Auburn football vs. Maryland in Music City Bowl: Score prediction, scouting report
AUBURN — Auburn football's first trip to Nashville, Tennessee, this season went well, as the Tigers picked up a convincing road win over Vanderbilt.
Coach Hugh Freeze is hoping for a similar experience this time around.
Auburn is set to play Maryland in the Music City Bowl on Dec. 30 (1 p.m. CT, ABC), the bowl announced Sunday afternoon. It'll be the fourth ever meeting between the Tigers (6-6, 3-5 SEC) and Terrapins, with Auburn holding an all-time series lead of 2-1. The Tigers beat Maryland in 1983 and 1958, but lost by six points in 1952.
"We have the best fans in college football and can’t wait for the Auburn Family to travel to Nashville and take over Broadway," Freeze said in a statement. "We are thrilled for our players to have another opportunity to compete against a very good Maryland opponent.”
Here's an early look at the Terrapins (7-5, 4-5 Big Ten):
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A different Tagovailoa
No, that's not Tua Tagovailoa. But it is his younger brother.
Maryland quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa began his career as a four-star freshman at Alabama before he entered the transfer portal and landed with the Terrapins in May 2020. He's since appeared in 41 games under coach Mike Locksley, compiling 11,256 passing yards and 76 touchdowns on a 67.1% completion percentage.
Enough to go around
Tagovailoa has been sure to use all of the weapons around him this season. Four different pass-catchers have at least 40 receptions, running back Roman Hemby has 37 and sophomore receiver Octavion Smith Jr. has 21. The leading receiver is graduate student Jeshaun Jones, who's collected 53 catches for 747 yards in 2023.
But the Terrapins will be without at least one key playmaker on offense.
A couple key departures
Redshirt junior tight end Corey Dyches, who caught 49 passes for 491 yards this season, announced Saturday that he intends to transfer. Sophomore linebacker Jaishawn Barham did the same Sunday. Barham has played 478 snaps in 2023, per Pro Football Focus.
Auburn football vs. Maryland: Score prediction for Music City Bowl
Auburn 31, Maryland 27: The game could truly go either way, and there's still likely some more news to come regarding the transfer portal and bowl opt outs. For now, we'll narrowly take the Tigers.
Richard Silva is the Auburn athletics beat writer for the Montgomery Advertiser. He can be reached via email at rsilva@gannett.com or on Twitter @rich_silva18.
This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Auburn football vs. Maryland: Score prediction for Music City Bowl
