Big Ten Bowl Preview: Music City Bowl
Purdue meets Auburn in first of four bowl meetings between the Big Ten and SEC
Teams from the Big Ten Conference have something in common this bowl season thanks to four total matchups with schools from the SEC. The first of those contests kicks off Friday in Nashville, Tennessee.
The Purdue Boilermakers, from the Big Ten West, will match up with the Auburn Tigers out of the SEC West. Purdue finished the season with six wins, while Auburn recorded seven. Both teams struggled in their respective conferences.
After failing to make a bowl game since 2013, Purdue is now in its second postseason game in as many years. The Boilermakers defeated Arizona by a score of 38-35 in last year’s Foster Farms Bowl.
A bowl game didn’t appear to be in the cards for the Boilermakers this year after dropping the first three games of the season, including two to non-conference opponents. However, a four-game win streak in the middle of the season, and a victory over Indiana in the season finale changed that fate.
GAME: Music City Bowl
LOCATION: Nissan Stadium, Nashville, TN
TEAMS: Purdue Boilermakers (6-6), Auburn Tigers (7-5)
DATE: 12/28
TIME: 1:30 PM ET
TV: ESPN
The Boilermakers became the darlings of the country after shocking Ohio State in front of a national, primetime audience. A great story from that win focused on Tyler Trent, a Purdue superfine who was featured on ESPN earlier in the day. He was seen celebrating on the field with the team after the upset victory.
Trent, who’s fighting a rare form of bone cancer, will be on hand in Nashville thanks to Indianapolis Colts owner, Jim Irsay.
When looking at Purdue, everything centers around the passing game and quarterback David Blough. The Boilermakers ranked No. 13 during the regular season with an average of 318 passing yards per game. Blough finished with 3,521 yards and 25 touchdowns.
His favorite target in the passing game in wide receiver Rondale Moore, who racked up 1,164 receiving yards with 12 touchdowns.
In order to win, the Purdue offense has to put up points thanks to the fact that the defense is ranked No. 67 nationally with over 27 points allowed per game.
For Auburn, 2018 will go down as a major disappointment after finishing with a 3-5 conference record.
The Tigers began the season with a huge win over No. 6 Washington and was ranked No. 7 heading into a Week 3 matchup with LSU. The Tigers went on to lose against Mississippi State, Tennessee, Georgia and Alabama.
Quarterback Jarrett Stidam led the way for the Tigers on offense, passing for 2,421 yards with 13 touchdowns and five interceptions. JaTarvious Whitlow was the lead rusher with 777 yards and four touchdowns.
Auburn’s defense was tough this year, allowing opponents an average of under 20 points per game.
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This matchup should certainly be an interesting one. Auburn is favored, but the potent Purdue passing game could have enough firepower to break through the tough Tiger defense.