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lindyssports.com Minus star QB, Maryland meets Auburn in Music City Bowl | Lindy's Sports 4–5 minutes Instead of having the Big Ten’s all-time passing leader under center, Maryland will turn to a pair of untested quarterbacks when it faces Auburn in the Music City Bowl on Saturday in Nashville. Maryland (7-5) will be without quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa, who opted out of the bowl game. Auburn (6-6), under first-year coach Hugh Freeze, will be looking for its first bowl victory since 2018, when the Tigers routed Purdue 63-14 in the Music City Bowl. Tagovailoa, brother of Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, set almost every Maryland passing record, as well as the Big Ten record for all-time passing yards. In his absence, the Terrapins will turn to redshirt sophomore Billy Edwards Jr. and redshirt freshman Cameron Edge, who combined for 13 pass attempts in the regular season. Edwards did have six rushing touchdowns, five of them coming on just nine carries the past two games. “You almost look at this game kind of like a preseason game going into next year,” Maryland coach Mike Locksley said. “We’ve got a lot of faith in Billy. We’ve got a lot of faith in Cam. Both those guys have the ability, the skill set, to operate our system.” With Tagovailoa at the helm, the Terrapins passed for 284.8 yards per game while rushing for 108.9. Roman Hemby is the leading ground gainer with 663 yards and four rushing touchdowns. Jeshaun Jones is the leading receiver with 53 catches for 747 yards and four touchdowns. Tai Felton has 48 receptions for 723 yards and six scores. Tight end Corey Dyches had 49 catches for 491 yards, but he entered the transfer portal and will not play. Maryland won its first five games, but three of its losses were in the rugged Big Ten East to then-No. 4 Ohio State, then-No. 11 Penn State and then-No. 3 Michigan. The Terrapins average 29.6 points per game while allowing 23.3. Auburn opened with three victories, dropped four straight, then reeled off another three-game winning streak before a disheartening 31-10 home loss to New Mexico State. The Tigers closed the regular season with a 27-24 loss to rival Alabama, allowing the Crimson Tide to score the winning touchdown on a fourth-and-goal pass from the 31-yard line with 32 seconds left. Thanks to the stunning conclusion, the Crimson Tide earned the final College Football Playoff berth. Freeze is now looking ahead to the Music City Bowl. “That’s always a good thing that we have put ourselves in position to get extra practices in,” he said. “We’re playing a very good opponent. It’s going to be a great challenge for us.” Auburn averages 27.3 points per game while giving up 21.9. The Tigers average 355.5 yards per game, 198.4 on the ground and 157.1 through the air. They allow 361.1 yards per game, including 201.7 passing. Junior quarterback Payton Thorne has completed 62.6 percent of his passes for 139.3 yards per game with 15 touchdowns and nine interceptions. He also is the second-leading rusher with 520 yards and three touchdowns. Jarquez Hunter is the top rusher with 865 yards at 5.9 per carry with seven touchdowns. Tight end Rivaldo Fairweather, who spent the previous three seasons at Florida International, is the top target with 33 catches for 349 yards and six touchdowns. Wideout Jay Fair has 30 receptions for 300 yards and two scores. Four wide receivers, including Ja’Varrius Johnson, who had 19 catches for 347 yards and three scores, entered the transfer portal. On defense, Auburn lineman Marcus Harris and cornerbacks Nehemiah Pritchett and D.J. James opted out of the bowl game.

saturdaydownsouth.com Hugh Freeze shares message to Auburn players before Music City Bowl Parker Gillam | 1 day ago 2–3 minutes Hugh Freeze spoke with the media on Wednesday to preview Auburn’s upcoming matchup with Maryland in the Music City Bowl on Saturday. Freeze was complimentary of Mike Locksley’s program but knows that his team needs to end its season on a high note with a victory. “We’re not quite the same team that finished the year [referencing opt-outs], but in some ways that’s exciting for kicking off the next year,” Freeze said. “We’re not in the Playoff this year, so it’s an extra game for young kids that we’re going to depend upon.” He went on to talk about how important it is for the team to play at a high level every time it wears the Auburn jersey, adding that this group has been inconsistent in doing so this season. When asked about the opt out of Terrapins’ quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa, Freeze said that his team has the benefit of fielding an experienced quarterback in Payton Throne, although there are plenty of missing pieces around him. “Payton has to play well, and the pieces around him have to play well,” Freeze said. “We’re thin at receiver, so it’ll be interesting to see how we perform with that. But, we’re excited to have Payton who has the experience of playing in bowl games before.” Auburn and Maryland will square off at 2 p.m. ET on Saturday. The game can be viewed on ABC. TRENDING 58,148 READS 51,772 READS 23,016 READS Parker Gillam Current Missouri student entering my third year of covering Tiger football and basketball. Contributor to The Transfer Portal CFB and overall college athletics enthusiast.

si.com Auburn Briefing: What does bringing in Sam Jackson V mean for Auburn? Daniel Locke ~2 minutes Auburn will see a complete overhaul at wide receiver over the offseason. The position was one of the weaker groups for Auburn throughout 2023 and Hugh Freeze is looking to change that. Bringing in Sam Jackson V shows just how committed Freeze is to getting more versatile options for the Tigers' passing game. Auburn returns to action on Saturday when it takes on the Maryland Terrapins in the TransPerfect Music City Bowl at Nissan Stadium in Nashville. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. CT and the broadcast can be found on ABC. Auburn basketball update Auburn's men's basketball team will return to action for its second-to-last non-conference game on Dec. 30 when it hosts the Alabama State Hornets at Neville Arena. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. CT and the broadcast can be found on SEC Network. Auburn's women's basketball team returns to action for its final non-conference game when it hosts the North Alabama Lions on Dec. 31 at 2 p.m. CT. Check out the latest podcast Auburn football could take a huge step forward in 2024 with Hugh Freeze at the helm but they need to accomplish some goals in the process. On today's Locked On Auburn, Zac Blackerby is joined by Mike G of the War Rapport to discuss how Auburn football can be more successful in 2024 is they accomplish these goals.

247sports.com Auburn excited to use new technology in Nashville Jason Caldwell 7–9 minutes Auburn football takes on Maryland in the Music City Bowl. NASHVILLE, Tennessee—In this year’s bowl games, some teams have had the options of using technology as a test run for potentially moving forward in the college game. One of those is Auburn, who will be using sideline tablets like NFL teams have available for use in between series on both offense and defense. It’s something that coach Hugh Freeze said he’s not real sure how it’s going to work out, but he’s excited to see if it’s something that can be beneficial for them while also giving decision makers some feedback for potential changes to the college game moving forward. “We'll take the tablets, so we are taking and using the tablets,” Freeze said. “Curious to see how that goes on the sideline. Obviously, it's not something that we're going to get to practice with, really, until the game. So that's always awkward, for me to feel, like, great about it. “I plan to go over and do that. But it'll be interesting. I'm sure Payton can (use it). It'll be difficult for me to utilize, because I'm flipping back and forth between offense and defense and paying attention to the situations. Our coaches on the sideline will hopefully be able to see things. I do hope that's something that's permanent. For sure. I don't know why anyone would be against that, unless it's a cost issue for certain conferences.” Watching NFL games and seeing quarterbacks come to the sidelines and be able to look at certain coverages or defensive fronts they are getting during a particular series, Payton Thorne said he believes it’s something that can really help the game moving forward. “I think it could be cool for college football,” Thorne said. “College is kind of behind the NFL and high school in terms of technology usage. The biggest thing I want is the iPads, or the Surfaces, on the sideline. I think we have that, so that's what I heard. That'd be cool to see next year for college, but I don't know where all that stands, to be honest.” Auburn also had the option to use helmet communication like teams have available in the NFL. While Maryland decided it was something they would try this week, Freeze said he just wasn’t comfortable making such a drastic change in such a short period of time. “The helmet is a whole different deal,” Freeze said. “This is kind of an 'above me' discussion. Truthfully, the idea alone, with us being able to communicate with our quarterback, I like. I think it's something that will help with some of the signal issues we're having, and obviously, everybody's trying to pick off your signals during games. It's just part of the game. But I do think that can help. “It was just a lot of things in a short amount of time to try to process,” he added. “I said, 'Look, I'm OK. We've signaled now for 12 games. I think we'll be OK for a bowl game.' It doesn't bother me at all if Maryland chooses to do that. It just felt like an awful lot of conversations were having to be had, and I was in the middle of recruiting and trying to get ready for a bowl game, and I didn't want to meet with these different manufacturers. I just said, 'It's just not that important to me for a bowl game.'” Auburn and Maryland kick off at 1 p.m. on Saturday on ABC. Music City Bowl notebook: Tigers back on the practice field Auburn got back to work in preparation for the Music City Bowl. All present and accounted for After practicing in Auburn for a week before taking some time off around Christmas, Auburn arrived in Nashville on Tuesday night and hit the field at Vanderbilt on Wednesday afternoon at full strength, or at least as full as the Tigers can be following the opt-outs of D.J. James, Nehemiah Pritchett and Marcus Harris along with the losses to the transfer portal. With everyone healthy and ready to go as the Tigers gear up towards Saturday’s kickoff, this is a team that has plenty of bodies for the game but will count on young players at several positions to shore up some depth issues. By my count, Auburn has 64 scholarship players available for the game. That doesn’t walk-ons who were put on scholarship before or during the season. Decision to make for Rogers Early on Wednesday morning, the East-West Shrine Game tweeted out that Justin Rogers had accepted an invitation to play in their all-star game. That is partially true, from what we have been told. Rogers did accept an invitation, but still hasn't made a final decision on whether or not he'll return for the 2024 season. We have heard that Rogers has been leaning towards coming back for the Tigers, which would be big with the loss of Marcus Harris from this year's team. A decision isn't expected from Rogers until sometime after the bowl game. Speaking of Harris, he was at practice on Wednesday to support his teammates even though he decided not to play in the game. Bug going around Payton Thorne said he practiced just one day on campus last week while dealing with flu-like symptoms and that has continued with the team getting to Nashville. Hugh Freeze said the team is dealing with several players that have had sickness and that included two that were left at the team hotel instead of practicing on Wednesday morning at Nashville. “Yeah, we've had a run of sickness,” Freeze said. “We actually left two guys at the hotel today, too. We had a run, last week, of guys missing practice with flu-like symptoms. He seems to be feeling good, but it's really good to let him get outside and hopefully get him today and tomorrow. I haven't seen the weather for tomorrow, but this is a good day for him to have a good practice, for sure, because he did miss — shoot — last week, I think every day but one.” Newcomers continuing to work Auburn had several early enrollees on campus for bowl practices and they have continued that in Nashville. Defensive lineman Malik Blocton, linebackers DJ Barber, Joe Phillips and Demarcus Riddick, defensive back Kaleb Harris and wide receiver Bryce Cain were all practicing with the team and going through individual reps. The coaches said they’ve been pleased with the early work the group has shown as they get a crash course in learning the defense and offense. Tight ends back to full strength After Luke Deal, Rivaldo Fairweather and Brandon Frazier were all having to share a ton of reps during bowl practices last week in Auburn, the group welcomed back Micah Riley-Ducker to full contact reps on Wednesday. That’s a big deal for the offense with the lack of wide receivers available in this game. Auburn could use two or more tight ends at times against Maryland, and without Tyler Fromm that meant a whole lot of work in practice settings for the three older tight ends. Young DBs getting work In the viewing periods we had for Wednesday’s practice, the young defensive backs were heavily involved across the board with Kayin Lee, Tyler Scott, Colton Hood and JC Hart all getting reps at cornerback. Scott also got some work at the nickel position for the Tigers along with Champ Anthony. At the safety spot, Sylvester Smith and Terrance Love worked in getting some significant reps along with Caleb Wooden while seniors Jaylin Simpson and Zion Puckett coached them up in between reps.

al.com Why Auburn’s QB situation in the Music City Bowl vs. Maryland is a ‘huge advantage’ Updated: Dec. 28, 2023, 1:46 p.m.|Published: Dec. 28, 2023, 1:37 p.m. 5–6 minutes When the Auburn Tigers take the field of Nashville’s Nissan Stadium Saturday, they’ll do so with their starting quarterback – a luxury that seems to be rarer and rarer in bowl games these days. “We’re glad we got Payton back,” Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze said Wednesday, referring to the Tigers’ starting quarterback, Payton Thorne. On Dec. 18, Thorne told reporters he arrived at Auburn in the spring with the hopes of being in a position to decide if he wanted to stay for his final year of college football or if he wanted to turn his attention to the big leagues. “To be honest, as the year went on and we weren’t performing on the level we hoped, I was leaning toward coming back,” Thorne told reporters on Dec. 18. “I didn’t want this to be my last year.” Throughout the regular season, Thorne tallied 1,671 passing yards, 15 touchdowns and nine interceptions — all while spending more than half of the season stuck in the middle of a funky quarterback rotation with Robby Ashford, who announced his intentions to transfer Dec. 15. So, Thorne will return to The Plains in 2024 for his final year. But first, he’ll finish out his 2023 campaign in Saturday’s TransPerfect Music City Bowl, where he and the Tigers will see the Maryland Terrapins, who fall in the category of being without their starting quarterback for the postseason. After being Maryland’s starting quarterback for four seasons, it was announced on Dec. 19 that Tualia Tagovailoa would be opting out of the Music City Bowl to instead focus on preparing for the 2024 NFL Draft. In Maryland’s regular season finale against Rutgers on Nov. 25, Tagovailoa, who is the younger brother of current Miami Dolphins and former Alabama quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, broke the Big 10′s record for career passing yards as he polished off his career with 11,356 passing yards. “Like any position, it’s next man up,” said Maryland head coach Mike Locksley. But who is the next man up for Maryland? Throughout the regular season, redshirt sophomore Billy Edwards Jr. and redshirt freshman Cameron Edge were the two behind Tagovailoa at the quarterback spot. Together, the two combined for just 13 passing attempts throughout the 2023 season, meaning the film on either quarterback is few and far between. “Obviously it’s difficult when guys don’t have a lot of game film to kind of game plan for them, but we’ve got a good enough staff to find some tendencies with their offensive coordinator, different people to make sure the game plan’s right,” said Auburn Jack linebacker Elijah McAllister. Reading between the lines of some of Locksley’s comments leading up to the bowl game, it sounds like the Terrapins will go with Edwards out the gate, making for just the third start of his college career. “I’m excited to see what Billy’s able to do,” Locksley said. “You kind of look at this game almost like a preseason game leading into next year. It gives us an opportunity to evaluate our quarterback situation going into the next year. But we’ve got a lot of faith in Billy, we’ve got a lot of faith in Cam, that both those guys have the ability and skill set to operate our system.” In 2022, Edwards went 28-for-46 through the air, good for 308 passing yards and three touchdowns. Measuring 6-foot-4 and 220 pounds, Edwards has been used as more as a short-yardage rush threat this season as he’s tallied 14 yards on 13 carries with six rushing touchdowns. “Their backup had taken some good snaps and done well with that,” Freeze said of Edwards Wednesday. “I’m sure that he’s had all of the practices leading up to this. He’s got some really good receivers and running backs around him.” Maryland wide receiver Jeshaun Jones leads the way for the Terrapins’ pass catchers with 741 yards and four touchdowns. Meanwhile, Tai Felton has tallied 723 receiving yards, but is a bit more efficient with six touchdowns on the year. In the backfield, it’s running back Roman Hemby who leads the way for the Terps with 687 rushing yards, an average of 4.9 yards per carry and scored four touchdowns through the course of the regular season. While that trio is talented, no doubt, their combined 14 touchdowns is less than half of what Tagovailoa was responsible for throughout the offseason as he tallied 25 passing touchdowns and five rushing touchdowns. And knowing how much production the Terrapins will be without in the absence of Tagovailoa, it leaves the Tigers feeling awfully grateful for the return of their starting quarterback. “We’re confident in Payton. He’s confident in us,” said Auburn tight end Luke Deal. “It definitely is a huge advantage.” If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. 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al.com Maryland observations: What are the Terps doing at QB without Taulia Tagovailoa? Published: Dec. 28, 2023, 2:28 p.m. 3–4 minutes Penn State defensive end Jake Wilson pressures Maryland quarterback Billy Edwards during the fourth quarter on Nov. 12, 2022. Joe Hermitt | jhermitt@pennlive.com Maryland will be getting an immediate look at its future under center in the Music City Bowl at 1 p.m. this Saturday in Nashville, Tennessee without entrenched starter Taulia Tagovailoa. After transferring from Alabama to Maryland following the 2019 season, Tagovailoa spent four years — including three full seasons as a starter — becoming the all-time leading passer in Big Ten history. But with his eyes set on the upcoming 2024 NFL Draft, Tagovailoa opted not to play in the Music City Bowl. So during a period of Maryland practice open to reporters Thursday at The Ensworth School in Nashville, the Terps showed the beginnings of an upcoming quarterback competition. At least concerning the short term, Maryland appears likely to start redshirt sophomore Billy Edwards Jr. At Thursday’s practice, Edwards was the first quarterback in the rotation during drills. Edwards transferred to Maryland after not playing in 2021 at Wake Forest. Across 14 total appearances in the 2022 and 2023 seasons with the Terps, Edwards completed 32 of 56 pass attempts for 315 yards. The second quarterback in the rotation was redshirt freshman Cameron Edge. Edge throws a crisp ball, he showed in practice, though he has hardly seen the field over his first two years of college football. Edge has only played in one game and has only attempted three passes. He is likely to see the most playing time of his college career against Auburn this weekend as Maryland looks to see what it has in two of its contenders to win the starting quarterback job next season. The other factor in Maryland’s quarterback mix is MJ Morris, who transferred to Maryland from N.C. State earlier in December. Morris is with the Terps in Nashville and was practicing as a part of the quarterback group, but he is not eligible to play in the bowl game. Morris has by far the most college experience of any passer on the Terps’ roster, with 1,367 passing yards over nine games in two seasons. Brennan Armstong was N.C. State’s primary starter this season and Devin Leary was the primary starter in 2022. Morris though earned several spot starts. Seven of the nine games he played at NC State were starts. Maryland won’t get to see him in action against an opponent though until next season. Matt Cohen covers Auburn sports for AL.com. You can follow him on X at @Matt_Cohen_ or email him at mcohen@al.com If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.

i always liked rhett.............

Auburn adds former Cal QB Sam Jackson V from transfer portal Taylor Jones Thu, December 28, 2023 at 6:00 AM CST·1 min read In a surprising move, Auburn has added a former Pac-12 quarterback to its transfer portal haul… as a wide receiver. Sam Jackson V, who played 5 games as a quarterback at Cal last season, is set to transfer to Auburn to begin his transition to wide receiver. Jackson originally signed with TCU and was a three-star quarterback according to 247Sports from the 2021 recruiting cycle. He was the No. 32 quarterback of the cycle and was the No. 7 overall recruit from the state of Illinois. He was once a high school teammate of Auburn quarterback Payton Thorne at Naperville Central High School. Before transitioning to quarterback, Jackson was a wide receiver for Thorne. As a quarterback, Jackson passed for 681 yards and five touchdowns between his stops at Cal and TCU. This season at Cal, he completed 51-of-96 passes for 556 yards and five touchdowns while splitting snaps with Fernando Mendoza and Ben Jackson. He was the Golden Bears’ highest-graded quarterback with a 71.2 according to Pro Football Focus. Jackson joins Robert Lewis as transfer receivers that have signed with Auburn since the transfer portal window opened earlier this month. He has two seasons of eligibility remaining. Contact/Follow us @TheAuburnWire on X (Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Auburn news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow Taylor on Twitter @TaylorJones__ Story originally appeared on Auburn Wire

good morning my fellow aubiens! i hope everyone has an outstanding day!

al.com Broncos pulling Russell Wilson for Jarrett Stidham at QB Updated: Dec. 27, 2023, 12:14 p.m.|Published: Dec. 27, 2023, 12:03 p.m. 6–7 minutes For the second straight NFL season, quarterback Jarrett Stidham is moving into the starting lineup with two games left on the schedule. Last year, it was with the Las Vegas Raiders. This year, Stidham is going into the lineup for the Denver Broncos. On Wednesday, NFL Network and ESPN reported Denver coach Sean Payton had told his players that Stidham would replace Russell Wilson in the lineup when the Broncos play the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday afternoon. Willie Anderson reaches the doorstep of the Pro Football Hall of Fame Look what Tua Tagovailoa gave his backups for Christmas Amari Cooper wins NFL award for record-breaking game After losing its first three games of the 2023 season, Denver got its record to 6-5. But the Broncos have lost three of their past four games, including a 26-23 setback on Sunday night, when the New England Patriots earned their fourth victory of the season. “So many times, when we look at some of that stuff, it’s self-inflicted problems,” Payton said after the game. “That has to get cleaned up. That’s communication. That might be having to reduce -- is there too much in? Right now, we’re average to below average in a lot of things offensively, and it’s not good enough.” A nine-team Pro Bowler, Wilson has completed 297-of-447 passes for 3,070 yards with 26 touchdowns and eight interceptions and run for 341 yards and three touchdowns on 80 carries in 2023. Among the NFL’s 32 teams, the Denver offense ranks 16th in points and 25th in yards. A former Auburn standout, Stidham has taken four snaps for the Broncos this season. In 2022, Stidham started the final two games of the season for the Raiders. Stidham completed 53-of-83 passes for 656 yards with four touchdowns and three interceptions and ran for 84 yards on 14 carries against two of the NFL’s best teams as the Raiders lost 37-34 to the San Francisco 49ers on Jan. 1 and 31-13 to the Kansas City Chiefs on Jan. 7. Stidham became the second player in NFL history with at least 350 passing yards and three touchdown passes in his first start. Stidham took over for Derek Carr, who was sent home for the last two weeks of his ninth season with the Raiders. With a 6-9 record, Las Vegas was trying to keep Carr healthy. With Carr’s 2023 salary of $32.9 million plus $7.5 million of his 2024 salary set to become guaranteed in the offseason, the Raiders needed the quarterback to remain healthy to retain their option to cut him, which they did. But Las Vegas did not re-sign Stidham in the offseason, turning to Jimmy Garoppolo instead. Stidham joined the Broncos in free agency for a two-year, $10 million contract. “There were a couple of directions at that position,” Payton said after Stidham joined the team. “There were a handful of No. 2s that either I had worked with or we felt comfortable with. But in this case, I think it’s a No. 2 that his arrow is moving in a direction where we feel like he can become an NFL starter in our league, so the evaluation was pretty crystal clear for all of us. … “I think there’s upside in this player. I think there’s certain players that we saw in free agency, you know they’re a 2. Can they come in and play and start? Yes. I think you get that with Jarrett. But I also think you get a player who’s still ascending. If you watch the 49er game, that’s impressive against a good defense. And so he was a priority for us, like, quietly, and fortunately it worked out where we were able to get him.” Wilson’s salary of $37 million for the 2025 season becomes guaranteed if he’s still on the Broncos’ roster after the NFL’s 2024 fiscal year starts in March. It’s already guaranteed against injury. “I’m just worried about next week and playing great football,” Wilson said when asked about his future in Denver after Sunday night’s loss. “I came here to win and win a championship for us and to find a way to do that. I obviously love being here with these guys, these teammates. I’m excited to keep playing ball and playing hard for us.” After two seasons at Auburn, Stidham joined the New England Patriots in the fourth round of the 2019 NFL Draft. In his first NFL preseason, Stidham completed 61-of-90 passes for 731 yards with four touchdowns and one interception as he led the AFC in passing yards and beat out veteran Brian Hoyer to serve as Tom Brady’s backup during the three-time NFL MVP’s final season with New England. Stidham played in three NFL regular-season games in 2019 and five in 2020, when he backed up Cam Newton. But in 2021, Stidham never got in a game after sustaining an offseason injury as New England went with rookie Mac Jones as its starting quarterback and Hoyer as the backup. Stidham had surgery on July 28, 2021, because of a back injury and spent the first nine weeks of the season on the reserve/physically-unable-to-perform list. Stidham joined the Raiders in May 2022, when Las Vegas sent a sixth-round choice in the 2023 NFL Draft to the New England Patriots for the quarterback and a seventh-round pick. The trade reunited Stidham with Las Vegas coach Josh McDaniels, his offensive coordinator for three seasons with the Patriots. In 14 NFL regular-season games, Stidham has completed 77-of-131 passes for 926 yards with six touchdowns and seven interceptions and run for 89 yards on 14 carries. FOR MORE OF AL.COM’S COVERAGE OF THE NFL, GO TO OUR NFL PAGE Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.

al.com Auburn Music City Bowl forecast: Dry but chilly Published: Dec. 27, 2023, 1:02 p.m. 2–3 minutes Auburn is scheduled to take on Maryland on Saturday, Dec. 30, at 1 p.m. in Nashville in the Music City Bowl. Nashville could see a few snowflakes on Friday, but conditions are expected to improve by Saturday, with no precipitation expected. Above is the forecast for noon on Saturday.National Weather Service Auburn is gearing up to take the field this weekend in the Music City Bowl, but will the weather work in the Tigers’ (and fans’) favor? Auburn is scheduled to face Maryland on Saturday, Dec. 30, at 1 p.m. CST in the Music City Bowl at Nissan Stadium in Nashville. Auburn is the favorite to win the game. What is not exactly favorable is the weather forecast, which will be on the chilly side. The National Weather Service in Nashville is forecasting the temperature to be around 46 degrees at 1 p.m. CST for kickoff. Temperatures are forecast to peak at 48 degrees by 3 p.m. and fall to 46 degrees again by 4 p.m., when things could be winding down. The weather service is forecasting wind chills to be in the low 40s to upper 30s. Winds should be just under 10 mph for the duration of the game. The good news is that there is no precipitation of any kind expected during the game. The same can’t be said for Friday, when the Nashville area could see a few snowflakes. The weather service expects rain chances to decrease starting early Saturday morning and be next to nothing (5 percent) by game time. Skies are forecast to be partly cloudy on Saturday afternoon in the Nashville area. Here is the sky cover forecast for noon on Saturday: Nashville is expected to have partly cloudy skies on Saturday afternoon. Above is the sky cover forecast for noon Saturday.NWS Overnight lows are forecast to dip into the low 30s by Sunday morning. If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.

al.com Auburn DT Justin Rogers to play in East-West Shrine Bowl, still practicing with team Published: Dec. 27, 2023, 3:33 p.m. 3–4 minutes Vanderbilt quarterback Ken Seals (8) and Auburn defensive lineman Justin Rogers (52) dive for a loose ball in the second half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Nov. 4, 2023, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)AP Auburn defensive tackle Justin Rogers accepted an invitation to play in the East-West Shrine Bowl, according to a post from the Bowl’s account on X, formerly known as Twitter. The East-West Shrine Bowl will be played this year on Feb. 1, 2024, in Frisco, Texas. It is an all-star showcase of college players pursuing NFL futures and generally is a path to the NFL Draft. Though while Rogers is accepting an invitation, he is not required to enter the NFL Draft and it is not completely clear if he intends to leave school. Rogers has one more year of eligibility remaining. Regardless of his future prospects, he does appear on track to play in the Music City Bowl with kickoff set for 1 p.m. Saturday in Nashville. Rogers was seen practicing Wednesday with Auburn during its on-site practice at Vanderbilt’s football facility. Rogers played fellow defensive tackle Marcus Harris’ spot. Harris has already announced he plans to enter the 2024 NFL Draft and will opt out of the Music City Bowl. Before Wednesday’s news of Rogers’ potential to leave school after this season, he appeared the obvious candidate to take Harris’ spot on the defensive front. He had already started multiple games for Auburn this season. Should Auburn lose Harris and Rogers after this season, it will be left with a young and inexperienced defensive line. Auburn brought in defensive lineman Gage Keys as a transfer from Kansas and will get back starter Jayson Jones. Outside of those players, Auburn’s defensive line is expecting to bring in four freshmen and effectively five with DJ Reed who redshirted this season. Reed has been mentioned by both head coach Hugh Freeze and various Auburn players as a young face on the roster who has looked good in bowl practices. He and the crop of new defensive linemen could be looked at as a group Auburn will need early contributions from, given its roster construction for next season. Matt Cohen covers Auburn sports for AL.com. You can follow him on X at @Matt_Cohen_ or email him at mcohen@al.com If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.

al.com Observations from Auburn’s Nashville practice ahead of the Music City Bowl Updated: Dec. 27, 2023, 6:06 p.m.|Published: Dec. 27, 2023, 3:50 p.m. 4–5 minutes Hugh Freeze speaks to media as Auburn holds 1st Nashville practice for Music City Bowl vs. Maryland Auburn held an open viewing period for reporters Wednesday at its first practice in Nashville ahead of the Music City Bowl. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. Saturday at Nissan Stadium, home of the NFL’s Tennessee Titans. Auburn is using Vanderbilt’s football practice facility — which is not currently obstructed by any of the ongoing construction next door at the football stadium. It was a largely light practice. Head coach Hugh Freeze has previously said he didn’t want to overwork his team in advance of the bowl game and wanted the trip to Nashville to be more fun than grueling. He said he’s had his most success in previous bowl games when he had lighter practice schedules. Freeze is 6-2 in bowl games as a head coach. Here are a few notes from Auburn’s practice. Auburn also held an open viewing window on campus last Wednesday. This session at Vanderbilt was the second of two open periods ahead of the Music City Bowl. - QB Payton Thorne is practicing and appears good to go. He missed all but one practice, according to Freeze, before Auburn’s team broke for Christmas because he had flu-like symptoms. Freeze said he believes there is a “run of sickness” running through the whole Auburn team ahead of the bowl game. - C Avery Jones did not participate in practice. He was present but wearing sweats off the side of the other offensive lineman. - Most of the remaining offensive line as the same as it has been for weeks. Connor Lew is still the center, a job that by this point he has appeared to earn for good. Jeremiah Wright and Kam Stutts rotated at the right guard spot while Gunner Britton played left guard. Izavion Miller was the right tackle and Dillon Wade was the left tackle. - A growing group of signees in Auburn’s 2024 class are participating with the team. None of these players are allowed to play in the bowl game, but getting extra practices with Auburn and traveling with the team to its bowl game is a valuable experience. At this point, the group of signees practicing includes DT Malik Blocton, LBs Demarcus Riddick, Joe Phillips and DJ Barber, WR Bryce Cain and S Kaleb Harris - Speaking of Blocton, his older brother and Auburn star defensive tackle Marcus Harris was present at practice despite opting out of the game. He was helping and supporting the remaining defensive lineman while in street clothes. Among those defensive linemen practicing was Justin Rogers, who accepted an invitation to the East-West Shrine Bowl. Rogers does not appear to be opting out and because he is not required to enter the NFL Draft after the Shrine Bowl, could still return to Auburn next season. - Jaylin Simpson and Zion Pucket are both off the NFL and practicing with Auburn too. Or at least minimally. They were there and in pads. They didn’t do many drills. Same could be said for another Auburn veteran in Elijah McAllister. It appeared to get younger players some experience. - So, who is getting the benefit of Auburn resting some of its starters? Sophomore Caleb Wooden and freshman Terrance Love both played together at safety when Simpson and Puckett were off to the side. Both have received a lot of praise throughout bowl practices. - Auburn doesn’t have many wide receivers available for the game — Jay Fair, Nick Mardner, Shane Hooks, Koy Moore, Caleb Burton and Camden Brown were all present at practice — but it appears generally healthy. It is helpful to have Cain joining in with practice to balance out some reps. Matt Cohen covers Auburn sports for AL.com. You can follow him on X at @Matt_Cohen_ or email him at mcohen@al.com If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.

247sports.com Back in Nashville can Auburn reverse its recent bowl woes Nathan King 3–4 minutes Nashville is the last place anyone wearing orange and blue saw a bowl win. As the Tigers return to the Music City Bowl as touchdown favorites over Maryland, most of the team — non-transfers, at least — is looking for its first-ever bowl victory in an Auburn uniform. Aside from offensive linemen Kam Stutts and Jalil Irvin — both of whom were part of the 2018 class and are sixth-year seniors with the program — there haven’t been any bowl wins to speak of. “I feel like Coach Freeze and his staff have everything moving in the right direction, and I definitely have a lot of faith in them,” Stutts said. “So ending my career with a W and continuing that path would mean a lot.” Auburn is 0-3 in bowl games since its last trip to Nissan Stadium, when it plastered Purdue 63-14. That win set a number of bowl records that stood until Georgia eviscerated TCU in last year’s national championship game. But Auburn may have used up too much of its postseason magic that chilly afternoon. In 2019, Auburn fell just short of 10 wins by losing to Minnesota in the Outback Bowl. A shorthanded Tigers team without its head coach lost to Northwestern in the Citrus Bowl in 2020. And Bryan Harsin’s only trip to a bowl game as Auburn’s coach ended in a loss, after Houston scored a go-ahead touchdown with 3:27 remaining. Gus Malzahn went 2-6 in bowl games, including an 0-5 record against ranked teams. So even fifth-year seniors like Zion Puckett, who will be playing his last game at Auburn along with his starting mate at safety, Jaylin Simpson, haven’t been part of a bowl win. “It means a lot because this is both of our last game,” Puckett said. “And I think the right way is just to finish out strong for Auburn and the family here. I think that’s going to mean a lot to both of us.” If Auburn is defeated by Maryland on Saturday, it will mark four straight bowl losses for the first time in program history. Auburn’s bevy of transfer players on this year’s roster combine for much more bowl victories in their careers. And they know it can be a real momentum-booster to end a season on a high note — and especially if they can do so in convincing fashion. “It kind of gives you momentum going into the next year, especially if you can dominate it,” offensive guard Gunner Britton said. “For us to be able to win it would be huge. It’s always nice finishing above .500, 7-6 instead of 6-7.” Those transfers — like pass-rusher Elijah McAllister, who never saw a bowl win at Vanderbilt, either — won’t be around for the fruits of Freeze’s improvements of the program moving forward. But they know they have one last chance to add to a brief but impactful stint on the plains. “I think bowl game aside, I think I definitely have and we definitely have,” McAllister said of whether he thinks the program improved this season. “But the bowl game win will solidify that and make us feel a little bit better about ourselves going into next season.” Auburn reported to Nashville on Tuesday and will begin on-site bowl practices Wednesday afternoon. *** 60% OFF CHRISTMAS SALE: Subscribe to Auburn Undercover for the latest news and intel, podcasts, recruiting coverage and more *** *** Get Auburn news straight to your inbox with the Auburn Undercover newsletter ***

wrbl.com Former Tiger linebacker optimistic about Auburn’s future Rex Castillo ~3 minutes by: Rex Castillo Posted: Dec 27, 2023 / 09:20 AM EST Updated: Dec 27, 2023 / 09:20 AM EST Auburn, Al. – Hugh Freeze’s first regular season on The Plains is in the books. The season could be described as a transitional year for the Tigers. Auburn finished the regular season with a 6-6 overall record, but the expectations are still high for the Tigers. Former players like linebacker Antarrious Williams-Neal say the future is bright for Freeze’s team. “You know I think I’m really excited about what Hugh is doing. I wish we had more wins this year. I mean we had 3 or 4 really close games I wish we could have won, versus Alabama and versus Georgia. We really were in those games and would have liked to have won those games. All in all I think we’re definitely heading in the right direction,” said Williams-Neal. At the end of the early signing period, Auburn brings in a top 10 recruiting class in the country. With that kind of talent heading to Freeze’s roster, Williams-Neal believes the bright future for the Tigers won’t be too far away. “I think you better ready for Auburn now. I think we’re going to see a much better team and much improved team. As soon as we get the quarterback room tightened up and the way that Hugh Freeze wants it to be. We’ve got receivers coming in. If we can do that I can believe fans are going to be excited about what happens next year,” said Williams-Neal. Currently the Tigers are gearing up for the first bowl game under head coach Freeze. While it’s not in the College Football Playoff, Williams-Neal wants his Tigers to embrace the opportunity to play in the Music City Bowl against Maryland. “It’s a reward for your hard work throughout the season. You get to kick back and relax and enjoy a new city. I’ve been to the Music City Bowl a couple of times and I was there in Auburn. We love going to Nashville it’s a great city to be a part of,” said Williams-Neal. And moving forward Williams-Neal wants to remind everyone, do not sleep on Auburn. “You can already tell by what we’re doing from a recruiting stand point. With the NIL and the transfer portal we’ll be exactly where we need to be quicker than what people think,” said Williams-Neal. The Auburn Tigers square off against the Maryland Terrapins in the Music City Bowl on December 30th.

saturdaydownsouth.com Payton Thorne speaks to balancing bowl game with 2024 preparations Kevin L. Smith | 13 hours ago 2–3 minutes Auburn is currently preparing to face Maryland in the Music City Bowl this weekend. As the Tigers gear up for a showdown against the Terrapins, the anticipation of the 2024 season seeps in. For junior quarterback Payton Thorne, prep work for a bowl game and looking ahead to 2024 has been “hard to balance.” “You have that time off, and obviously with the portal opening up and the high school guys having signing day and recruiting, us players are trying to do our part,” Thorne said in an interview on Wednesday. Thorne is looking forward to what the 2024 campaign has to offer, but knows the Tigers have to finish up 2023 first. “It’s weird because you’re looking so much into next season and talking about next season,” Thorne said. “We still have to finish off this season, so we can focus back up here at practice and be ready to go on Saturday.” During the regular season, Thorne had 1,671 passing yards, 15 touchdowns and 9 interceptions. On the ground, the junior ran for 520 yards and three scores on 125 carries. Auburn (6-6) had a roller coaster regular season. After a 3-0 start, the Tigers lost 4 straight then won 3 in a row. Auburn’s regular season was capped with a heartbreaking 27-24 loss to Iron Bowl rival Alabama. The Tigers will take on Maryland in the Music City Bowl on Saturday at 2 p.m. ET on ABC.