Northwestern to face Auburn in the Citrus Bowl on New Year’s Day

Northwestern will play its fifth bowl game in six seasons, accepting an invitation to play Auburn in the Citrus Bowl.

The No. 14 Wildcats on Sunday announced will head to Orlando, Fla., for the New Year’s Day matchup, aiming to win their fourth straight bowl game after victories from 2016-18.

Northwestern (6-2) hopes to bounce back after losing 22-10 to No. 3 Ohio State in the Big Ten championship on Saturday.

Auburn (6-4) will play its first game since coach Gus Malzahn was fired last week. The Tigers reportedly held a team meeting and decided it would accept a bowl invitation.

About 20 teams have opted out of competing in bowl games.

The Tigers lost to three ranked teams after starting the season with a victory against then-No. 23 Kentucky.

Northwestern won its first five games of the abbreviated Big Ten season before being upset by Michigan State, dashing any hope of a College Football Playoff opportunity. The Wildcats led Ohio State 10-6 at halftime before giving up 16 unanswered points.

The Citrus Bowl figures to be a low-scoring affair: Northwestern held opponents to only 15.5 points per game and Auburn gave up just 23.5 points per game. The Wildcats will need to contain Auburn running back Tank Bigsby, who has four 100-yard performances this season.

The teams have met only once before in a wild contest, with Auburn winning the 2010 Outback Bowl 38-35 in overtime.

As a Northwestern linebacker, Pat Fitzgerald played his final college game in the Citrus Bowl against Tennessee in 1997.

Northwestern’s string of bowl wins includes beating Pittsburgh 31-24 in the 2016 Pinstripe Bowl, Kentucky 24-23 in the 2017 Music City Bowl and Utah 31-20 in the 2018 Holiday Bowl. The Wildcats have won four of five bowl games since the 2012 season.