Maryland will make its third consecutive bowl appearance under head coach Mike Locksley when they head to Nashville, Tennessee on Dec. 30 to take on the Auburn Tigers. While Maryland closed the book on its third consecutive winning season thanks to the season-finale win vs. Rutgers, Auburn will look to pull out a late December win in hopes of securing its first winning season since 2020. Auburn and Maryland finished a combined 0-7 against ranked opponents in 2023 as the Tigers finished 6-6 under first-year head coach Hugh Freeze. Yet still, the books favor the Tigers following Sunday’s announcement as Maryland opened as a 1.5-point underdog on DraftKings and 2.5-point underdog on FanDuel. Maryland saw their bowl aspirations drastically change in the 24 hours leading into Sunday, watching their bowl fate slowly shift away from the Las Vegas Bowl and toward Nashville as head coach Mike Locksley noted his team’s marketability. “I knew that because of our team and the way this team has fought, having an explosive offense at times, defensively being one of the more improved defenses, that we would be attractive to a lot of different bowls with the type of players we have. And so to have the opportunity to be selected, and if you look at the pecking order in which they are able to select, I mean it speaks volumes to what the Music City Bowl thought about our program to pick us. Because they had opportunities to pick others and they chose to pick us. And we hope Terp Nation shows up and responds the right way by showing up down in Nashville supporting us.” Maryland last faced Auburn during the Bobby Ross era when the Tigers saw three players eclipse 100 rushing yards in a 35-23 win in Jordan-Hare Stadium back in 1983, while they split a pair of matchups in the 50s. The upcoming Music City Bowl will mark the first game played between the teams outside of Alabama, Auburn. Kickoff is set for 2 PM EST on Dec. 30 on ABC. https://open.spotify.com/episode/56vhiZq2zGtdxRsJgpTOhg?si=0913138a903a4f5d Related Links
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