Auburn vs. Memphis in Birmingham Bowl
Tom Green | AU Sports Writer Opelika-Auburn News
Auburn, AL
A season that began with hopes of finishing in the desert will instead culminate with a trek two hours up the road.
After entering the year with its eyes set on the College Football Playoff and championship aspirations, Auburn will instead wrap up the 2015 season with a trip to the Birmingham Bowl later this month, where it will take on Memphis at Legion Field.
“We look forward to playing a very good Memphis team in the Birmingham Bowl on Dec. 30,” Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn said in a release. “We have a tremendous fan base in Birmingham and we are excited to play in front of them. With a large number of our team from the state of Alabama, it will also be a great opportunity for those players to compete before their family and friends.”
The game trip will mark Auburn’s 40th bowl game in program history and 14th bowl appearance in the last 16 seasons. Of course, the Birmingham Bowl is merely a consolation prize for an otherwise disappointing campaign.
Auburn entered the year picked by the media to win the Southeastern Conference championship, with many pegging the Tigers to make the cut of the final four teams and appear in the second annual College Football Playoff with a chance to take home the program’s second national title since 2010.
Those plans quickly went awry for Auburn, however. The Tigers opened the year with two straight underwhelming wins before being routed by LSU in Baton Rouge — a loss that prompted a change at quarterback for Auburn.
After benching Jeremy Johnson in favor of Sean White, Auburn lost three of its next five games to drop to 4-4 through the first two months of the season. Following a knee injury to White, Johnson was reinserted into the starting lineup and went 2-2 over the final four games — with an upset win against Texas A&M on the road and a home win against Idaho that clinched a bowl berth.
Still, Auburn struggled throughout the season, finishing last in the SEC West after going 2-6 in conference play, including a 1-5 mark in the division. The offense had issues finding any real consistency or rhythm due to the carousel at quarterback, and the defense — which came on strong during the final month of the season — ranked at or near the bottom of the league in most major statistical categories.
The result was a 6-6 regular season and a trip up Highway 280 on Dec. 30 to take on American Athletic Conference opponent Memphis, which finished 9-3 on the year and third in its division, at 11 a.m. at Legion Field. Memphis’ biggest win of the season came against an SEC opponent when it upset Ole Miss, 37-24. Memphis won eight straight games to start the season before dropping three out of its last four games.
The Birmingham Bowl will mark the third meeting between the two programs and first since 1976. Memphis won both prior meetings.
Both teams will be without some familiar faces on the sideline, too. Memphis head coach Justin Fuente already accepted the head coaching position at Virginia Tech, while Auburn defensive coordinator Will Muschamp has been named the new head coach at South Carolina, where he will reportedly bring defensive backs coach Travaris Robinson with him as defensive coordinator.
“We are excited about the chance to play in the 10th Annual Birmingham Bowl in a great city where so many Auburn supporters and fans live,” Auburn athletics director Jay Jacobs said in a statement. “We look forward to enjoying an Auburn Family reunion in the Magic City, which is well known for its Southern hospitality and great people.”
Tom is the Auburn University Sports Writer for the Opelika-Auburn News.