It was a historically good season for Coach PJ Fleck at Minnesota, and the No. 18 Golden Gophers look to close the campaign in style when they take on No. 12 Auburn in the Outback Bowl on Wednesday. The Tigers are TD favorites on the Mybookie NCAAF odds.
How to Bet Minnesota vs Auburn 2019 Outback Bowl Odds & Game Info
- When: Wednesday, 1 PM ET
- Where: Raymond James Stadium, Tampa
- TV: ESPN
- Minnesota vs Auburn Betting Lines: Auburn -7 (total 54)
Why Bet on Minnesota?
Minnesota won 10 games in the regular season for the first time since 1905. Minnesota hasn’t eclipsed 10 wins since 1904, when it finished 13-0 and captured the school’s first national title. The Gophers’ win over No. 4 Penn State on Oct. 26 made them 9-0 for the first time since 1904. It was Minnesota’s first home win against a Top 5 team since it beat No. 1 Michigan 16-0 in 1977.Rashod Bateman won the Big Ten’s receiver of the year award after a breakout sophomore season, in which he recorded 57 receptions for 1,170 yards and 11 touchdowns. The Biletnikoff Award semifinalist broke the single-season team record set in 2018 by teammate Tyler Johnson, another player to watch in this matchup. Bateman, who is the first Minnesota receiver ever to be named an All-American, has played in 25 career games and has 108 catches (15th in school history) for 1,874 yards (eight in school history) and 17 touchdowns (tied for fifth in school history).
What about the Defense?
Cornerback Antoine Winfield Jr. was named the Big Ten Defensive Back of the Year, All-Big Ten First Team and was one of five finalists for the Bronko Nagurski Award, which is presented annually to the best defensive player in the nation. Winfield leads Minnesota with 83 tackles, which includes 58 solo stops. He also has 3.5 tackles for loss and 3.0 sacks this year to go along with seven interceptions and two forced fumbles. Winfield’s seven interceptions tied a school single-season record and rank fourth in the NCAA this season.
Some History & Numbers
Minnesota will play in its 21st bowl game overall and first in the Outback Bowl. The Outback Bowl will be Minnesota’s first bowl game between two ranked teams since the 1961 Rose Bowl against Washington. It’s the second straight bowl game for the Gophers under head coach P.J. Fleck, as Minnesota played in the Quick Lane Bowl in Detroit last season and beat Georgia Tech 34-10. The 24-point win was Minnesota’s largest bowl margin of victory in school history.Minnesota is 8-8-1 all-time against teams from the SEC and most recently played Missouri in the 2015 Citrus Bowl. Prior to that, Minnesota’s last game against an SEC opponent was a 20-16 win against Alabama in the 2004 Music City Bowl.
Team Stats
Offense- Points per Game: 34.33
- Passing Yards: 251.17
- Rushing Yards: 175.67
- Yards per Play: 6.34
Defense
- Points per Game: 22.42
- Passing Yards: 184.92
- Rushing Yards: 127.83
- Yards per Play: 5.11
Why Bet on Auburn?
Auburn ended the national title hopes of rival Alabama with a 48-45 upset in the Iron Bowl to close the regular season. Auburn returned two interceptions for touchdowns, Anders Carlson kicked four long field goals and Shaun Shivers scored the game-winning touchdown. It was the first time Auburn has recorded two pick sixes in an Iron Bowl since 1957.After Jaylen Waddle’s fourth touchdown gave Alabama a 45-40 lead early in the fourth quarter, Auburn answered with a 77-yard game-winning drive, with Shivers crashing in on a sweep from the 11 for the go-ahead score. Bo Nix passed to Shedrick Jackson for a two-point conversion to put Auburn on top 48-45 with 8:08 remaining.
Auburn’s Derrick Brown was named the SEC Defensive Player of the Year. Brown recorded a season-high 3.5 tackles for loss in the Iron Bowl win vs. Alabama, giving him 12.5 for the season. Brown is Auburn’s first defensive player of the year winner since the awards were split into positions in 2003 – before that, the only defensive players to win SEC player of the year were Reggie White (Tennessee, 1983), Tracy Rocker (Auburn, 1988) and David Pollack (Georgia, 2002). With 13 fumble recoveries and 15 forced fumbles, Auburn ranks third nationally in recoveries and eighth in forced fumbles.
QB Talent
QB Bo Nix was named SEC Freshman of the Year. Nix, the first true freshman quarterback to start Auburn’s season opener in 73 years, rewrote the Tigers’ record book for first-year QBs. Breaking Stan White’s 1990 freshman marks, the 6-2, 207-pound Nix completed 185 of 328 passes for 2,216 yards and 14 touchdowns.
He added 300 rushing yards and seven touchdowns. As a team, Auburn is 20th nationally with 30 rushing TDs this season, five more than the Tigers’ 2018 total. Auburn averages 211.0 rushing yards per game, 25th among FBS schools.
Some History & Numbers
Auburn is making its 44th bowl appearance all-time, and its seventh straight under Gus Malzahn, the most consecutive seasons in a bowl for the Tigers since going bowling eight straight years from 2000-07. The Tigers are 24-17-2 all-time in bowl games and 2-2 in the Outback Bowl (wins over Ohio State, 1989, and Northwestern, 2009; losses to Penn State, 1995, and Wisconsin, 2014). The Tigers have a 12-8-2 record against current members of the Big Ten.
Team Stats
Offense- Points per Game: 34.00
- Passing Yards: 210.08
- Rushing Yards: 211.00
- Yards per Play: 5.65
Defense
- Points per Game: 18.58
- Passing Yards: 208.42
- Rushing Yards: 115.50
- Yards per Play: 4.68
Minnesota vs Auburn 2019 Outback Bowl Betting Trends
- Tigers are 11-1 SU in their last 12 games when playing as the favorite
- Tigers are 9-3 ATS in their last 12 games this season
- The total has gone UNDER in 8 of Auburn’s last 10 games played in January
- Golden Gophers are 10-2 SU in their last 12 games this season
- Golden Gophers are 6-2 ATS in their last 8 games when playing as the underdog
- The total has gone OVER in 5 of Minnesota’s last 6 games
