Auburn is trying to build momentum for Hugh Freeze’s second season at Auburn, but the Music City Bowl proved to be a significant speed bump.

The Tigers never seemed to be in control, and after Maryland built a 3-touchdown lead, the Terrapins coasted to victory over Auburn, 31-13.

Maryland quarterback Billy Edwards Jr., who played in place of Taulia Tagovailoa, had a rushing touchdown and a passing touchdown in the game to help Maryland build a big lead. Hugh Freeze in recent days shared concerns about Auburn’s tackling, and that was very much the case, especially early on.

Here are our 3 takeaways from the game:

Rough start

Rough starts have been a theme lately, and it happened again in Nashville. Auburn has gone 3-and-out on its first possession in 3 straight games. It has also allowed the opponent to score an opening-drive touchdown in 3 straight games. Not only that, but Maryland’s 21 points scored in the first quarter were the most Auburn has allowed in an opening quarter since 2014.

It took a while for Auburn to find some traction on defense. It finally forced Maryland to punt for the first time in this game midway through the second quarter trailing 21-0.

Forgettable 2nd half

As if the 1st half wasn’t enough, Auburn and Maryland went through a slog in the 3rd quarter alone. Auburn and Maryland combined for 33 total yards on 29 combined plays. Auburn mustered just 16 yards and was 1-for-4 on 3rd down conversions, and made 2 turnovers.

Then, after Holden Geriner came in to a big ovation, the Auburn QB began 1-for-6 for 8 yards and an interception. That summarized the offensive effort for much of the game, as Auburn didn’t get any movement along the offensive line, and receivers didn’t get open down the field.

Defense was the silver lining

The terrible start was one thing, but at least the Auburn defense showed some fight the rest of the game.

Maryland started the game with 3 drives that went for 19 plays for 226 yards and 3 TDs. But after that, the Terrapins were limited on their next 3 drives to 18 plays for 49 yards and a field goal.

If not the defense, Hank Brown, who was the 3rd Auburn QB to enter the game, began the game 7-for-7 as he engineered an effective drive that drove Auburn to the Maryland 15-yard line.