| Game Name: | Citrus Bowl |
| Subheader: | 75th Citrus Bowl |
| Title Sponsor: | Vrbo |
| Date Game Played: | January 1 |
| Year Game Played: | 2021 |
| Football Season: | 2020 |
| Stadium: | Camping World Stadium |
| City: | Orlando, Florida |
| Visitor School: | Auburn University |
| Visitor Name Short: | Auburn |
| Visitor Nickname: | Tigers |
| Visitor Record: | 6–4 |
| Visitor Conference: | SEC |
| Visitor Coach: | Kevin Steele (interim) |
| Visitor 1Q: | 0 |
| Visitor 2Q: | 6 |
| Visitor 3Q: | 7 |
| Visitor 4Q: | 6 |
| Home School: | Northwestern University |
| Home Name Short: | Northwestern |
| Home Nickname: | Wildcats |
| Home Record: | 6–2 |
| Home Conference: | Big Ten |
| Home Rank Ap: | 15 |
| Home Rank Coaches: | 13 |
| Home Rank Cfp: | 14 |
| Home Coach: | Pat Fitzgerald |
| Home 1Q: | 14 |
| Home 2Q: | 0 |
| Home 3Q: | 7 |
| Home 4Q: | 14 |
| Mvp: | Peyton Ramsey (QB, Northwestern)[1] |
| Odds: | Northwestern by 3.5[2] |
| Referee: | Jerry Magallanes (ACC)[3] |
| Us Network: | ABC |
| Us Announcers: | Dave Flemming (play-by-play) Rod Gilmore (analyst) Paul Carcaterra (sideline) |
The 2021 Citrus Bowl was a college football bowl game played on January 1, 2021, with kickoff at 1:00 p.m. EST on ABC.[4] It was the 75th edition of the Citrus Bowl, and was one of the 2020–21 bowl games concluding the 2020 FBS football season. Sponsored by Vrbo, a vacation rental marketplace owned by the HomeAway division of Expedia, the game was officially known as the Vrbo Citrus Bowl.
The game featured the Auburn Tigers of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) and the Northwestern Wildcats of the Big Ten Conference. This was the second meeting between the two programs, and first since the 2010 Outback Bowl, won by Auburn, 38–35.[5]
See main article: 2020 Auburn Tigers football team. Auburn entered the game with a 6–4 record, unranked in the AP Poll. They finished in third place in the SEC's West Division. The Tigers faced four ranked teams during the season, losing to Georgia, Alabama, and Texas A&M while defeating Kentucky. Their only other loss was to South Carolina. Prior to the Citrus Bowl, Auburn fired head coach Gus Malzahn, who had led the program for eight seasons.[6] Defensive coordinator Kevin Steele served as interim head coach for the Tigers.[7]
See main article: 2020 Northwestern Wildcats football team. Northwestern entered the game with a 6–2 record, ranked 15th in the AP Poll. The Wildcats won the Big Ten's West Division, but fell to Ohio State in the Big Ten Championship Game, 22–10. Their only other loss was to Michigan State. Northwestern faced two ranked opponents, losing to Ohio State and defeating Wisconsin. The Wildcats were led by head coach Pat Fitzgerald, in his 15th season with the program.[8]