Outback Bowl 2015: Game Grades, Analysis for Auburn and Wisconsin
The Wisconsin Badgers were able to pull off the upset and defeat the Auburn Tigers in the Outback Bowl. The final box score can be found here, thanks to NCAA.com.
It was a game that went back and forth all day long, but the Badgers were able to make one more play in overtime. Melvin Gordon was a man on a mission for Wisconsin as he ran for over 250 yards. But Cameron Artis-Payne was pretty good for the Tigers with 126 yards and two touchdowns.
Both teams played well on offense and struggled on defense, but one team was able to be more efficient on special teams. So this was one of the better matchups of the bowl season.
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Here are game grades and analysis for Auburn and Wisconsin.
| Passing Offense | A | A |
| Rushing Offense | B | A |
| Passing Defense | B+ | A- |
| Rushing Defense | D | F |
| Special Teams | C | C- |
| Coaching | B | B |
PASSING OFFENSE
The passing game for Auburn was consistent all game long. Nick Marshall only threw for 217 yards, but he was accurate and threw for two touchdowns. Despite the record, Marshall has improved his game when it comes to passing the ball. He has made better decisions, showed great poise and took the shots downfield when the opportunity presented itself.
RUNNING OFFENSE
The rushing attack started off slow for the Tigers, but they were able to get things going as the game rolled on. Artis-Payne rushed for 126 yards and two touchdowns, while Corey Grant had 30 yards on five carries. The strength of the Tigers offense is the run game, and they were able to attack a very aggressive Badger defense because they never gave up on the run game.
PASSING DEFENSE
The Tigers did not play that well on defense, but the pass defense was on point. Jermaine Whitehead came up with two interceptions, and the Tigers only allowed 121 yards through the air.
Wisconsin quarterback Joel Stave did complete some big throws at the end of the game, but the reason the Badgers weren’t able to pull away from the Tigers was that Stave could not figure out the pass coverage of Auburn, and all they did was keep everything in front of them.
RUNNING DEFENSE
This has been a weakness for the Tigers all season long, and it was put on full display at Raymond James Stadium. The Tigers allowed 400 rushing yards, and 251 of those yards came from Melvin Gordon. Auburn had issues bringing down Gordon, who has great size and even better speed. But Corey Clement also frustrated the Tigers, as he rushed for 105 yards. This was a game the Auburn defense would like to forget.
SPECIAL TEAMS
If there was a reason the Tigers lost the game, it’s because of the play of the special teams. Daniel Carlson has been a reliable kicker for the Tigers all year, but he missed two field goals at the end of the game, and Wisconsin was able to take advantage of it.
One of the misses came in overtime as the Tigers were looking to tie the game once again to take it to a second overtime. But Carlson pushed it right, and the Badgers were able to hold on for the win.
COACHING
Gus Malzahn coached a pretty good game considering he came up short. He was able to attack the Badgers with deep throws, and he never gave up on the run game, which is why the Tigers were able to score over 30 points.
However, the preparation on defense could have been better.
Allowing a guy like Gordon to go over 250 yards is never acceptable no matter how good he is. The Tigers were not disciplined consistently, and they can’t wait for Will Muschamp to come in and clean things up.
| Passing Offense | D- | C- |
| Running Offense | A | A+ |
| Passing Defense | C- | D+ |
| Running Defense | B | C- |
| Special Teams | A | A |
| Coaching | A | A+ |
PASSING OFFENSE
The Badgers struggled to get anything going in the passing game. Stave was only 14-of-27 for 121 yards, one touchdown and three picks. He was not on time with his throws, he never was comfortable in the pocket and he made some bad decisions. Toward the end of the game, he was able to make some big throws in key situations, but the passing game has to improve next season.
RUNNING OFFENSE
But the running offense was so strong that the passing game was somewhat of a non-issue. Gordon was on fire and was only a handful of yards away from breaking Barry Sanders' single-season record. But Corey Clement was also unstoppable, as he rushed for 105 yards on 15 carries.
This is nothing new for the Badgers because they have been running on teams all season long. But some may be surprised that they were able to do it against a SEC team. Gordon proved why he was the Doak Walker Award winner this year with his performance in the Outback Bowl.
PASSING DEFENSE
The Badgers struggled to stop Auburn’s passing attack as Marshall was able to throw for over 200 yards and two scores. Wisconsin did not get constant pressure on Marshall, and the secondary did not do a good job maintaining coverage.
The reason for that is the Tigers' speed overwhelmed the Badgers at times, but even though the Badgers have a great safety in Michael Caputo, there really isn’t a defensive back that could lock down Sammie Coates or Ricardo Louis.
RUNNING DEFENSE
Wisconsin only allowed 46 yards on the ground in the first half, but it could not make the adjustments in the second half, and the Tigers rushed for over 200 yards on New Year’s Day. Auburn is good at running the ball because it knows how to scheme. Wisconsin was able to attack the line of scrimmage, but the Tigers were able to spread them out, and Artis-Payne was able to find more holes in the second half.
SPECIAL TEAMS
The special teams for the Badgers were a key in the game because they came up with two big field goals in the fourth quarter and in overtime. Rafael Gaglianone nailed a field goal in the fourth quarter to tie the game at 31, and he notched another field goal in overtime to take the lead.
Whenever there is a game where teams are going back and forth with scoring, special teams are key, and Wisconsin was able to make one more play on special teams, which led to the win.
COACHING
Credit also has to go to Barry Alvarez for calling a great game. He looked very comfortable on the sidelines, and the players really enjoyed having him as the coach for just this one game. He played to the team’s strengths, and that was run the ball as much as possible. He also had great clock management at the end of the fourth quarter, which was another reason why the Badgers pulled off the win.
Maybe Alvarez should come back and coach the Badgers. But Paul Chryst should have no issues being able to continue the winning tradition the Badgers have created.
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