Auburn, now 6-7, secured its third straight losing season on Saturday when it lost the Music City Bowl 31-13 to Maryland (8-5) at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee.
It has been more than 45 years since Auburn had three straight losing seasons. It has not won a bowl game in the same stadium since the 2018 Music City Bowl. Head coach Hugh Freeze is now 6-3 in bowl games.
It was a day that was probably more marked by those who weren't on the field than by those who were there. Auburn leaves Nashville with a step forward by reaching a bowl season in Freeze's first season, but there's a lot to think about as it retools the roster for 2024.
Here are three takeaways from Auburn's disappointing return to the postseason.
Auburn can't recover from a terrible start
This felt like the opposite of one of Auburn's games earlier this season: the 48-10 win in early November against Arkansas. Auburn jumped out to a 21-point lead in the first quarter and sailed from there.
On Saturday it was the exact opposite as Maryland jumped out to a 21-0 lead in the first quarter.
Although starting quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa has opted out of the game as he prepares for the 2024 NFL Draft, the Terps have destroyed the Tigers' defense. Maryland had 226 yards in the first 15 minutes to Auburn's 42 yards.
Maryland had 150 more yards than Auburn in the first quarter. Both Maryland backup quarterbacks – Billy Edwards Jr. and Cameron Edge – had no problems with Auburn's new-look secondary (more on that below).
The Terps scored touchdowns on each of their first three drives. All three drives covered at least 75 yards.
There were several missed tackles and broken coverages. It was obvious that this was a group of new faces who hadn't played much in their new roles or together.
That hole, coupled with an Auburn offense that further demonstrated why Freeze pursued so many top high school receivers, was too much to recover from.
Auburn never gave itself a chance to come back with four turnovers in the second half.
Auburn's secondary was very thin. It turned out to be a big deal.
Let's talk about the secondary. As a result, Auburn was without starting safety Jaylin Simpson and starting cornerbacks Nehemiah Pritchett and DJ James for an unknown reason. The focus of conversation all week has been young defensive backs seeing increased playing time and concerns about the resulting inexperience.
This was particularly evident in the first quarter.
Keionte Scott made his first start at outside cornerback at Auburn, with freshman Kayin Lee sitting across from him. Donovan Kaufman started at Scott's normal nickel cornerback position. Caleb Wooden started at safety.
Safety Zion Puckett was the only starter in the secondary to start for Auburn.
As part of Maryland's 158 passing yards in the first quarter, that's exactly what the group looked like without any continuity or chemistry between them.
The group struggled to make tackles and was often beaten by several receivers from a very talented Maryland corps.
The secondary came close to intercepting several balls but couldn't. Young players like Champ Anthony, Colton Hood and Terrance Love enjoyed their most significant seasons in college. Their potential showed in flashes — most notably when Hood nearly had an interception in the second quarter — but Auburn faces questions in the second quarter next year.
Aside from Scott and likely Lee, there will be several position battles in the secondary next season. The depth behind Auburn's four NFL-bound secondary pieces wasn't ready yet.
They played better as the game went on, especially in the second half. But at this point, when the outcome of the game was largely certain,
The Freeze Four (or Five) can't get here soon enough
This wasn't a loss of a single player, just an overall bad day after an Auburn offense that has had several very bad days this season. This bad day was another explanation and probably a defense of Freeze's development strategy.
When he lined up behind Payton Thorne at quarterback for the next season, he made a bowl claim. Thorne struggled against Maryland, completing just 13 of 27 passes for 84, one touchdown and one interception.
He didn't help himself. He was benched in the fourth quarter after a second interception had it not been wiped out by a penalty against Maryland.
But he didn't get much help either.
Auburn was so overwhelmed at receiver with four newcomers in the transfer portal. That meant multiple tight ends lined up at the wide receiver positions. That meant more scoring for tight ends than any other position on the field.
And honestly, that was just one implication of why Auburn's loaded high school wide receiver class — five-star recruits Cam Coleman and Perry Thompson and four-stars Malcolm Simmons and Bryce Cain — didn't move quickly enough to get to campus. Cain is already on the team.
Auburn needs the influx of pass-catching talent. But it's hard to believe their addition alone will solve the problems in this offense.
Matt Cohen covers Auburn sports for AL.com. You can follow him on X below @Matt_Cohen_ or email him at [email protected]