Auburn football and Maryland will play in the 2023 TransPerfect Music City Bowl.
The Tigers (6-6) and Terps (7-5) meet in a game at Nissan Stadium on Dec. 30 (1 p.m. CT, ABC). It is the first time in 40 years that the two teams will play against each other.
“We are thrilled to welcome Auburn and Maryland to our game this year,” said Scott Ramsey, president and CEO of the Music City Bowl, in a news release Sunday. “We look forward to the once-in-a-lifetime matchup and hope it becomes another memorable chapter in our bowl game history and for Nashville as a whole, as we welcome back Auburn and introduce Maryland and its fans to our great city. “
Auburn finished fifth in the SEC West with a 3-5 league record in its first season under coach Hugh Freeze. The Tigers suffered two straight losses to New Mexico State (31-1) and Alabama (27-24) in a game in which the Crimson Tide completed a 31-yard touchdown pass on fourth down with 32 seconds left play.
Key offensive players for Auburn include junior quarterback Payton Thorne, who threw for 1,671 yards and 15 touchdowns in the regular season, junior running back Jarquez Hunter with 865 rushing yards and seven touchdowns, and junior tight end Rivaldo Fairweather, who Had 349 receiving yards and six touchdowns.
Maryland was fourth in the Big Ten at 4-5. The Terps are coming off a 42-24 win over Rutgers.
The Terrapins include senior quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa, the younger brother of Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa. Taulia has thrown for 3,307 yards and 25 touchdowns. Other key contributors include sophomore running back Roman Hemby with 668 rushing yards and three touchdowns, senior wide receiver Jeshaun Jones with 747 receiving yards and senior defensive backs Beau Brade and Tarheeb Still with 72 tackles and five interceptions each.
This is Auburn’s third time playing in the Music City Bowl. The Tigers defeated Wisconsin 28-14 in the 2003 Music City Bowl and defeated Purdue 63-14 in 2018.
Maryland has never played in the Music City Bowl.
Auburn leads the series against Maryland 2-1. Maryland won the first game of the series 13-7 in 1952, played in Birmingham, Alabama. Auburn won 20-7 at home in 1958 and 35-23 at home in 1983.
This will be Auburn’s first bowl game since a 35-19 loss to Northwestern in the 2021 Citrus Bowl. It will be Maryland’s third straight bowl game. The Terps defeated North Carolina State 16-12 in the 2022 Duke’s Mayo Bowl and Virginia Tech 54-10 in the 2021 Pinstripe Bowl.
Iowa defeated Kentucky 21-0 in the 2022 Music City Bowl.
This will be the 26th Music City Bowl.
SEC teams have won nine Music City Bowls. Big Ten teams have won five.
For tickets, please visit bit.ly/3uDzwMF. The athletics departments of both teams take care of their schools’ ticket allocations. Further information on this will follow shortly.
Reach Mike Organ at 615-259-8021 or on X @MikeOrganWriter.