to the next level, and I think Coach Walk definitely is still ingrained in our program.”

Read the whole thing here. And follow the blog on Twitter.

I'll be back later today with another update from practice.

TAMPA, Fla. — Only four quarters remain in Auburn quarterback Chris Todd’s winding career, one in which he’s played the scapegoat and the hero, sometimes within a matter of a few weeks.

“People are trying to remind me, but I’m trying to treat it like it’s the next week,” Todd said. “After I’m done I can kind of look back on it and I can really cherish some of the stuff I went through.”

It’s been an unusual career for Todd, one that’s included two transfers, shoulder problems and occasional backlash from the home crowd.

But the senior has made his mark on the Plains regardless. Todd, who is 10-7 as a starter at Auburn, threw 21 touchdowns this year, setting the school’s single-season record, a remarkable feat considering he didn’t enter the quarterback picture until the summer following shoulder surgery last December.

“Everything he went through, he was battle-tested,” offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn said. “He doesn’t get too high or too low. A quarterback at Auburn or a quarterback in the SEC, that’s what you’ve got to do. I think he’s had fun. And he’s gone above and beyond our expectations.”

Todd gained his teammates’ respect for the hours he logged at Auburn’s athletic complex during the offseason, trying to soak in everything he could about Malzahn’s system so he could jump into the quarterback mix once his arm allowed him to. He said he never stayed overnight but conceded that he had napped there a few times.

“Between the workout time that they already require of us, that coupled with the rehab he was doing on his shoulder, and then when the coaching staff got here trying to learn a new offense, that doesn’t leave much time in the day other than to do those things and to go to class,” right tackle Andrew McCain said. “And he’s one of those guys that just really embraced his opportunity.”

Todd grew to appreciate the school’s traditions and history, even if he took his fair share of abuse from Auburn fans.

“Coming through certain situations and working hard and really giving everything you’ve got, that’s all you can do to try to carry on what Auburn’s already done,” he said. “I feel humbled and very grateful to be a part of a program like Auburn.”

Follow the blog on Twitter. And read some more notes and quotes from Tuesday ...

• Auburn went through its third practice in Tampa on Tuesday. After eight practices in Auburn before making the trip south, coaches are trying to keep things fresh. "It's definitely important," defensive coordinator Ted Roof said. "You don't want things to become mundane, same old same old. Although there is a certain amount of that that's going to go on when you have some base things that you believe in. But just to keep it interesting and try to challenge them not only physically, but mentally to keep something fresh, a new angle. I think that's important to keep them mentally focused."

• The Tigers enjoyed a trip to the amusement park Busch Gardens on Monday evening, although roller coasters weren’t high on everybody’s to-do list. McCain said it was the first time left tackle Lee Ziemba had ever been on a roller coaster. “I looked over there and he was sweating, almost to the point of tears because he was so nervous,” McCain said with a laugh. “That was probably the most exciting moment for me was to watch him suffer when the roller coaster took off.”

• Asked if anybody screamed during their roller coaster excursion, linebacker Craig Stevens had this to say: "I think everybody did. We went back and looked at the picture and everybody looked terrified."

• Some Auburn players avoided the roller coasters altogether. “Man, I don’t do all the heights and stuff,” defensive end Antonio Coleman said. “I like to ride in the teacup sand stuff like that. I’m a real slow and gentle guy. I like to coast.”

• Coleman is getting somewhat wistful that his last college game is rapidly approaching. "Coach Roof reminds me of that daily. Yesterday we were in full pads. I was sweating real bad and he was like ‘I see those tears. This is your last inside drill here at Auburn University.’ Then today he gave me another joke. … It’s set in. I mean, you move on to bigger and better things, hopefully."

• Roof had good things to say about senior DT Jake Ricks. "He is such a solid, solid force inside," he said. "When he comes to the practice field and he comes to the game field you're going to get his absolute best. It's good to be able to count on a guy, just like in all sports, to be strong up the middle. He's certainly had a very physical season, had a great year for us. Also, not only on the field but also what he brings to our locker room."

• Ricks, on his future plans: "Who knows? I really don't know right now. I'm going to sit down after this game and have a talk with my parents and see what they think. Hopefully I'm going to get an NFL shot but if that doesn't work out then I'm going to go back to school and finish. We'll see."

• One note on junior college quarterback Cameron Newton. The five-star recruit has apparently eliminated Oklahoma from consideration, leaving his choice between Auburn and Mississippi State. Newton originally planned to announce his intentions on Thursday but has pushed back making his decision public until Saturday at the earliest, according to the subscription recruiting site BulldawgJunction.com.

• Lastly, an itinerary update. Auburn's players have team night at GameWorks, a video game bar near Ybor City. A trip to Clearwater Beach is on the docket for tomorrow, although considering the water temperatures, I can't imagine anybody doing much swimming.

This is something we beat writers have been talking about doing for a while. We'll make this as official as possible. Here's a press release on the subject ...

TAMPA, Fla. — Auburn senior cornerback Walter "Walt" McFadden has been selected as the first recipient of the "Good Guy Award," which will be presented annually by the local chapter of Auburn beat writers.

The award is meant to recognize a player who is consistently congenial and professional in his interactions with the media.

The East Alabama Auburn Beat Writers Association of America voted to give McFadden the inaugural award for his friendly demeanor, regular participation in media interviews and outstanding quotablity.

"Walt is a reporter's best friend," said EAABWAA media relations committee chairman Evan Woodbery, beat writer for the Mobile Press-Register. "He could speak intelligently on any number of topics and his outstanding sense of humor never wavered."

McFadden will be presented with a plaque from the EAABWAA at a later date.

"I really do appreciate that," McFadden said when informed of the honor. "I want to thank everybody...I feel like I'm at an awards show."

Other players deserving of honorable mention include quarterback Chris Todd, who was always willing to speak during good times and bad, tight end Tommy Trott, H-back Mario Fannin and linebackers Josh Bynes and Craig Stevens.

McFadden, a native of Pompano Beach, Fla., has started 24 consecutive games for the Tigers and was an All-SEC second team selection. He is also a member of the SEC's community service team.

"You couldn't have picked a better one," said Auburn head coach Gene Chizik. "He's a great ambassador for Auburn. He's a great person. He's a great football player. He's always the same. He never changes, so what you see is what you get. I wasn't aware of the award, but now that I am I don't think you could have picked a better one. That was a good pick."

The EAABWAA is an informal professional organization devoted to advancing sports journalism.

We're currently at an Outback Bowl luncheon at the Tampa Convention Center, where plenty of Tampa-area big hitters are here to eat and socialize in the presence of both teams. There's free food involved, so naturally we sportswriters are here.

ANYWAY, here are some quick notes after Auburn's morning practice:

• Head coach Gene Chizik thought it was another good practice. That makes two good practices so far; one mediocre one; two to go. "I felt like the tempo was up," Chizik said. "It was a little shorter today because of some of the events. We're coming down to the end of the week anyway. This was our Wednesdayish practice for game week. Good work today. I think we're going in the right direction."

• More Chizik practice talk: "We've got to narrow down the focus during the last couple of days. Every practice since our first one has been better. The focus was there today. The focus was there yesterday. We're starting to narrow back down to the mindset that it's game week and we need to get going."

• Linebacker Josh Bynes thinks the defense has been better since the Arkansas game. "We came with a mindset that we're going to come after the other time," he said. "We were tired of hearing everybody saying this defense isn't good. We came up with a great scheme. Our whole mentality is: Three downs. That's all we've been thinking about for the second half of the season. They only get three downs. That's what we've been doing throughout the second half. If you saw the Alabama game, we were shutting them down with no problems."

• The Tigers continued their full itinerary of events, going to Busch Gardens yesterday. Plenty of rollercoasters were enjoyed. "Some guys were scared," Bynes said. "Mike G.[the blog will protect his anonymity] was kind of scared. He was screaming. You didn't hear that from me. There were a lot of guys scared to get on rides, but we had a great time. It was fun."

• Busch Gardens has plenty of animals, too, as these photos prove (the players look extremely cautious in the presence of this serval):

• From a beat writer perspective, we enjoyed a suite at a Tampa Bay Lightning game last night (free of charge!). The Lightning won, we enjoyed some adult beverages and hot dogs. Everybody had a good time. Here are a few photos for those who care. Back with more a little later.

I wrote a story for today's newspaper looking back at Gene Chizik's first year at Auburn. Here's how it starts:

TAMPA, Fla. — Playing a position as coveted as left tackle, junior Lee Ziemba will likely get a good, long look from NFL scouts at some point in the future.

When asked if he had thought about entering the NFL Draft a year early, Ziemba said he hadn’t thought about it.

“I’m focusing on the bowl game right now,” Ziemba said. “That’s something that’s in the future that we’ll have to look at but I’m not focused on that right now. I’m focused on playing Northwestern and beating them.”

The 6-foot-8, 308-pound Ziemba had a bounce-back year after offseason knee surgery. The junior extended his starting streak to 37 games and earned second-team All-SEC honors from the coaches and an honorable mention from the Associated Press.

Ziemba is ranked the 10th-best offensive tackle in the 2011 class by NFLDraftScout.com.

Follow the blog on Twitter. And read some more of these notes ...

• Auburn coaches have had plenty of praise for Northwestern quarterback Mike Kafka, a fifth-year senior who earned second-team All-Big Ten honors. Kafka threw for 2,898 yards and 12 touchdowns this year, completing 65.7 percent of his passes. A mobile quarterback, he added 265 yards and seven touchdowns on the ground. “(Kafka) throws the ball as good as anybody,” Auburn safeties coach Tommy Thigpen said. “We saw (Jevan) Snead against Ole Miss and we thought he had a really quick release. This guy’s release is just as quick as the Snead kid’s. So it’s going to be a challenge for our football team because there’s a lot of route timing, a lot of times he throws the ball to the receivers before they come out of their routes. They’re a really polished football team.”

• Northwestern doesn't remind cornerbacks coach Phillip Lolley of anyone Auburn's faced this year. "Maybe Mississippi State," he said. "They know how to throw the football, I can tell you that. They throw it around pretty good and they run the football through one-back stuff and do a really good job with that. A lot of zone stuff, what I call stretch. They’re able to read out of the quarterbacks throw of the ball and they can run the ball. They don’t mind tucking and running with it so it presents a challenge when you can spread that many people out. I’d say they probably get empty more than anyone we’ve played this year. Probably be their No. 1 set. They spread you out and make you play."

• Auburn has a few more bodies at its disposal in the secondary to try to stop Northwestern's passing game. D'Antoine Hood is looking better after struggling with an ankle injury all season. Safety Drew Cole, who missed the majority of the year with a major ankle injury, is also an option.

• Anthony Gulley is another option. The wide receiver moved to cornerback before the Furman game. Coaches don't know if he'll stay there. "It will probably carry over to the spring," Lolley said. "Right now, we’re just trying to work him there and get as many reps there as we can. I told him it kind of reminds me of Travaris Robinson several years ago. Travaris Robinson, the same type of situation, was a wide receiver and everything and we brought him over and just started working with him. We didn’t know if that move would be permanent or not. It wound up being permanent and he got to play a little bit in the league. We’ll know this spring where we are with it. Right now, he’s picking it up real good."

• Northwestern dedicated its bowl performance to second-year defensive line coach Marty Long, who had emergency surgery earlier this month to remove a growth and will not make the trip to Tampa. The team got some good news Monday: The surgery went well and Long, despite some double vision, has been improving every day. “It breaks our heart that he cannot be here with us, but we’re thinking about him and praying for his speedy recovery,” Wildcats coach Pat Fitzgerald said. “Us not having him here, it’s like not having one of your family here. Our defensive line has done a great job lifting themselves up and working hard. When I walked down to the meeting room yesterday I saw all 18 defensive linemen down there running the meeting. That’s what you’re hoping to see from your seniors.”

• Thigpen agreed with Gene Chizik's contention that practice was better: "Guys flew around a lot better than it was yesterday. Yesterday, we was kind of sluggish and you could tell guys had been off. You could tell guys were a lot more crisp, guys looked a lot more rested, a lot more fresh, a lot more alert. Pleased, we still got a lot of little stuff to correct upon. For the majority of the part, it was a good day."

• Wide receivers coach Trooper Taylor had an opinion on practice too: "They're getting back in the swing of things. Today really looked like a practice we probably would have had at Auburn. I think coach has been trying to emphasize that nothing changes but the address."

• Thigpen used to coach on Urban Meyer's staff back when they were at Bowling Green. He was as shocked as anyone upon hearing the news that Meyer was taking a leave. "We know he was passionate at a young age," Thigpen said. "Urban runs probably a couple miles a day if I can remember. I never thought that he would be resigning at this point in his career. But if I know Urban, take some time off and he'll be back."

• RB Onterio McCalebb said his ankle is 100 percent. I'm sure he made sure to tape it Monday nonetheless.
  

• WR Derek Winter is a Tampa native. Although he hasn't done much this year (his one catch came against Furman), Chizik had good things to say about the sophomore. "This kid works," Chizik said. "He's the epitome of hard work. When you look at Auburn's creed, in there it talks about work, hard work. He is what the creed says and he is what Auburn believes in."

• Lots of good stuff about the similar tempos that Auburn and Northwestern run. I plan to write about that as my game advance. It was funny that Fitzgerald pointed out that both teams are coached by defensive-minded coaches but still have no-huddle offenses.

• Fitzgerald had a good quote about a strong academic school like Northwestern competing against top-notch competition: "To our coaching staff's credit, they have embraced and believe in what we are and what we stand for. We try to develop world-class student athletes and give a world-class student athlete experience. With that comes the expectation that we're going to well in the classroom. With 54 players above a 3.0 and team GPA of 2.98 and win eight football games and go 5-3 in our league shows that you can have that balance. You can have the best of both worlds, but it start and ends with recruiting. We've got to attract the right kind of young man that fits our football program. Our coaching staff has done a tremendous job. Once you have that, it's kind of a vacuum that pulls everybody up. The culture within our locker room is to do the right thing, not just on the field, not just socially, not just in the classroom, but all areas combined, and I'm very proud of that."

• I'll give an enthusiastic thumbs up to Skipper's Smokehouse here in Tampa. It might not look like much (as this photo suggests), but it was some good eatin'. I recommend the shrimp. It's off to a Tampa Bay Lightning game tonight. This Minnesota native is curious to see what an NHL game is like in Florida. I assume the ice will still be frozen.
  

TAMPA, Fla. — Auburn was sharper during its second practice in Tampa on Monday, shaking off the rust that had accumulated after a four-day break for the holidays.

"I thought the tempo today was much better," Tigers coach Gene Chizik said. "I thought the focus was much better. They got the message."

The weather cooperated, with the sun emerging from the clouds and temperatures rising to the mid-60's.

"A lot of people came out here with a whole bunch of stuff on today," running back Onterio McCalebb, a native of nearby Fort Meade, Fla. "I told them it was going to start warming up sooner or later and now they've gotten to feel the heat."

Auburn's players have a trip to Busch Gardens planned this afternoon.

"They're going to have to dynamite me out there," wide receivers coach Trooper Taylor said. "My son has called about three or four times this morning to see what time we're going to be out there.

"The receivers are going to meet as a group and see who can ride the most rollercoasters. The money's on me right now."

I'll be back with more later ...

TAMPA, Fla. — Make no mistake: Auburn’s Philip Lutzenkirchen likes playing tight end, a position he’s practiced at all season as Tommy Trott’s backup.

But the versatile freshman has taken a liking to the H-back role he’s filled in at the last few weeks.

“I’ve worked a lot at tight end so I feel pretty comfortable there too, but I like the H-back and being able to motion and kick-out and play in space,” he said.

Lutzenkirchen might get some looks at both positions in Friday’s Outback Bowl against Northwestern. He is one of several options Auburn has at H-back, a position lacking bodies after Eric Smith was ruled academically ineligible and John Douglas and Jason King were suspended for separate DUI incidents.

The freshman has five catches for 66 yards and two touchdowns this season, playing in all 12 games. Although the 6-foot-4, 262-pound Lutzenkirchen is behind Trott on the depth chart at tight end, his ability to run, catch and block make him suited for the H-back spot.

“For that position, we ask a lot — to block, to run different types of routes,” offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn said. “He’s got to do a lot of different things, and Philip has that skill set.”

“It kind of goes back to when we recruited Philip, how did we see him?” Auburn coach Gene Chizik said. “We feel like he’s a versatile enough guy to wear a couple of different hats in this offense. So as time goes on with him and he gets older and matures and he understands everything, we feel sure he’s going to do that.”

What that means in the future is unclear. With Trott graduating, Auburn has a definite need for a traditional tight end, even if Lutzenkirchen is anything but.

“I would imagine they would tweak it a little bit,” he said, “but they’re still going to expect me to be able to do everything that Tommy is this past year.”

Follow the blog on Twitter. And read these other notes from Sunday's practice ...

• Florida coach Urban Meyer spent Sunday evening clarifying his decision to at least temporarily leave his position as the Gators’ head coach to improve his personal health. Chizik knows first-hand the pressures and stress associated with coaching at a big-time SEC school and is aware the toll it can take. “I think everybody is,” he said. “And it’s so competitive that you feel such an allegiance to your university and your players and your coaching staff, and that’s before you even get to the outside pressures of the world. And I’m very cognizant of it and it’s just a tough, tough business and a lot of stress that goes along with it.”

• Auburn enters the Outback Bowl against Northwestern as 7-point favorites. That’s not indicative of much this bowl season. Entering Sunday, underdogs had won outright in six of the nine bowl games. Chizik struggled to find an answer for a reason why underdogs seem to fare well in the postseason. “Anything can happen in these games,” he said. “There’s so much involved in the preparation. Do you over-prepare? Do you under-prepare? Are your kids excited about playing? Sometimes kids expect to be in ‘X’ bowl game and then they go to a different bowl game and their mentality changes because it’s not what they wanted. There’s all kinds of variables in there. ... Every game is individualized and every game is different. So I just think it depends on the team.”

• With Auburn low on bodies in the secondary, Chizik thinks D’Antoine Hood, a Central-Phenix City graduate, could see an increase in playing time against Northwestern’s pass-happy offense. Hood, a sophomore, has battled an ankle injury all season. He played in nine games this year, getting in on four tackles. “He had some nagging injuries all year,” Chizik said. “I feel like the last three or four weeks he’s come on. He’s healthier. And he needs to come on for us. We need his help. We’re hoping in the bowl game he can come out there and give us some plays.”

• Converted wide receiver Anthony Gulley might be another option in the secondary. The wide receiver moved to cornerback as an emergency option before the Furman game. "It's definitely a work in progress with him," Chizik said. "Of course it was a month ago or whatnot, I can't remember how far back exactly we moved him, but he's made significant strides. Is he ready to play in the bowl game? We've got three or four more days to prepare him every day. So I can't say right now. But we think he's making some great strides right now."

• Count defensive coordinator Ted Roof as someone impressed by Northwestern quarterback Mike Kafka. "Kafka has really grown as a passer since last year," Roof said. "He’s turned into a very high-percentage accurate thrower. He was a track guy in high school. He can run."

• The Wildcats don't strike him as an off team in the Big Ten, despite their preference to spread the field. "If you asked that question eight or 10 years ago, I would have said yes," Roof said. "But after being in that league last year, almost every team, with the exception of two or three has some form of spread. They are now more the norm. That league has turned into a spread league."

• I touched on this in my main story for tomorrow, but the players enjoyed a Tampa Bay Lightning hockey game Saturday night. Needless to say, it was a new experience for most of Auburn's players. "It was pretty exciting," cornerback Walt McFadden said. "The big thing was the horn. Every time they scored it was really loud. You always look at the cheerleaders because they're pretty and that was a good thing because they were kind of running up and down the aisles so that was pretty exciting as well."

• McFadden said he wanted to get a horn for the football field. "I wish I could," he said. "I'd blow the horn every time they didn't score a touchdown. Any other play, even if I didn't make the play, I'd push the horn. If I get a horn that big, you're going to know I'm around somewhere."

• Walt offered this other take on the hockey game: "It was kind of funny that we're like, some of the DBs sitting together, these guys are skating backwards. When we first started off to get with coach (Phillip) Lolley running backwards we were falling and these guys are skating backwards."

• After watching the game, linebacker Craig Stevens thinks he picked the right sport. "I'm not ready to play hockey," he said. "If I went out there I would just be going to fight."

• Auburn capped the day with a visit to the St. Joseph’s Children’s Hospital. Here are a few photos:

Here's a short video that highlights some parts of Gene Chizik's session with reporters Sunday. Sorry about the lighting. I don't have a TV quality camera for these things. I'll try a different angle later in the week. Enjoy.

We just got back from some afternoon interviews. Here's a quick update on some stuff that came out of those interview. I hope to have a video of Gene Chizik and a more extensive update a little later:

• Auburn's players had four days without practice. Naturally, they were a little rusty Sunday. "You could tell they've had four days off and the effort was good but I just think that we were a little bit sloppy, a little bit rusty," Chizik said. "We obviously need the next four days. But we'll get back to work tomorrow and we'll try to get some of these things shored up. But overall, the effort was good. But again, you can just tell that we've had some time off and we just have to get back into the rhythm of practice and the football rhythm."

• Auburn might have to use more defensive backs than normal because Northwestern throws the ball so much. This is problematic because the Tigers have so few healthy DBs. "Pace of the offense does matter, as we know. But we have to be able to take out some linebackers and put in some more speed guys, there's no question about it. And we're mixing and matching, like we've done all year."

• Chizik said Central-Phenix grad D'Antoine Hood could be a factor in the secondary. The sophomore has battled an ankle injury this year.

• It's not necessarily warm out here. Some of the players were complaining to the Florida residents on the team. "Oh yeah," said linebacker Craig Stevens, a Tallahassee native. "There are a lot of guys complaining. I'm just like we're out here by the water so the wind's going to blow all day. Especially when it's cold, that will make it 10 times worse."

• The team attended a Tampa Bay Lightning game last night, a new experience for most of the players. "It was pretty fun," Stevens said. "When they scored the little thing is so loud. That caught me off guard. It scared me the first time. After that I was used to it."

• Back with more later ...

Auburn kicked off practice this morning at the University of Tampa in surprisingly chilly weather. Temperatures hovered around 53 degrees, the sky was overcast and there was a slight breeze, leaving more than one beat writer who failed to bring a coat shivering for the duration of the open period of practice.

We didn't get to see much other than the team stretching, but here a few observations anyway ...

• Did I mention it was chilly? Head coach Gene Chizik wore a winter hat, as did most of the coaches. Defensive coordinator Ted Roof was in shorts. He did have a hooded sweatshirt, though.

• The Tigers are practicing at the University of Tampa's Art & Polly Pepin Stadium, a soccer field that hosted the 2009 Division II men's and women's championships and can seat as many as 1,500. The Spartans have won NCAA Division II titles in men's soccer in 1981, 1994 and 2001, while the women's team won in 2007. Tampa has no football team, as this passage from Wikipedia explains:

• UT fielded a men's football team from 1933 to 1974, and was the original team playing in Tampa Stadium. The team officially moved up to Division I in 1971 and defeated the Miami Hurricanes in 1970 and 1972. Several of its players went to the NFL and it won the Tangerine Bowl. However attendance lagged. President B.D. Owens said that the program lost $755,000 in its three years of Division I and said at that rate the program would bankrupt the school. The program was terminated at the end of the 1974 season.

• The University of Tampa (or possibly the Outback Bowl) spray painted an AU logo on the side of the practice field to make the Tigers feel more at home. Nice touch, although the colors looked a little more fluorescent than Auburn's blue and orange. Look at the picture. Doesn't that look like Miami Dolphins colors?

• Lee Ziemba wore Andrew McCain's No. 75 jersey and McCain wore Ziemba's No. 73. I have no reason why.

• The family of holder Clayton Crofoot was in attendance (the Crofeet?). Crofoot, a senior, is from Orlando, Fla.

• Your angry exchange of the day: We were standing near the sidelines watching Onterio McCalebb returning some kicks. He didn't have any tape on his ankles. A trainer noticed this and in no uncertain terms told him to get his ankles taped. "You've had ankle problems all year and you don't have them taped? That's stupid," he more or less said (a few colorful words were omitted for the children who read this blog). Needless to say, McCalebb went and got his ankles taped.

• I'll be back later with a post-practice update. Follow the blog on Twitter for instant updates every time I post something.

• I'll leave you with a few photos I snapped with my iPhone at practice showing just how bleak out it was:

Auburn arrived in Tampa this afternoon. I did late tonight, so I wasn't able to get talk with anybody after what sounds like a delightful Outback Steakhouse meal. Anyway, here's a release about today's arrival from Auburn Sports Information.

I'll have plenty of updates tomorrow once the team starts practicing, so check back.'

TAMPA — The Auburn football team officially reported for the Outback Bowl Saturday and participated in the first bowl functions of the week. The Tigers attended the Outback Steakhouse team welcome dinner followed by Team Night at the Tampa Bay Lightning hockey game.

Auburn (7-5) will meet Northwestern (8-4) in the 2010 Outback Bowl on Jan. 1 in Tampa, Fla. The game will kick off at 10 a.m. CT in Raymond James Stadium and be nationally televised by ESPN.

“Everybody’s here and having a good time tonight,” Auburn head coach Gene Chizik said. “We’re excited to get started tomorrow with practice. We’re here for one reason and that’s to win our eighth football game this season. There’s a balance to having fun and preparing to win the game and the players know that. Outback put on a great dinner for us tonight and it was a great way to start the week. It was everything you’d expect from Outback.”

Both teams were treated to an all-you-can-eat dinner courtesy of Outback, featuring steak, chicken and ribs.

“It was an amazing dinner tonight,” Tigers’ quarterback Chris Todd said. “It’s great to get off the plane or get off the road from traveling and have this kind of dinner the first night you’re here. We’re looking forward to the rest of the week. Coach Chizik made it pretty clear that he wants us to have a good time, but we are here to win a football game. So the practices are back to business, with everybody focused on winning.”

Following the Outback Steakhouse welcome dinner, both teams traveled to the St. Pete Times Forum for an NHL game between the Lightning and the Atlanta Thrashers. For a majority of the players, it was their first time to witness a hockey game in person.

"I've never been to a hockey game before,” Auburn receiver Terrell Zachery said. “It’s pretty cool. I'm glad we don't play on ice. I was telling one of the guys ice skating looks like roller blading and that's more my thing."

The Tigers will conduct their first bowl practice Sunday morning at the University of Tampa.

I will be traveling to Tampa this afternoon by car, so there probably won't be any updates today. But to tide you over, I wrote a feature on right tackle Andrew McCain. Here's how it starts:

AUBURN, Ala. — The first four years of Andrew McCain’s Auburn career were a twisted path of position changes, backup roles and frustration.

He openly wondered whether the wait ever would be worth it.

“There was a point last year at the end of the season where it was no secret that I was calling it quits,” he said.

But McCain decided to stick it out, encouraged by head coach Gene Chizik, offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn and offensive line coach Jeff Grimes that this would be his opportunity to finally play an important role on the football team he loves so much.

His patience paid off. The senior was inserted at right tackle in the spring. He was the only new starter on the line but quickly became a fixture, starting all 12 games for a group that helped Auburn go from 104th to 21st nationally in total offense.

Read the rest here. And follow the blog on Twitter.

Hope everyone's having a Merry Christmas. Although it's a holiday, we at the blog don't take a break. (OK, we take a little break. Long enough to eat .... and open presents ... and nap ... and watch some football ... and eat again.) Anyway, I wrote a story about tight end Tommy Trott for today's newspaper. Here's how it starts:

AUBURN, Ala. — His knee still freshly scarred from knee surgery, Tommy Trott was keenly aware that his football clock was ticking last December when he spoke optimistically to reporters after Auburn tabbed Gene Chizik to be its new head coach.

The tight end knew his future didn’t involve the NFL, so he wanted to enjoy what little time he had left in a football uniform.

“I think I kind of looked at it like my career hadn’t really gone the way I wanted it to,” Trott said. “I kind of looked forward to getting some new coaches, getting some new coaching and see if they could bring anything new else out of me and see if I could become a better football player. …

“We had a lot more fun playing football this year than I’ve had in the past.”

Read the rest here. And follow the blog on Twitter.

I wrote a story for today's newspaper about junior defensive end Antoine Carter. Here's how it starts:

AUBURN, Ala. — Of the many tattoos on Antoine Carter’s body, the two he seems to have a tinge of regret about sit right under his eyes.

The Auburn defensive lineman has the words “Hot” and “Boy” — his nickname — tattooed vertically at the outer corner of each eye, almost like teardrops. Cool at first, they’ve lost their luster.

Carter said he hopes to have them removed this spring in what would be a costly procedure.

“It’s just professional reasons,” he said. “I’m going into the business world. People make their thoughts about you when they first look at you, so I don’t want anybody getting off to a wrong start about me.”

Carter is getting serious in other realms too, especially on the football field, where he emerged in the second half of the season as a worthy heir to senior Antonio Coleman’s role as Auburn’s most disruptive pass rusher.

Read the rest here. And follow the blog on Twitter.

AUBURN, Ala. — Auburn coach Jeff Lebo had plenty of praise Tuesday for his team after it set a season-high in points with a 94-78 victory against middling Alabama State.

He wasn't so enamored with the Tigers' defense.

"We're good at bringing out some shooting in other people," Lebo said. "I'll tell you that."

Auburn (6-6) shed the memory of Sunday's embarrassing 18-point home loss to Sam Houston State, shooting a season-best 62 percent and getting a career-high 18 points from forward Brendon Knox to get back to .500 for the season.

"We were very efficient tonight," Lebo said.

Here are some other notes and quotes ...

• The Tigers led by as many as 17 but couldn't shake a pesky Alabama State (2-8). The Hornets grabbed 16 offensive rebounds against Auburn's bigger lineup and eventually heated up from long range, missing their first 12 3-pointers before making 10 of their next 11.

• Leading scorer Menji Mundadi, despite early foul trouble, made four 3-pointers and scored a team-high 15, one of five Hornets in double figures.

• Key sequence in the game: Auburn breaks Alabama State's fullcourt press and gets the ball to Frankie Sullivan, who converted a three-point play after getting fouled on a layup with 1:47 remaining to make it a 13-point game. Sullivan, who finished with nine points, six rebounds and four assists, stole the ball on the next possession, leading to a fastbreak layup by Andre Malone that gave Auburn room to exhale at 83-78.

• The Tigers were 31-for-50 from the field. "I did like our poise offensively," Lebo said. "We didn't panic. We still got the ball inside. We still got high-percentage looks."

• DeWayne Reed scored 15, Lucas Hargrove 14 and Tay Waller 13 for the Tigers.

• Knox was very impressive. Lebo publicly criticized the 6-foot-8 senior after he scored only four points and fouled out in nine minutes against Sam Houston State on Sunday. Knox responded with his best offensive effort to date, going 5-for-6 from the field in the first half for 13 points, one better than his career-best against High Point last season. "The last few games I wasn't working hard enough to get the ball in the middle," Knox said. "This game I saw the opportunity because they were a small team. I took advantage of it and posted up."

• The foul-plagued center had only two in 25 minutes. "I wanted to use this game to redeem myself," Knox said. "Instead of putting my head down, I fought back."

• Don't get too excited about the win. Alabama State has yet to beat a Division I opponent this year. The Hornets have lost to Ole Miss by 37, Tulane by 27 and Arkansas by 25.

• Auburn if off until Dec. 29 when it hosts Charleston Southern at 8 p.m. ET.

We had one last brief interview today with Gene Chizik before the team heads to Tampa for the Outback Bowl. Here's a little bit of what he had to say (oh, and follow the blog on Twitter):

• The team wrapped up eight practices in 11 days. Chizik was pleased with what the Tigers got accomplished. "It was very productive, as far as the whole eight days of practice," he said. "Finished on a very good note today. I thought the last day being today, the focus was there. They did a nice job. Very productive two weeks."

• It's a team tradition to carry the senior players off the field after their final practice at Auburn. It happened for a few Tuesday. "Well, I saw some get carried off the field," Chizik said. "I don't know if they all did it. I know there were some. Some of them might be a little too heavy to carry off." We even have a photo too.
  

• Auburn did some minor game-planning for Northwestern today. It also did a lot of special teams work.

• Still no word on who might be the starting H-back. Eric Smith is academically ineligible and John Douglas and Jason King are suspended after getting DUIs this month. "Well, like I said earlier, we've got a really good plan without going into the details of it," Chizik said. "We're not changing anything. We've got a good plan of who's going to do what. The next guy always steps up to the plate. We're used to it. It's happened all year." Best guess: Philip Lutzenkirchen gets a good look in the role along with Mario Fannin.

• Chizik said Auburn came out of practice health. "We're not completely out of the woods yet with some of these injuries," he said. "There's still some nagging ones out there. For the most part, I think we're pretty healthy."

• As always with bowl games, the biggest balance is between going to win the game and have fun. Here's Chizik's take on the subject: "Our team knows that our goal is to go down there and win the game. They know we have to prepare and practice like we've always practiced. They want to end this season on a winning note. We're going to prepare well down there. I think they're locked in and focused on that idea. We also want to have it be a reward and some of the functions that they're able to do, it is a reward. There's a fine line in there. I hope we can find it. I feel good about the focus of our team. That's where it all starts."

Another light day of interviews (we got head coach Gene Chizik and cornerback/de facto team spokesman Walt McFadden), but there were some notes to come out of it:

• Fullbacks John Douglas and Jason King will not make the trip to the Outback Bowl after being arrested for driving under the influence in separate DUIs this month. “Right now, they will not be making the bowl trip,” Chizik said. “Without going into detail of circumstances, they have been suspended from our football team to this point.” Chizik said both have practiced some since the incidents.

• If you followed the blog on Twitter, you would have found out about that much sooner. So go ahead, follow now by clicking here.

• After a flurry of recruiting gets early this month, Auburn’s coaches are on an NCAA-mandated break until the New Year. The NCAA recruiting dead period started Sunday and runs through Jan. 1. Coaches cannot have face-to-face contact with recruits on or off campus and are restricted to one phone call per week with prospective recruits. “I think we’re sitting about as good as we can be sitting with most of the guys we have left out there that we’re recruiting,” Chizik said. “It’s a period of time where they get a little reprieve and a little break from all this, but we’re going to continue to recruit them hard within the rules, whatever we’re allowed to do with our one phone call a week.”

• Auburn signed four players — two from high school and two from junior college — last week who plan to enroll in January. The Tigers also hosted quarterback Cameron Newton, the No. 1 junior college player in the country, on an official visit last weekend. Auburn can add one more mid-year enrollee who would count against the 2009 class. The Tigers have 22 other commitments for 2010. They can sign up to 28 in February.

• Chizik said he’s set up practice in Tampa to closely resemble a normal week. The team will have four practice days and a walkthrough once it arrives at the bowl site. "We’ll kind of get back in a true game week mode to the way we practice," Chizik said.

• The players aren’t the only ones getting a break this week. Chizik said the coaches will work some today and Wednesday before taking the 24th and 25th off. They’ll meet again in Tampa on the 26th. “It’s family time and they need a break,” Chizik said. “We all need a break.”

• The NCAA allows teams to hand out some SWAG to its players prior to the bowl. The Tigers’ haul includes a rolling suitcase featuring an Outback Bowl logo, a plaque with a team photo and a gift card to Best Buy.

• Auburn has worked its young players plenty in the last week of practice, but that trend appears to be coming to an end as game preparation for Northwestern begins soon. "We’ve done a lot of work with them," Chizik said. "Tonight at the end we did some scrimmage things with the younger guys and tried to get them some reps in there. Don’t know if we’ll necessarily be able to do that every day down there. We anticipate possibly doing that once. But we’ll continue to work those guys even through practice. We’ve got some good work with our younger guys in individual groups and keeping them with their position coaches longer, which I think has helped. As far as what we do with the team, it won’t be as much as we’ve done here."

• Northwestern, as we've written before, likes to throw the ball a lot. A perfect way to finish the season for McFadden, a cornerback looking for a busy day. "Just by scouting them, they don't really throw a lot of deep balls," he said. "They throw a lot of short routes. That's going to make a challenge for me to come up and make a lot of tackles. That's just something I want to do -- say I'm not scared to tackle. I'm not just a Deion (Sanders) guy."

• McFadden, describing his second-to-last practice at the Auburn facility: "It's sucks. It sucks from the get-go because they always have the young guys beat up on the seniors. That's the sucky part of it. Then they want to carry them off the field. It's a great feeling to be able to grow up as a young man and learn from this facility, all the coaches, all the Auburn fans. I believe I can take this anywhere after this life has gone and passed. It's helped me out."