Auburn Falls to Northwestern in the Vrbo Citrus Bowl

The Tigers traveled down to Orlando to take on the 14th ranked Northwestern Huskies. The 35-19 loss was disappointing, but definitely not surprising for Auburn fans. With the change in Head Coaches, most of the current staff will not be with Auburn next season. There will also be a decent number of players who decide to continue their education and athletic career elsewhere, which is to be expected when changing the leadership.

It was a defensive battle throughout the first half, the score was 14-6 in favor of the Huskies at the break. Peyton Ramsey led his team to a fast start, scoring two touchdowns in the 1st quarter, but were shut out in the 2nd. Auburn failed to score any in the 1st, and put two field goals up in the 2nd quarter. Both teams scored a touchdown in the 3rd quarter. Northwestern pulled away in the 4th quarter, scoring two touchdowns and holding Auburn to one touchdown with a failed two-point conversion attempt. The final score ended up being a 35-19 victory for Northwestern.

Without Tank Bigsby, Auburn struggled to score points. Bo Nix went 25/42 passing for 292 yards and a touchdown. He was also the teams leading rusher with 10 carries for 32 yards. Elijah Canion was Auburn’s leading receiver with three receptions for 80 yards and a touchdown, Seth Williams was not far behind with five receptions for 72 yards. Defensively, Auburn was not impressive either. Allowing five touchdowns and 457 yards of total offense is one of this season’s worst performances.

Even with less games played, this season was still one of the longest ever. Although there were some highpoints, Auburn was nothing to be excited about. The Brian Harsin era is officially underway, and Auburn fans are excited to see if he will bring more of the same, or if he will lead Auburn back to the glory of past seasons. Only time will tell. War Eagle!