After a last-minute shakeup after the conference championship weekend, Maryland football will now head to Nashville, Tennessee to face the Auburn Tigers in the Music City Bowl on Saturday, Dec. 30. Kickoff is set for 2 PM EST on ABC.
The bowl matchup will mark the first matchup between the two programs since 1983 when Auburn pulled out a 35-23 loss at home. This will also be Maryland’s first appearance in the Music City Bowl.
After a last-minute touchdown handed Alabama the win in the Iron Bowl, Auburn finished the regular season 6-6 (3-5) in the first season under head coach Hugh Freeze. Three of Auburn’s four losses against ranked teams ended in one-possession games, while wins against UMass, Cal, Samford, Mississippi State, Vanderbilt and Arkansas clinched bowl eligibility. This is Auburn’s first bowl appearance since 2021.
Maryland, meanwhile, coasted through the first five weeks of the season before setting up a noon showdown in Columbus, the first of four consecutive losses. Head coach Mike Locksley saw his team get back on track in a 13-10 road win against Nebraska before controlling Rutgers in a 42-24 season-finale win. Maryland posted a 7-5 (4-5) finish in 2023, marking the third consecutive year that Maryland has won seven or more games, the first time the program has done so in 20 years.
Maryland’s bowl outlook over the last three weeks of the regular season centered around potential trips to either Las Vegas or Phoenix, but a shakeup during championship weekend shifted the bowl outlook with Nashville emerging as a realistic landing spot after Saturday’s results.
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