ORLANDO, Fla. – Auburn completed the 2020 season Friday with a 35-19 loss to No. 15 Northwestern in the 75TH Vrbo Citrus Bowl at Camping World Stadium.
The Tigers played without leading rusher Tank Bigsby and several other offensive and defensive starters.
"It was real challenging," Auburn senior Big Kat Bryant said. "If we would have come out with a win, that would have been a great story. But man, it was real tough."
Auburn quarterback Bo Nix completed 25 of 42 passes for 292 yards and a touchdown. Linebackers Owen Pappoe and Zakoby McClain led the defensive effort with 11 tackles each. Jamien Sherwood added 10.
After Pappoe's sack helped force a Northwestern punt, Nix connected down the sideline with Elijah Canion, who stiff-armed a defender for 20 yards on his way to his first Auburn touchdown, a 57-yarder that trimmed Northwestern's lead to 14-13 in the middle of the third quarter.
"We were clawing and scratching to get points, to make something happen," Auburn interim head coach Kevin Steele said. "That big play offensively put points on the board that we needed desperately, but it also energized the whole football team."
Jaylin Simpson's open-field tackle on fourth down regained possession for Auburn, but the Tigers were forced to punt. The Wildcats added to their lead on quarterback Peyton Ramsey's 30-yard touchdown run to go ahead 21-13 late in the third quarter.
Gallery: (1-1-2021) Auburn vs. Northwestern
Northwestern (7-2) tackled Nix short of a first down on fourth-and-inches at midfield, then drove 50 yards for a touchdown to take a 28-13 lead. The Tigers were 2 of 13 on third down and 1-for-3 on fourth down while the Wildcats combined to go 10-for-22 on those downs.
After Nix exited with an injury, Auburn fumbled two plays later at its 24-yard line, with Northwestern connecting on an 8-yard touchdown pass on third-and-7 to lead 35-13 in the middle of the fourth quarter.
Nix returned, leading Auburn on a 10-play, 75-yard touchdown drive. D.J. Williams capped the drive with a 2-yard TD run. Auburn's two-point attempt failed to convert.
Auburn trailed 14-6 at halftime after Ramsey threw two first-quarter touchdown passes for a 14-0 lead.
The Tigers outscored the Wildcats 6-0 in the second quarter on a pair of Anders Carlson field goals. After Carlson got Auburn on the board with a 50-yarder with 6:03 left in the half, the Tigers' defense forced a punt after one Northwestern first down.
Auburn drove 72 yards in 15 plays with Carlson connecting from 27 yards out with 17 seconds remaining. In the first half Nix completed 14 passes to 10 receivers on 25 attempts, netting 118 yards.
Auburn held Northwestern to 21 rushing yards on 20 attempts in the first half. Smoke Monday had two tackles for loss and Jaren Handy added one.
Auburn concludes the season with a 6-5 record. New head coach Bryan Harsin assumes leadership of the program after being hired on Dec. 22.
"I really like Coach Harsin," Bryant said. "I really think he's a great guy, great coach, great leader. I met with him one-on-one this past Monday, and I think he has the right coaching philosophy to lead this team to one day win a championship. I really do believe that."
Jeff Shearer is a Senior Writer at AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: @jeff_shearer
TEAM NOTES
- Captains: Big Kat Bryant, Bo Nix, Shaun Shivers
- Coin Toss: Auburn wins the toss and defers. Northwestern to receive
- First-time starters for Auburn: Marco Domio, Zykevious Walker, Dre Butler
- Auburn has scored in 104 consecutive games, the second-longest streak in school history
INDIVIDUAL NOTES/OFFENSE
- Elijah Canion's 57-yard touchdown reception was his first career score and Auburn's third-longest pass play of the season. That TD pass by Bo Nix moved Nix into the Auburn top 10 for career TD passes with 28, tied with ben Leard (28 from 1997-2000). It was Nix' 12 TD pass of the season
- Nix records his seventh 200-yard passing game this season; he has 11 for his career
- D.J. Williams scores his third rushing TD of the season and fifth of his career
- Seth Williams now has 2,124 career receiving yards, ranking 4th among Auburn career leaders, passing Courtney Taylor (2,098 from 2003-06)
- Eli Stove is tied for 5th in Auburn career receptions with 136, tied with Tyrone Goodson (136 from 1993-97). Seth Williams ranks 7th with 132
- Eli Stove ranks 24th in Auburn career receiving yardage with 1,194 yards, passing Clifton Robinson (1,167 from 1997-2000)
- Bo Nix to Seth Williams is now the third-most prolific pass-catching combo in Auburn history with 105 receptions; next ahead is Pat Sullivan to Terry Beasley (140 receptions from 1969-71)>
INDIVIDUAL NOTES/DEFENSE
- Owen Pappoe recorded his fourth sack of the season and sixth of his career
- Pappoe recorded double-figure tackles in a game for the fifth time in his career; Jamien Sherwood recorded double-figure tackles for the fourth time in his career
- Smoke Monday now has 108 tackles for his career; Jordyn Peters now has 100 career tackles.
INDIVIDUAL NOTES/SPECIAL TEAMS
- Anders Carlson is now 5th in career scoring at Auburn with 275 points, passing Bo Jackson (274 from 1982-85); next is Carnell Williams (276 from 2001-04)
- Carlson is now 6th in career PAT made at Auburn with 116; next is Damon Duval (125 from 1999-2002)
- Carlson is 3rd in Auburn career field goals made with 53; next is Wes Byrum (60 from 2007-10)
- Anders and older brother Daniel Carlson have now scored the most points (749) of any brother combination kicking at the same college, passing Kris and Drew Brown of Nebraska (743 points from 1995-98 and 2014-17)
- Carlson's 50-yard field goal in the second quarter was the fifth of his career and second this season of 50 yards or longer