Outback Bowl notes

Adams the MVP
TAMPA, Fla. — A trophy waited for him, a special seat was reserved and the floor was all his, but Darvin Adams faced a dissipating audience of reporters after Friday’s Outback Bowl victory.

Adams was named the game’s MVP, as he hauled in an Outback Bowl-record-tying 12 catches for 142 yards. His effort, a constant one throughout his sophomore season, was largely overlooked, though, as the calamity of Auburn’s 38-35 overtime victory was the center of attention.

In typical Adams fashion, he gave all the credit to everyone but himself.

“It means a lot to be the MVP of a bowl game. It’s not all me, though,” Adams said. “I just appreciate all the coaches and Chris Todd, giving me a chance to catch all those balls.”

Adams finished the season with 60 catches, passing Willie Gosha and Frank Sanders on the all-time list for most in program history. His 997 yards is third-best for a season behind Ronney Daniels (1,068) and Terry Beasley (1,051).

Not bad for a player who, despite tying for the league lead in touchdown catches, was left off both the SEC’s first and second all-conference teams.

“He’s setting himself to be one of the premier receivers in football,” offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn said. “He’s had a great year and did a great job today.”

More records
Adams’ big day wasn’t even the tip of the iceberg when it came to the amount of records broken in Friday’s Outback Bowl.

Northwestern quarterback Mike Kafka took home the lion’s share with most passing yards (532), interceptions (five), pass attempts (78), pass completions (47) and touchdown passes (tied with four), total plays (98) and all-purpose yards (566). Wildcats wide receiver Andrew Brewer’s two touchdown catches tied eight others for the all-time bowl record and Zeke Markshausen matched Adams with 12 catches.

Walt McFadden’s 100-yard interception return smashed the record previously held by Alabama’s Dwayne Rudd, whose 88-yard return stood as the best since 1997. His and T’Sharvan Bell’s two interceptions apiece tied an Outback Bowl record.

The Tigers and Wildcats combined for 1,050 yards and 187 plays, both of which broke records previously held by Florida and Michigan in the 2003 game.

Northwestern rewrote numerous offensive records, including most total yards (625), plays (115) and first downs (33).

Auburn’s five interceptions broke the 15-year-old record of four while its two lost fumbles tied a record held by numerous teams.

Questionable actions
Two of Auburn’s most reliable seniors had a tough time Friday acting like they’d been there before.

McFadden and tailback Ben Tate were both whistled for excessive celebration penalties following their touchdowns, resulting in 15-yard penalties on the subsequent kickoffs.

Northwestern scored touchdowns on the immediate drives both times. The mental blunders helped contribute to Auburn’s total of 12 penalties for 140 yards.

“I was disappointed in some things we did as a football team that were uncharacteristic of what we stand for,” coach Gene Chizik said. “We had some personal fouls out there that were absolutely, 100 percent uncalled for. I don’t like it. I don’t like anything about it.”

Tate’s final line
Tate scored two touchdowns to go with 108 yards in his final game at Auburn.

His effort vaulted him past four players to move into fourth place all-time with 1,362 for the season. Tate finished his career with 3,321 rushing yards, good for fifth-best in school history and just 47 behind Joe Cribbs for fourth. His 24 career touchdowns ties him for sixth in Auburn history.

“I don’t think I’ll ever forget the game and all the seniors celebrating and getting the flags,” Tate said. “We just wanted to have fun but at the same time we wanted to win and we accomplished both.”

Burns is the word
Kodi Burns certainly looked like a quarterback during his two pass attempts Friday, but both ended in the hands of Northwestern defenders.

With the Tigers taking over possession in Northwestern territory and less than 2 minutes in the second quarter, Burns had what appeared to be a wide-open Mario Fannin right outside the end zone. The throw was on line, but was snatched away by a diving Sherrick McManis.

His second interception came in similar fashion, stifling a 12-play Auburn drive when his pass was snatched near the end zone again by Brian Peters.

On the bright side, Burns scored his first rushing touchdown since the second game of the season, giving him five for his junior season.

“He’s usually a great decision-maker,” Malzahn said. “But they made two great interceptions. He’ll bounce back and have a great year next year.”