TAMPA, Fla. – Auburn and Wisconsin began the season with aspirations of competing in the inaugural College Football Playoff.
While the 19th-ranked Tigers and No. 17 Badgers fell well short of that goal, they're hardly disappointed to be playing in Thursday's Outback Bowl.
"I think one of the things that's overlooked with bowl games is the experience that the players have," Wisconsin interim coach Barry Alvarez said.
Auburn (8-4) is coming off a 55-44 loss to archrival Alabama, while Wisconsin (10-3) hopes to rebound from falling 59-0 to Ohio State in the Big Ten championship and abruptly losing coach Gary Andersen to Oregon State.
"Everybody talks about the four in the semifinals, and the championship game. But all these other bowls, you hear people say 'Who cares about them?' " Alvarez added. "Well, you know who cares about them? The players care about them. That experience is something you'll remember the rest of your life."
The Badgers approached Alvarez, Wisconsin's athletic director and the school's all-time winningest coach, about returning to the sideline to lead them in their fifth consecutive appearance in a January bowl. He accepted a similar plea two years ago, guiding the team in the Rose Bowl after Bret Bielema left for Arkansas.
"It's important because the players asked me. That's what we're in this business for — the players," said Alvarez, who hired former Pittsburgh coach Paul Chryst as Andersen's replacement and spoke with the team about its blowout loss in the Big Ten title game.
"I told them I thought it was an aberration, that we're a good football team. We won 10 games," Alvarez said. "You try to get their confidence back and start getting them focused on this game."
