Hugh Freeze wants Auburn to be resilient, 'honor' supporters with performance in Music City Bowl

Hugh Freeze made some poignant remarks on the field ahead of Auburn’s final game of the season, at the Music City Bowl in Nashville against Maryland.

Speaking with ESPN, Freeze was candid regarding Auburn’s motivation for Saturday’s game, explaining that the Tigers have a ton to play for against the Terrapins.

“Be the most resilient team here today,” Freeze said, regarding what Auburn is looking to do in the Music City Bowl. “After all the things you face in bowl games these days, the greatest thing is you get to play another game together. You get to represent these great fans. Look at all the Auburn fans that are here. Some of these guys are playing their last game of football.

“Just want to honor them with our effort, our attitude and the way we go about it.”

Coming into the game, Auburn was the favorite, with the line has moving up to as much as seven. Meanwhile, the over-under is currently at 47.5 points, as Vegas is expecting points to be scored.

Time will tell if Hugh Freeze can make good on his pregame promise, but Auburn will be looking to end their season about .500 in his first season on the job.

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Moreover, Auburn arrived at this game after going 6-6 this season during their first under Hugh Freeze.

They did go through a four-game losing streak, albeit against three elite, ranked opponents and in four quality competitions overall, and dropped another to New Mexico State. However, they followed that skid up with a three-game winning streak. The Tigers also had their shot at Alabama before a miracle snatched it away from them in the end.

Now, after a one-year absence from the postseason, Auburn will be looking for their first bowl win since the 2018 edition of the Music City Bowl.

As for Maryland, they’ll have to deal with the most significant opt-out without QB Taulia Tagovailoa. His absence led to the increase on the betting line as it’ll be a challenge for the Terrapins to make up for his production as the fifth-year senior threw for near career-best numbers this fall.

This leaves options like Billy Edwards Jr. and Cameron Edge to take his place for Mike Locksley’s team. Both are underclassmen with Edwards Jr. being the more experienced of the two.

Maryland will want this win to finish this year on a better note than their regular season did. After a 5-0 start, they dropped five of their final seven, albeit with three coming to the best in the Big Ten. Still, with this win, they could earn their third consecutive bowl victory and tie last year’s record for their best finish since 2010.