It's the Outback, mates

Crikey, the Wildcats are going back to the Outback Bowl!

No. 13 Northwestern will face off against No. 23 Tennessee in the 30th Outback Bowl in Tampa on New Year's Day in a matchup of red-hot Big Ten and SEC teams who each closed the regular season on five-game winning streaks.

The Wildcats became the third team in school history to win 10 regular -season games, finishing 10-2, 6-2 in Big Ten play. The Volunteers overcame a 2-3 start to post an 8-4 mark, including 5-3 in the SEC.

"Our entire football family is thrilled for the opportunity to cap the 2015 campaign and kick off 2016 at the Outback Bowl," said head coach Pat Fitzgerald in a press release. "We're grateful for the opportunity to take the field one more time in what has been a special season for our student-athletes. The Wildcats last visit to Tampa was one of the most memorable games in Northwestern history, we're looking forward to another unforgettable Outback Bowl on New Year's Day."

The last time the Wildcats were in the Outback Bowl was in 2010, when they suffered a hearbreaking 38-35 overtime loss to Auburn in a wild, rollicking game that saw Northwestern quarterback Mike Kafka throw for 532 yards on a school-record 78 attempts, with five touchdowns and five interceptions. The Wildcats lost after going for a touchdown and the win on a fake field-goal try in the first overtime.

The contest against Tennessee will be a rematch of the 1997 Citrus Bowl, won by the Volunteers, 48-28, behind a quarterback by the name of Peyton Manning. Now, 19 years later, Fitzgerald will get a chance to avenge the loss he suffered as the starting middle linebacker on that Wildcat team.