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There are 41 bowl games this holiday season, and while a true college football fan can find a reason to watch any of them, the fact is that some of them are more important than others.
While not as critical as, say, Alabama’s game against Michigan State in the Cotton Bowl, Auburn’s clash with Memphis in the Birmingham Bowl is a significant one.
Why? Read on:
7-6 IS BETTER THAN 6-7
It’s not a secret that the Tigers underachieved a bit in 2015. But a win over Memphis in this bowl game would allow them to finish the campaign with a winning record.
If you’re not competing for championships, as a player, coach or fan, you’d like to be able to say that your team won a bowl game and at least had a winning season.
KEEPING THE SEAT COOL
As he searches for his third defensive coordinator in as many seasons, Auburn coach Gus Malzahn could really use a win in this bowl game.
Of course he wants to avoid his first losing season as a head coach. But it runs a little deeper than that.
No matter what happens, Auburn is trending in the wrong direction. A 12-2 season in 2013, followed by an 8-5 mark last season, had some Tiger fans grumbling. Those fans are now openly complaining in the midst of this season’s mediocrity.
A win in this bowl game would not only be Malzahn’s first as a head coach (he didn’t coach Arkansas State for its 2013 bowl win), but it would give fans (and boosters) something to be a little more happy about in the run up to 2016.
CONFIDENCE IS KING
Assuming there are no unexpected defections, there are nine starters slated to return for the Auburn offense next season.
That unit ranks 10th in the conference in total offense right now, and a win over a coach-less, but still solid, Memphis squad would bolster that number a bit.
It would also leave a better taste in the collective mouths of the players coming back to the Plains next fall.
ONE LAST PUSH
The last recruiting window opens on Jan. 13, and Malzahn and company will have 17 days to firm up their own commitments — and maybe flip a few players along the way.
It’s a lot easier to sell your program on the back of a bowl win, and a winning season, than it is to have your competitors reminding high school players about your 6-7 record.
SEC PRIDE
Memphis’ biggest accomplishment this season was a 37-24 win over Ole Miss in Oxford. Conference pride demands retribution, right?
Randy Capps is a contributing writer for Saturday Down South. He covers SEC football, South Carolina and Georgia.
