Report Card: Grading Auburn’s Music City Bowl loss
For the third straight season, Auburn will finish with a losing record. The Tigers fell 31-13 to the Maryland Terrapins Saturday in the TransPerfect Music City Bowl.
Auburn struggled out of the gate on both sides of the ball, going three-and-out on back-to-back drives and letting Maryland storm out to a 21-0 first-quarter lead. The defense was able to figure it out, but the offense did not and only enjoyed success once the game was over and Maryland switched to prevent defense.
Here are grades for all of the positional units, as well as the coaching staff after Auburn’s final game of the 2023 season.
Quarterback: D
Payton Thorne, like most of the offense, was unable to get anything going during the game. His wide receivers did not help him out but Thorne struggled with accuracy and made some poor decisions.
Hank Brown got his first action of the season and was able to show why Auburn’s coaching staff is high on him, completeting 7-of-9 passes for 132 yards.
Running Back: C
Auburn’s running backs struggled to get anything going but they rarely had anywhere to go as Auburn’s offensive line struggled to create gaps for them.
Tight End: A
The tight ends had another strong showing, Rivaldo Fairweather finished the game with five receptions for 45 yards and drew a defensive pass interference. Brandon Frazier also got in the action, scoring Auburn’s first touchdown of the game.
Wide Receiver: F
Auburn’s wide receivers were once again unable to make a difference in the game. Caleb Burton was the only receiver to catch multiple passes before the game was in garbage time, snagging five for 78 yards.
Offensive Line: D
Auburn’s offense was unable to move the ball consistently and that starts up front. They were unable to protect Thorne as well as open up lanes for Auburn’s backs.
Defensive Line: C
The defense was gashed to start the game, but like all season they did a great job of adjusting and getting better as the game went on. The defensive line was without star Marcus Harris but they battled and forced several negative plays.
Linebacker: C
Austin Keys made several disruptive plays for a linebacker group that struggled to stop the run to start the game before rounding into form in the second half.
Secondary: C
Auburn’s new-look secondary struggled early but was able to step up as they got more experience. The group has plenty of potential and nearly made a couple of key turnovers but was unable to come down witht he ball.
Special Teams: D
Auburn had two turnovers on special teams with Keionte Scott muffing a punt and Brian Battie fumbling it away on a kickoff return. The two big plays wiped away the good work done by the successful fake punt.
Coaching: F
Auburn came out flat on both sides of the ball and quickly found itself in a 21-0 hole. The defense made adjustments, holding Maryland to just 3 points after the first quarter. The offense was unable to make any meaningful adjustments, and never found any answers for the Maryland defense.
