TransPerfect Music City Bowl point spread: Picking Auburn Tigers vs. Maryland Terrapins

The Tigers and Terrapins will descend upon Nashville this weekend when Auburn (6-6) and Maryland (7-5) play in this year’s Music City Bowl.

With a lot to dive into for this one, On3’s Andy Staples and Ralph Russo of the Associated Press talked through it and made their picks for this matchup on the eve of New Year’s Eve.

How to watch Auburn vs. Maryland

Time: 2 p.m. ET on December 30th
Channel: ABC or ESPN+, FuboTV (streaming)
Location: Nissan Stadium (Nashville, Tennessee)

Russo had the most to say on the matter during a segment on ‘Andy Staples On3’ on Wednesday. In his opinion, Auburn will likely win and finish the season above .500, especially with no Taulia Tagovailoa for Maryland. With that opportunity in front of them, he believes their mindset will be in a better place than their opponent’s come Saturday afternoon.

“Do I think Auburn will win? Yeah,” said Russo. “I get the suspicion that Auburn, again, is a team that’s building towards something. So they look at a bowl as a bit more of an accomplishment. ‘Hey, if we win this game, we’ve got seven wins in year one under (Hugh) Freeze!'”

“I can see them playing the motivation game a little better than Maryland,” Russo said.

However, when it comes to the seven-point spread, Russo was a little more hesitant. He said that, while he thinks the Tigers will come out victorious, he hasn’t been sure from the start that they’ll be able to cover the touchdown.

“This is another one where I remember trying to do my picks before the bowl season, before we even know who all the opt-outs were. I just found myself thinking that’s a big number,” said Russo. “Like, let me just take those points there.”

“I will take the points but my suspicion is Auburn wins a relatively close game,” Russo said.

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As for Staples, though, he had no issue taking Auburn both outright and against the spread. With where they’re at after a full season under Freeze, he trusts that a more-developed version of the Tigers will take it by at least seven, if not more, in Music City this weekend.

“I’m going to take Auburn to cover here,” said Staples.

“I think it took them a while to figure out what everybody was good at at Auburn,” Staples said. “The last time we saw them play? They should have beaten Alabama. Auburn has still got dudes. So, yeah, I’m going to go with Auburn here to cover, even with the touchdown.”