Contributed
(Dec. 13, 2009)

AUBURN - The Auburn football team returned to practice Saturday to begin preparations for its New Year’s Day game against Northwestern in the Outback Bowl.

Saturday marked the first day back at practice for the Tigers since Nov. 25. Rain forced Auburn to split practice, with the offense and defense splitting time between the indoor practice facility and the film room.

"We had to get some of the rust off since today was our first day back," Auburn head coach Gene Chizik said. "We got some good work in on both sides of the ball and on special teams. Today was a good start, but we need to do a little more tomorrow."

The Tigers will return to the practice field Sunday before taking Monday and Tuesday off for final exams.

"We need to get focused and back in that football mentality," Chizik added. "We’ll give the players a couple days to finish up with their exams before we come back to practice. We’ll get back into it on Wednesday."

Auburn takes on Northwestern at 10 a.m. CT Jan. 1, at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla. The game will be televised by ESPN. It will be Auburn’s 35th bowl appearance and 12th in the last 15 years. The Tigers have a 19-13-2 record all-time in bowl games.

Tickets for the Outback Bowl are $70 and may be purchased through the Auburn Ticket Office via auburntigers.com or by calling 1-800-AUB-1957. For the best seats, fans are strongly encouraged to place orders through the Auburn Athletic Department.

Auburn University students (limit one ticket per student) who picked up a half price bowl ticket voucher earlier this week have until Friday at 4:30 p.m. CT to purchase their discounted ticket. Students must present their Ignited card at the Auburn Ticket Office when purchasing the $35 ticket.