aubiefifty 18,231 Posted December 31, 2020 Share Posted December 31, 2020 2 Minute Drill: Auburn keys vs. Northwestern ByJason Caldwell 2 minutes AUBURN, Alabama—Finishing the regular season 6-4 and ending with the firing of Gus Malzahn, the Auburn Tigers enter Friday's VRBO Citrus Bowl game against the Northwestern Wildcats with a bunch of questions as they look to finish off the 2020 football season on a high note. With defensive coordinator Kevin Steele serving as the interim coach for the Tigers, Auburn will be trying to beat Northwestern for the second time in as many tries after a win over the Wildcats in the Outback Bowl following the 2009 season. With the team treating the bowl game like a regular season contest and having just one week of practice, how well the Tigers are prepared to play and how much incentive they have is perhaps the biggest question heading into the New Year's Day contest. Mark Murphy and Jason Caldwell from Inside The Auburn Tigers look at the game, the keys for Auburn, questions about motivation and much more in this 2 Minute Drill. Auburn may need a big game from quarterback Bo Nix against Northwestern. (Photo: Jason Caldwell/Inside The Auburn Tigers, 247Sports) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aubiefifty 18,231 Posted December 31, 2020 Author Share Posted December 31, 2020 here is the version with the video...................my apologies 2 Minute Drill: Auburn keys vs. Northwestern ByJason Caldwell 23 hours ago 0 AUBURN, Alabama—Finishing the regular season 6-4 and ending with the firing of Gus Malzahn, the Auburn Tigers enter Friday's VRBO Citrus Bowl game against the Northwestern Wildcats with a bunch of questions as they look to finish off the 2020 football season on a high note. With defensive coordinator Kevin Steele serving as the interim coach for the Tigers, Auburn will be trying to beat Northwestern for the second time in as many tries after a win over the Wildcats in the Outback Bowl following the 2009 season. With the team treating the bowl game like a regular season contest and having just one week of practice, how well the Tigers are prepared to play and how much incentive they have is perhaps the biggest question heading into the New Year's Day contest. Mark Murphy and Jason Caldwell from Inside The Auburn Tigers look at the game, the keys for Auburn, questions about motivation and much more in this 2 Minute Drill. Auburn may need a big game from quarterback Bo Nix against Northwestern. (Photo: Jason Caldwell/Inside The Auburn Tigers, 247Sports) Auburn missing key offensive performers for Citrus Bowl By Jason Caldwell20 hrs 27 AUBURN, Alabama—Preparing to face one of the country’s top-ranked defenses in the VRBO Citrus Bowl, the Auburn Tigers (6-4) will be without their leading receiver in number of catches and there is a question on whether the team's top rusher Tank Bigsby will be ready for action vs. Northwestern. Junior wide receiver Anthony Schwartz is opting out of the contest, according to interim head coach Kevin Steele, who said on Wednesday that other players are questionable for the bowl. "Schwartz and Mark-Antony Richards for sure," Steele said of guys who won't be available on Friday for the bowl game. "We have got some other guys and I'm not going to disclose that because I take more of an NFL approach of not letting the opponent know exactly what. We have some guys that are injured. We have some guys in covid protocol that may or may not be cleared from Dr. (Mike) Goodlett, but it's a work in progress. We have had guys in and out of practice. We have got some regular just football injuries we're dealing with. It's going to be a little bit mix and match and we possibly may get some of those guys. We may not get them back. It's kind of touch and go in terms of what we will have." The SEC Freshman of the Year, Bigsby is leading Auburn in rushing with 834 yards and had five touchdowns on 138 carries. That total is the second-most in school history for a freshman behind Michael Dyer’s total in 2010. With Bigsby healthy the Auburn offense was at its best this season. He had 20-plus carries in three games this season, all wins for the Tigers. In those games he ran for 146 yards against Arkansas, 129 yards against Ole Miss and 192 yards the last time out in a win over Mississippi State. Auburn offensive coordinator Chad Morris said Bigsby is a big part of the offense. "We're hoping," Morris said of having Bigsby available. "We'll see on that. He has definitely had a great year, a phenomenal year. A young man that has an incredible future ahead of him. When you're able to to get the ball in his hands he makes a lot of things right. A young man that loves football and is a pleasure to be around." Not having Bigsby would be especially important because Auburn is already without Richards, who entered the transfer portal following the final game against Mississippi State. That leaves the Tigers with only Shaun Shivers and DJ Williams as scholarship running backs heading into the bowl game. Auburn doesn’t have another running back who had a rushing attempt this season. Walk-on Peyton Anderson from Fyffe High would likely be the third back for the Tigers. The 5-11, 225 redshirt freshman was on the travel squad this season and got on the field in the loss to Alabama. hile the loss of Schwartz may not be as impactful to the Auburn offense because of the other players at the position, it means the loss of perhaps the fastest player in the country and a guy who stepped up his game as a junior in 2020. Leading the team with 54 receptions, Schwartz had 636 yards and three touchdowns this year. This season he had a pair of 100-yard games in wins over Arkansas and LSU. Without Schwartz the Tigers could give a number of young players more playing time and potentially more touches in the offense. The first option would likely be true freshman Ze’Vian Capers. Playing in nine games this season he has six receptions for 73 yards and a touchdown, but has gotten some key experience along the way. Another true freshman that has gotten some playing time this season and could be in line for more work is Kobe Hudson. With four catches this season for 41 yards, Hudson has the ability to move all over the field and is good with the ball in his hands. 27COMMENTS Maybe the player who could benefit the most from Schwartz not playing against Northwestern is true freshman Malcolm Johnson. The early high school graduate has speed to burn and may be the best fit to try to replicate what Schwartz brought to the table for the Auburn offense. Something else that is a possibility is to see more of a tight end presence for the Tigers. This season we have seen John Samuel Shenker and Jeremiah Pegues have an impact on offense with Luke Deal doing a great job as a blocker, but true freshman Brandon Frazier just started to round into form at the end of the regular season after missing much of the year with an undisclosed issue. With his size and athleticism, Frazier could give Auburn a different look against Northwestern. Tank Bigsby has been one of the breakout performers in the SEC. (Photo: Jason Caldwell/Inside The Auburn Tigers, 247Sports) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auburn may need a big game from quarterback Bo Nix against Northwestern. (Photo: Jason Caldwell/Inside The Auburn Tigers, 247Sports)
Auburn missing key offensive performers for Citrus Bowl By Jason Caldwell20 hrs 27 AUBURN, Alabama—Preparing to face one of the country’s top-ranked defenses in the VRBO Citrus Bowl, the Auburn Tigers (6-4) will be without their leading receiver in number of catches and there is a question on whether the team's top rusher Tank Bigsby will be ready for action vs. Northwestern. Junior wide receiver Anthony Schwartz is opting out of the contest, according to interim head coach Kevin Steele, who said on Wednesday that other players are questionable for the bowl. "Schwartz and Mark-Antony Richards for sure," Steele said of guys who won't be available on Friday for the bowl game. "We have got some other guys and I'm not going to disclose that because I take more of an NFL approach of not letting the opponent know exactly what. We have some guys that are injured. We have some guys in covid protocol that may or may not be cleared from Dr. (Mike) Goodlett, but it's a work in progress. We have had guys in and out of practice. We have got some regular just football injuries we're dealing with. It's going to be a little bit mix and match and we possibly may get some of those guys. We may not get them back. It's kind of touch and go in terms of what we will have." The SEC Freshman of the Year, Bigsby is leading Auburn in rushing with 834 yards and had five touchdowns on 138 carries. That total is the second-most in school history for a freshman behind Michael Dyer’s total in 2010. With Bigsby healthy the Auburn offense was at its best this season. He had 20-plus carries in three games this season, all wins for the Tigers. In those games he ran for 146 yards against Arkansas, 129 yards against Ole Miss and 192 yards the last time out in a win over Mississippi State. Auburn offensive coordinator Chad Morris said Bigsby is a big part of the offense. "We're hoping," Morris said of having Bigsby available. "We'll see on that. He has definitely had a great year, a phenomenal year. A young man that has an incredible future ahead of him. When you're able to to get the ball in his hands he makes a lot of things right. A young man that loves football and is a pleasure to be around." Not having Bigsby would be especially important because Auburn is already without Richards, who entered the transfer portal following the final game against Mississippi State. That leaves the Tigers with only Shaun Shivers and DJ Williams as scholarship running backs heading into the bowl game. Auburn doesn’t have another running back who had a rushing attempt this season. Walk-on Peyton Anderson from Fyffe High would likely be the third back for the Tigers. The 5-11, 225 redshirt freshman was on the travel squad this season and got on the field in the loss to Alabama. hile the loss of Schwartz may not be as impactful to the Auburn offense because of the other players at the position, it means the loss of perhaps the fastest player in the country and a guy who stepped up his game as a junior in 2020. Leading the team with 54 receptions, Schwartz had 636 yards and three touchdowns this year. This season he had a pair of 100-yard games in wins over Arkansas and LSU. Without Schwartz the Tigers could give a number of young players more playing time and potentially more touches in the offense. The first option would likely be true freshman Ze’Vian Capers. Playing in nine games this season he has six receptions for 73 yards and a touchdown, but has gotten some key experience along the way. Another true freshman that has gotten some playing time this season and could be in line for more work is Kobe Hudson. With four catches this season for 41 yards, Hudson has the ability to move all over the field and is good with the ball in his hands. 27COMMENTS Maybe the player who could benefit the most from Schwartz not playing against Northwestern is true freshman Malcolm Johnson. The early high school graduate has speed to burn and may be the best fit to try to replicate what Schwartz brought to the table for the Auburn offense. Something else that is a possibility is to see more of a tight end presence for the Tigers. This season we have seen John Samuel Shenker and Jeremiah Pegues have an impact on offense with Luke Deal doing a great job as a blocker, but true freshman Brandon Frazier just started to round into form at the end of the regular season after missing much of the year with an undisclosed issue. With his size and athleticism, Frazier could give Auburn a different look against Northwestern. Tank Bigsby has been one of the breakout performers in the SEC. (Photo: Jason Caldwell/Inside The Auburn Tigers, 247Sports)
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