“Hey, Urban. Gus here. Listen, you shut down Melvin Gordon pretty good. What’d you do?”

If I’m Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn, that’s the first phone call I’m making this week as the Tigers begin bowl preparations.

No. 19 Auburn plays No. 18 Wisconsin in the Outback Bowl on Jan. 1 in Tampa.

Suffice it to say, Gordon against the Auburn defense is a nightmare matchup for Charlie Harbison — the man charged with coordinating the defense during the bowl game — though saying Gordon is a bad matchup for the Tigers is probably an understatement.

Once considered the strength of the defense, Auburn struggled to stop the run during the back half of the season, allowing 220 rushing yards or more to Mississippi State, Georgia and Alabama. Dak Prescott, Nick Chubb, Todd Gurley and T.J. Yeldon all rushed for 120 yards or more against the Tigers.

Now-canned defensive coordinator Ellis Johnson searched for answers during the final seven weeks of the season, unable to garner any kind of momentum on that side of the football.

Gordon enters leading the nation in rushing, having totaled at least 150 rushing yards in each of his final four regular season games. The Heisman finalist made a statement during that stretch producing two 200-yard efforts and — for one week — an NCAA record 408-yard performance.

Yet Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer and co-defensive coordinators Chris Ash and Luke Fickell found an answer, holding Gordon to 76 yards on 26 carries.

How did the Buckeyes stop the best running back in the country? They played fundamentally sound defense.

“We leveraged the ball, we were aggressive and we were gap sound,” Ohio State linebacker Josh Perry told Cleveland.com.

Many believe Gordon will continue the trend begun by Prescott, Chubb, Gurley and Yeldon against an Auburn defense, and specifically a front seven, decimated with injuries. It’s not a question of whether Gordon will be able to run against the Tigers, but for how many yards will he run?

However, if Auburn is going to slow Gordon enough to have a chance to win the game in the fourth quarter, Auburn has to take away the play-action game Wisconsin likes to run with quarterback Joel Stave. Ohio State intercepted Stave three times in the Big Ten Championship Game and took away the play-action pass, allowing the Buckeyes to key on Gordon.

Gordon’s longest run of the evening was a 13-yard scamper in the first-quarter and, though he got to the outside a few times, Ohio State played with great pursuit defense not allowing Gordon to break one.

Auburn has to be strong along the defensive front. The Badgers run a power rushing attack, a staple of their repertoire being the off-tackle “Power Play.” Wisconsin loves to run off the back of tight end Austin Traylor with a fullback, pulling guard and backside tight end providing blocking for Gordon.

What Ohio State did well, and what the Tigers must do, is slant across the face of the blocker, causing the fullback, pulling guard and backside tight end to re-route, leaving Gordon vulnerable. The Buckeyes relied on superior speed and athleticism to beat the Badgers up front.

Auburn has to win up front in order to slow Gordon. In addition, the Tigers must rotate and stay fresh up along the front four. Ohio State played eight men on its defensive line against Wisconsin. Auburn is thin along the defensive front having suffered injuries this season. Defensive line coach Rodney Garner has to find an answer to keep his guys fresh up front.

Gordon won’t be shutdown again. He’ll get his; he’s too good. If Auburn can hold him under 150 yards, that has to be considered a win.

And if the Tigers can make Wisconsin one-dimensional, Auburn is good enough to out-score the Badgers.