Outback Bowl predictions: Gophers truly the underdog against Auburn

The Minnesota Gophers have had a memorable season thus far. A nine-game winning streak to start the year, the first regular season with 10 wins in over a century, standout seasons from a number of players including wide receivers Rashod Bateman and Tyler Johnson and safety Antoine Winfield Jr.

Certainly, win No. 11 in the Outback Bowl would be the cherry-on-top of the Gophers’ 2019 sundae.

Getting that victory, however, won’t be easy.

Minnesota will face an Auburn team which is 9-3, but all three defeats have come to top-10 teams (LSU, Georgia and Florida). And two of the Tigers’ wins have occurred vs. top 10s (Oregon and Alabama).

No wonder that Auburn is a touchdown favorite over Minnesota. The underdog Gophers aren’t finding many takers among the prognosticators across the internet.

It’s a bowl game and the unexpected can happen. But will it?

Yes, we did find a few who are picking the Gophers to win, but the vast majority are going with Auburn. Let’s at least hope for a good game.

Here’s the predictions from around the web for the Outback Bowl (note: If we find more in the days leading up to the game we’ll add them in):

The Associated Press’ Ralph D. Russo: Auburn 24, Minnesota 18.

Pete Fiutak of collegefootballnews.com: Auburn 27, Minnesota 17. “It won’t be a bad performance by Minnesota, but it’ll be outslugged up front as Auburn wins the battle in the trenches. A few big pass plays won’t be enough for the Gophers to take control.”

Bill Bender of The Sporting News: Auburn 31, Minnesota 21. “The Tigers just missed a New Year’s Day 6 Bowl. Auburn has played some thrillers against Big Ten teams such as Northwestern and Wisconsin in the last decade, but this is a game where Bo Nix builds hype for next season with a big-time performance.”

Adam Rittenberg of ESPN.com: Auburn 31, Minnesota 20. “I picked a Big Ten West team over Auburn last year and paid the price in humiliation. The availability of Derrick Brown and Auburn’s defensive linemen is a question, and Minnesota could neutralize them with its RPO-based offense. But Auburn has played a much tougher schedule and boasts key talent advantages. Minnesota leads early behind big plays from Rashod Bateman, but Bo Nix and Auburn take control in the second half.”

Bruce Feldman of The Athletic ($): Auburn 24, Minnesota 13. “The Tigers’ defensive front is nasty and has played in a lot bigger games than the Gophers, and I think it will show here.”

Stewart Mandel of The Athletic ($): Auburn 27, Minnesota 14. “Also not opting to skip the bowl: Auburn star DT Derrick Brown. He and the Tigers’ defense could limit Tanner Morgan and the Gophers offense much like Iowa and Wisconsin did down the stretch.”

Josh Slagter of MLive.com: Auburn 27, Minnesota 20. “P.J. Fleck’s Gophers have been fighting the odds all season, and will do so again as a touchdown underdog. Auburn is coming off a win over rival Alabama and is seeking its third 10-win season under Gus Malzahn. The matchup of the Tigers’ defense, featuring DT Derrick Brown, against Minnesota’s offense should be a fun one. The Gophers held off Penn State’s pass rush earlier this season and hit a bunch of big plays through the air. That will be needed again to keep this one close. A reminder that Minnesota was in the Quick Lane Bowl just last year, so this caps quite a season for the Gophers.”

Sam McKewon of the Omaha World-Leader: Auburn 35, Minnesota 27. “Hard to see the Gophers winning this one unless the Tigers, having beaten Alabama, are completely checked out on playing a Big Ten team. Minnesota will hit some big passes — that happens every game — but Auburn can counter with some haymakers of its own.”

Katherine Wright of NCAA.com: Auburn 27, Minnesota 17. “Minnesota’s losses to Iowa and Wisconsin are concerning, especially the Wisconsin game. The Badgers forced Morgan into tough throws, ultimately producing two turnovers that became 10 points. The Gophers’ best chance in this game if they are clicking on offense and if the Tigers’ secondary starts slow.”

The Oklahoman’s Berry Tramel: Auburn 26, Minnesota 7. “Big difference in talent between these teams.”

J. Brady McCollough of the Los Angeles Times: Auburn 31, Minnesota 26.
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Al “Big Al’ Arend of the Herald-Palladium: Auburn 34, Minnesota 23.

Brad Crawford and Chris Hummer of 247 Sports: Crawford – Auburn 34, Minnesota 23; Hummer – Auburn 27, Minnesota 20.

Bob Dunning of the Davis Enterprise: Auburn 45, Minnesota 28.

Ron Bailey of the (Maysville, Ky.) Ledger Independent: No score but picks Auburn to win.

Ron Petak of the Bellevue Leader: Minnesota 20, Auburn 17. “The Gophers have rowed their boat to a New Year’s Day bowl, and if anyone can get a team fired up to play it’s P.J. Fleck. Minnesota makes a statement its 10-win season was no fluke.”

Steve Deace of Wolverines Digest: Auburn 28, Minnesota 24.

Connor O’Gara of Saturday Down South: Auburn 42, Minnesota 21. “To be clear, I don’t think Minnesota was a fraud. The Gophers had a special season. But I think Auburn was even better than the 9-3 record indicated. This is a battle-tested team that has all sorts of motivation to get that 10th win. Bo Nix played much better against Alabama, and dare I say, I think Auburn’s skill players should shine against this Minnesota defense. The Gophers actually match up better than some might realize up front against the likes of Derrick Brown and Marlon Davidson, but that duo is still too dominant to not make a game-changing play or two. It’s shades of Gus Malzahn’s bowl performance last year, and Auburn rolls easily.”

Former Nebraska defensive lineman Adam Carriker for Omaha.com: Auburn 38, Minnesota 31.

Bill Connelly of ESPN+: His S&P+ projection has it Auburn 29, Minnesota 25.

Two of the three writers at the Last Word on College Football are picking Auburn. The scores: Steen Kirby, Auburn 27-17; John Bava, Auburn 31-21; Yesh Ginsburg, Minnesota, 31-30.

All three Athlon Sports analysts are picking Auburn — and with a lot of confidence. Mark Ross assigns the Tigers 31 points in his confidence pool while Steven Lassan and Mitch Light both assign it with 29.

All six analysts at USAToday.com are picking Auburn to win.

Six of seven CBSSports.com analysts think Auburn will win (Ben Kercheval the lone exception) but, for what it’s worth, five seven think the Gophers will cover a 7 1/2-point spread.

All nine analysts for the Dallas Morning News have Auburn winning and only four thing the Gophers will cover a seven-point spread.