Lucas: Key matchups for Outback Bowl
December 31, 2014 | Mike Lucas
Dec. 31, 2014
BY MIKE LUCAS
UWBadgers.com
TAMPA, Fla. -- As kickoff approaches between No. 17 Wisconsin and No. 19 Auburn, UWBadgers.com Insider Mike Lucas breaks down some key matchups that will decide the Outback Bowl.
Auburn Intangibles vs. Wisconsin Intangibles
The Tigers lost their last three SEC games to Texas A&M, Georgia and Alabama and defensive coordinator Ellis Johnson lost his job. Giving up 55 points and 539 yards of total offense to their in-state rival was the last reference point for those players on the beleaguered defense, and they have been forced to live with the Amari Cooper nightmare since Nov. 29 (Cooper had 13 catches for 224 yards and three touchdowns). Johnson's successor is Will Muschamp, the former Florida head coach who will make between $1.6 and $1.8 million annually. The interim coordinator is assistant Charlie Harbison, who coached with Muschamp at LSU for two seasons (2001-02).
While Muschamp has been technically only an observer during bowl practices, he has already made an impact on the defense with his mere presence on the sidelines and his aggressive personality, a Muschamp trait dating back to his earlier tours of duty as a defensive coordinator at Auburn and Texas. Muschamp plans on changing the defensive scheme from a 4-2-5 to a 4-3. And he understands that he has his work cut out for him. The Tigers gave up 31 or more points to six straight Power 5 opponents, which led to Johnson's firing -- the last straw being `Bama. Overall, Auburn ranked No. 9 in the SEC in total defense (388.7), No. 10 in scoring defense (26.1), No. 8 in rushing defense (149.5) and No. 13 in pass defense (239.2). Many of the Auburn players, notably the returning starters, know that they will be auditioning for Muschamp in the Outback Bowl and they have said this week that it has given then a motivational edge.
After Gary Andersen announced that he had taken the Oregon State job, the UW seniors immediately turned to Wisconsin athletic director Barry Alvarez for leadership as their interim head coach. Initially, he was reluctant to accept their invitation but after sleeping on it, he realized that there was no way that he could say no to them, especially given the uncertainty of another coaching transition. Alvarez has promised to be more hands-on as a game manager against Auburn, more so than he was during the 2013 Rose Bowl against Stanford when he also assumed the role of an interim coach.
The two coordinators, Andy Ludwig and Dave Aranda will still be in charge of the play-calling against Auburn, but it sounds like Alvarez, a Hall of Fame coach, will have more influence on adjustments, if warranted. In the wake of Andersen's sudden departure, Alvarez has brought stability to the program with his hiring of Paul Chryst, whose Badgers ties have been well-documented. Chryst has attended all the bowl practices and has begun his evaluation of the players while also tending to recruiting and piecing together some of the options for his coaching staff. The Badgers, like the Tigers, have been motivated by their last game, a 59-0 loss to Ohio State. They ran into the perfect storm with the Buckeyes and now they have an opportunity to salvage their pride in Tampa.
Auburn X-Factor vs. Wisconsin X-Factor
The first time that the Badgers played in Tampa -- the 1995 Hall of Fame Bowl -- they easily handled Duke. On Thursday, they won't have to worry about playing against him. Tigers head coach Gus Malzahn has suspended his leading receiver D'haquille "Duke" Williams for a violation of team rules. The 6-foot-2, 216-pound Williams, a junior college transfer, had 45 catches for 730 yards and five touchdowns. Although he won't play against Wisconsin, Williams has been practicing this week with the Tigers as a scout team receiver. Who will fill the void in Auburn's rotation? One of the X-factors could be 6-3, 207-pound Melvin Ray (No. 82), who has only 12 career receptions in three seasons. Ray did catch a 50-yard touchdown pass against Florida State in last season's BCS Championship Game. He also had a 49-yard touchdown against Arkansas in the 2014 season opener. Ray is an interesting study because he's 25 years old. Out of high school, he signed a baseball contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers and played in the minors for three years before enrolling in college. Another potential X-factor could be C.J. Uzomah, a 6-5, 264-pound tight end. Uzomah (No. 81) is a candidate to be the slot receiver in Auburn's four-receiver set. Obviously, Uzomah's size and wing span could pose issues for Wisconsin's secondary.
In the 2014 Capital One Bowl, Tanner McEvoy started at free safety and finished with three tackles against South Carolina. The 6-6, 222-pound McEvoy will once again be cast as a safety in the Outback Bowl and could very well be an X-factor against Auburn because of his physical skills. The Badgers have been vulnerable to "jump balls" with the vertical passing game when an opponent has been able to isolate a bigger receiver on a smaller defender; the cornerbacks lost all of their one-on-one matchups with Ohio State. McEvoy will also continue to be the backup to Joel Stave in his Wildcat quarterback role.
It's no secret that McEvoy is one of the more explosive athletes on the roster. And it will be interesting to see how he's utilized in the future. McEvoy was a high school receiver and defensive back before moving to quarterback for his senior year. Is there any chance that he could wind up at H-back or tight end? The Badgers are relatively thin at that position group and will lose Sam Arneson to graduation. Troy Fumagalli and Austin Traylor return. So does fullback Derek Watt, who was being groomed as an H-back before getting injured against LSU. Austin Ramesh filled in for Watt before going to the sidelines with an injury. The tight end `'game" has always been a critical part of the Chryst blueprint and he has enjoyed great success taking versatile players and developing them for that assignment. No one may be more versatile than McEvoy.
Auburn RB Cameron Artis-Payne vs. Wisconsin RB Melvin Gordon
Artis-Payne has been playing the "I feel slighted" card because so much attention has been focused on Gordon, a Heisman finalist. Artis-Payne (No. 44) went so far as to suggest to the Auburn media corps that he would be just as productive as Gordon if he had played against Big Ten defenses, in particular, he called out three schools, noting "I would have loved to play against Northwestern, Illinois and Purdue." Gordon averaged 213 yards against that trio. The 5-11, 210-pound Artis-Payne, the leading rusher in the SEC, has been overshadowed in the past, too. Coming out of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, he didn't receive any significant D-I offers and had to go to a junior college to work on his grades. At Allan Hancock College in Santa Maria, California, he commanded the spotlight after rushing for over 2,000 yards and drew recruiters from all over the country. Last season, he was a backup to Tre Mason, who rushed for 1,816 yards and 23 touchdowns. Artis-Payne didn't match that mark, but he did become only the fifth player in Auburn history to rush for over 1,400 yards in a season, a list that includes Mason, Bo Jackson, Rudi Johnson and Cam Newton.
Artis-Payne and Gordon have combined to rush for 3,818 yards, or 840 more than the leading rushers for any teams that will be matched against each other in a bowl. A year ago, Gordon led the Badgers with 25 carries for 143 yards against South Carolina in the Capital One Bowl. He followed that up by running for 140 yards on 16 rushes against another SEC opponent, LSU, in the season opener. With all due respect to Ron Dayne, the 1999 Heisman winner and the NCAA's all-time leading rusher, Alvarez has stated publicly that Gordon is the best running back that he has ever coached. Gordon can validate that endorsement by doing to Auburn what Dayne did to UCLA in the 1999 Rose Bowl. Dayne, then a junior, rushed for 246 yards and four touchdowns in a 38-31 win over the Bruins, whose defensive posture was not unlike that of the Tigers.
Auburn QB Nick Marshall vs. Wisconsin S Michael Caputo
Malzahn uncovered Marshall at Garden City Community College and he made a seamless transition by leading the Tigers to the national championship game last season. In 24 career starts, Marshall has thrown for over 100 and rushed for over 100 six times in the same game. He puts tremendous pressure on a defense with his mobility and running ability; he has 1,848 career rushing yards. But he can also burn a secondary with his arm; he has 4,291 passing yards. He's clutch, too. Marshall is 9-2 as a starter in one-possession games, including a 6-1 record against ranked teams. He has orchestrated seven fourth-quarter drives that have given the Tigers either the lead or tied the game. The 6-1, 210-pound Marshall (No. 14) threw for a school-record 456 yards against Alabama; production that you wouldn't necessarily expect from a "running" quarterback. What Marshall runs better than most is Malzahn's tempo offense. More than anything, to this end, the Badgers need to get lined up right and can't afford to void gaps. They not only have to think fast but play fast, one being a product of the other. They could also use a healthy Caputo. He was nowhere close to 100 percent against Ohio State. The defense feeds off Caputo and its two other emotional leaders, Marcus Trotter and Vince Biegel.
Auburn Pass Defense vs. Wisconsin Pass Protection
The Tigers are ball hawks. They have 19 interceptions by eight different players; they have 32 picks in their last 26 games. Cornerback Jonathan Jones (No. 3) has six interceptions this season, free safety Jermaine Whitehead (No. 35) has four and safety Johnathan Ford (No. 23) has three, he's also the leading tackler. Quarterback Joel Stave was picked off three times in the Big Ten championship game after throwing just one interception in the previous seven games. Stave was under constant pressure by an Ohio State defense that sacked him three times. The offense simply couldn't compensate for the loss of center Dan Voltz, who reinjured his ankle. Moreover, the O-line, as a whole, appeared to hit a wall, physically and maybe emotionally, after a string of tough games against Nebraska, Iowa and Minnesota. More than anything, they needed some time to recover and regroup.
Auburn Special Teams vs. Wisconsin Special Teams
Quan Bray is a game-breaker. He ranked second nationally in punt returns with an 18.1 average. The 5-10, 195-pound Bray (No. 4) had a 55-yard touchdown return against San Jose State and a 76-yard touchdown return against Louisiana Tech. Bray is more than a kick return specialist; he was the second-leading receiver with 34 catches for 408 yards and four touchdowns. He even rushed for a score. Daniel Carlson (No. 38) handled both the punting (41.6) and placements (17-of-21 field goals). Against Arkansas, he averaged 53.3 on three punts, downed two inside the 20 and had seven touchbacks on kickoffs. Against Alabama, he went 5-for-5 on field goals (20, 24, 24, 20, 33). In this context, the Badgers match up well with freshman Rafael Gaglianone, who has converted 12 straight field goals. On the season, he's 17 of 20. Meanwhile, Kenzel Doe should be inspired to match returns with Bray. Or maybe it should be the other way around. Doe had a 91-yard kickoff return for a touchdown in last season's bowl loss to South Carolina. The way Auburn scores, he should get some return chances.
