Birmingham Bowl First Look: Auburn vs. Memphis

The 2015 Birmingham Bowl will feature a matchup between the Auburn Tigers and Memphis Tigers.

Birmingham Bowl Broadcast Info

Date: Wednesday, December 30
Time: 12:00 pm ET
Network: ESPN
Venue: Legion Field, Birmingham, AL

Auburn Can Salvage This

2015 was a massive disappointment. The Tigers were predicted to win the SEC West, they were supposed to crank the offense back up to an elite level, and it was supposed to be 2013 all over again. Instead, the offense went nowhere, the Will Muschamp-led defense was less than Will Muschamp-worthy, and now Will Muschamp is off to coach South Carolina. Even so, even after all the problems, the Tigers battled hard against Alabama, Georgia and LSU in losses over the second half of the season. One bowl win would mean a winning season. One bowl win would mean that this was just a bad year that didn’t go right. One bowl loss would mean 6-7 and change the offseason narrative.

It was a tale of two very different seasons for Memphis this past fall

At 8-0, the Tigers were the bosses of the Group of Five, shocking Ole Miss on Oct. 17 and debuting at No. 13 in the first College Football Playoff rankings. There was even chatter of a rogue playoff push from the team and a Heisman run by QB Paxton Lynch. But the program was exposed as soon as the conference schedule stiffened, dropping three straight to Navy, Houston and Temple to start November. Still, head coach Justin Fuente, who’s since taken the same position at Virginia Tech, leaves Memphis in much better shape than when he arrived. Co-offensive coordinator Darrell Dickey will serve as the interim coach for the bowl game.