First Bowl Practice

Auburn players arrive Wednesday for their first Peach Bowl practice. Coach Gus Malzahn said the Tigers are eager to play Central Florida on Monday. [TODD VAN EMST/AUBURN ATHLETICS]

Todd Van Emst/AU Athletics

ATLANTA — When Auburn arrived in New Orleans for the Sugar Bowl at this time last year, there was a jazz band there to greet the team as it got off the bus and checked into its hotel.

There was no such celebration when Auburn arrived in Atlanta for the Peach Bowl this week. Players reported Tuesday and began practicing Wednesday with little fanfare.

That, Gus Malzahn said, was by design.

“Our mindset is probably more of a business trip than it has been in the past with the bowl,” the head coach said. Our leaders, our seniors, that is what they want and what they expect so that is a good thing from a coaches’ standpoint.”

Say what you want about the game — that the Peach Bowl is the New Year’s Day appetizer for the two College Football Playoff semifinals that will be played that evening — or the opponent — UCF, while undefeated, is a Group of 5 team out of the AAC. Malzahn believes this is an important game for Auburn.

It gives the 10-3 Tigers a chance to claim an 11th win this season, something that has only been done six times in program history. It also gives the Tigers a third chance in its last five games to knock off a previously undefeated team after handing Georgia and Alabama their first losses of the season in November.

“There have been some real special moments,” Malzahn said, “and a victory would cap that off that this team will be remembered for a long time to come.”

There is also the belief that a win Monday could help Auburn carry momentum into 2018. The Tigers enter the Peach Bowl at No. 7 in both major polls, and a win over No. 12 UCF would put them in a position to open next season as a top-five team given all they could have coming back.

“I think it is all of the above. This team gets it,” Malzahn said. “We have been talking about our program is set up for long-term success. There are opportunities you have to accelerate that and I think our leaders get that — not just for this year, but for next year as far as a team that is taking the next step that gets the bigger picture of the future of the program.”

There will be some time left for fun. Auburn took a team trip to Andretti Indoor Karting & Games on Wednesday night. Malzahn said he wouldn’t be on the track with his players — “I’ll go-kart when I get home or something,” he joked — but would spend some time in the team’s game room.

But Auburn just got off Christmas break. Malzahn visited his parents in Fort Smith, Arkansas, and spent time with both of his daughters. He said all of his players got home and back to Atlanta safe.

Now, he said, the Tigers are “ready to get this going.”

“Our guys are locked in,” Malzahn said. “We are here with our game face on, and we should be playing the opponent we are. We know we are going to get their best. I know they are here to win, too.”