Auburn fans may not be as highly motivated as normal to attend a bowl game. That would be expected after a 6-6 season that began with the Tigers touted as SEC favorites.

But they won’t have to travel very far. The Tigers will play Memphis of the American Athletic Conference at noon on Dec. 30 at Legion Field in Birmingham.

The Tigers struggled on offense after losing QB Nick Marshall from the 2014 team. Neither Jeremy Johnson or Sean White were able to thrive in Gus Malzahn’s hurry-up attack. At times, the Tigers drastically slowed down the pace.

Auburn’s defense may also be in disarray with coordinator Will Muschamp leaving to take the head coaching position at South Carolina. Muschamp is expected to take Auburn secondary coach Travaris Robinson with him as Gamecocks defensive coordinator.

Playing in the postseason for the third straight year, Auburn is 22-15-2 in bowl games.

Memphis (9-3) grabbed national attention with a 37-24 victory over Ole Miss. The Tigers are led by Paxton Lynch, who threw for  3,670 yards and 28 touchdowns with only 3 interceptions.

Memphis raced out to an 8-0 start and climbed into the top 25 in the national polls before losing three in a row.