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It’s roughly 109 miles from Auburn, Ala. to Birmingham, a relatively easy two-hour drive.
That’s the distance Auburn travels this postseason for their Dec. 30 bowl game against the Memphis Tigers. Auburn’s Birmingham Bowl is going to be a virtual home game, for all intents and purposes.
Aside from the convenient travel plans, Auburn also lucked out with their bowl game matchup in other ways. Namely, Auburn gets the chance to play a respectable team that’s been in the national spotlight for much of the year, something that rarely happens for a mid-major school.
Memphis started out strong in 2015. The Tigers won their first eight games, including a win over No. 13 Ole Miss which shocked both the SEC and college football nationally. The Tigers were ranked as high as No. 13 in the first College Football Playoff poll.
But Memphis just couldn’t hang on, going 1-3 during its last four games of the season. The losses to Navy, Houston, and Temple knocked them out of the top 25. And as if ending the regular season on a low note wasn’t enough, head coach Justin Fuente then announced that he was leaving to take over for the retiring Frank Beamer at Virginia Tech.
All that news from Memphis is good for a struggling 6-6 Auburn team. They get to play close to home, and catch a reeling team that’s playing with an interim coach. But with that Ole Miss win on their resume, the Tigers still get plenty of respect. That’s a better SEC team than any of the two (Kentucky, Texas A&M) that Auburn beat.
Basically, Memphis has been wrapped up in a box and bow, and placed under Auburn’s Christmas tree.
But while Auburn should feel comfortable with the Memphis matchup, it also still has plenty of worry about. Memphis quarterback Paxton Lynch can be a nightmare if he’s not contained, as the Ole Miss secondary can attest to. After all, he threw for 3,670 yards this season, with 28 touchdown passes and only three interceptions.
Auburn has plenty of problems of its own, of course. The Tigers finished dead last in the SEC West and struggled to contain good offenses all year. They’re also going into the bowl game without defensive coordinator Will Muschamp, who left to take over at South Carolina.
Auburn holds plenty of advantages going into the Birmingham Bowl. But they had best cash in on those to keep their reputation in tact. A loss means a losing record for the season, and that’s something worth trying to avoid.
Christine Wang is a contributing writer for Saturday Down South. She covers Auburn, Arkansas and Ole Miss.
