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Auburn Football: Five Wisconsin Badgers to Watch in the Outback Bowl

By Nicholas Ian Allen

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Oct 11, 2014; Madison, WI, USA; Wisconsin Badgers running back Melvin Gordon (25) rushes for a touchdown during the first quarter against the Illinois Fighting Illini at Camp Randall Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports

Wisconsin Badgers Running Back Melvin Gordon

Oh, yeah. And this guy.

Simply put, Melvin Gordon has been the nation’s best running back this season. He won the Doak Walker Award, which is given annually to best running back in the country, and was the runner-up for the Heisman Trophy.

A 6-foot-1, 207-pound junior that has already announced his intention to enter the NFL Draft, Gordon has rushed for 2,336 yards and 26 touchdowns this season, both of which lead the nation. Gordon also leads all FBS running backs with 179.7 rushing yards per game on a relatively low 309 total carries. That equates to an average of 7.6 yards per carry. He even added 17 catches for 151 yards and three touchdowns.

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Gordon the 17th player in FBS history to run for 2,000 yards in a season and if he scores a touchdown in the Outback Bowl will become only the third to also have 30 TDs in a season. He broke the single-game rushing record with 408 yards against Nebraska earlier this year, needing only three quarters of work to do so.

The Wisconsin native is very confident in his abilities, and believes he would have also excelled in the SEC.

“I went for 140 (yards) on LSU. You can call it what you want,” Gordon said this week. “I can’t help that I’m in the Big Ten Conference. It is what it is, but at the end of the day we’re going to compete. I feel like I can do what I do if I was in the SEC conference or whatever conference I was in. I feel like it really wouldn’t make a difference.”

Gordon will have an opportunity to shine once more against an SEC defense, and with the Auburn Tigers struggling on that side of the ball this season, he could have a big day in the Outback Bowl.

Next: Outback Bowl: Auburn vs Wisconsin Preview & Prediction

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