Sports
Northwestern to Play Tennessee in Outback Bowl
The Wildcats are headed in the Sunshine State for a New Year's Day tilt with the Volunteers.
The Northwestern University football team will be a part of the New Year’s Day college bowl lineup in 2016 after the school accepted an invitation to the Outback Bowl.
The Wildcats (10-2, 6-2 Big Ten) will face the University of Tennessee Volunteers (8-4, 5-3 SEC) in the game, set to kickoff at 11 a.m. on New Year’s Day at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla. It will be the first time the two team’s have faced each other since the 1997 Citrus Bowl, when Peyton Manning led Tennessee to a 48-28 win over a Gary Barnett-coached Northwestern squad.
In the College Football Playoff Rankings, Northwestern was No. 13 and Tennessee No. 23.
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The Outback Bowl will cap one of the most successful seasons of the Pat Fitzgerald-era at Northwestern. The Wildcats both started and concluded the regular season with five consecutive wins, including a 16-6 opening week victory over the Stanford Cardinal, who are set to meet Iowa in the Rose Bowl.
The team’s only losses on the year came during back-to-back weeks in October, falling to Michigan (38-0) and Iowa (40-10).
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Northwestern University graphic.
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