Houston beat Auburn to win the TicketSmarter Birmingham Bowl. Five thoughts and analysis of the game, and what it all means.
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Houston beat Auburn 17-13: Birmingham Bowl 5 Things That Matter
Prediction: Auburn 26, Houston 20
Line: Auburn -2, o/u: 51
Final Score: Houston 17, Auburn 13
Birmingham Bowl 5 Thoughts
5. The SEC is 0-3 …
4. The Auburn home game
3. Clayton Tune made the throw
2. Houston’s defense stepped up
1. Auburn closed with a thud
5. The SEC is 0-3 …
It might not be by the time you read this – Mississippi State should handle Texas Tech in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl – but this is an awful look so far this bowl season for the conference that’s supposed to be the most dominant in college football.
There’s no excuse.
The SEC gets the best talent, has the top facilities, and it’s bound by absolutely nothing when it comes to resources and attention. That “It Just Means More” tag line is actually true, but Missouri couldn’t come up with one big late stop against Army.
Florida got trucked by UCF, and yeah, the SEC side cared.
In Birmingham, Auburn couldn’t get anything moving, couldn’t take advantage of its opportunities, and couldn’t come up with that one big stop late to get out with a bowl win.
And now the SEC is 0-3 with Texas A&M having to tap out of its bowl. In the grand scheme of things it doesn’t matter – Auburn could come back next year and go 12-1 – but you don’t lose three games to Group of Five programs if you’re the supposed be-all-end-all of super-conferences.
At the same time, give all due credit to the American Athletic Conference for going 2-0 so far against the SEC, especially because that was …
Birmingham Bowl 5 Thoughts
4. The Auburn home game
3. Clayton Tune made the throw
2. Houston’s defense stepped up
1. Auburn closed with a thud
NEXT: The Auburn home game
4. The Auburn home game
At least from the TV side of things, that was fun. There’s an energy when the fans are in the stands for bowl games and everyone is all fired up.
Despite the notion of it being great for the teams and players to go off and do their thing in an exotic location, getting to feed off of the crowd – for both sides – certainly takes the bowl game up another notch.
UCF fans were there for the Gasparilla Bowl win over Florida, but the Gator Nation made a whole lot of noise.
This Birmingham Bowl was all about the Auburn crowd, and Houston fought through it.
It might not have been the result Auburn wanted, but it was a fun game with a close, exciting ending. The better the geography, the more entertaining the bowl games usually are – at least when it comes to the buzz.
Birmingham Bowl 5 Thoughts
5. The SEC is 0-3 …
3. Clayton Tune made the throw
2. Houston’s defense stepped up
1. Auburn closed with a thud
NEXT: Clayton Tune made the throw he had to
3. Clayton Tune made the throw he had to
The Houston junior just made his statement for the 2022 season.
He had a nice year with 3,263 yards and 28 touchdowns with nine picks and two rushing 17-13s, but Auburn was in his face for most of the game. There was only one sack but seven quarterback hurries. Tune took some pops and had some bad throws, but he kept on rolling.
He threw a short touchdown pass after a nice drive in the first quarter, and down 13-10 in the final minutes, he connected with Jake Herslow for the 26-yard game-winner.
Yeah, Tune should’ve been flagged for intentional grounding on the play before, and yeah, Houston should’ve been called for a hold on the touchdown. Neither one was called, Tune hung in there, and he delivered the win in a tough battle.
He completed 26-of-40 passes for 283 yards and two touchdowns with a pick.
Birmingham Bowl 5 Thoughts
5. The SEC is 0-3 …
4. The Auburn home game
2. Houston’s defense stepped up
1. Auburn closed with a thud
NEXT: Houston’s defense did what the Houston defense was supposed to do
2. Houston’s defense did what the Houston defense was supposed to do
Houston came into the game leading the nation in third down stops.
It allowed Auburn to convert just 4-of-13 chances.
Houston’s D was 11th in the nation against the run, fifth in sacks, and sixth in total defense.
Auburn ran for 125 yards, was sacked once, and finished with 352 yards.
But it gave up one touchdown and held firm time and again, and it got the job done against a team that struggled with its offense late in the year but pushed Alabama to the brink.
This was a Cougar team that had its down moments, gave up too many points at odd times, but it was fully focused and locked down in this, and now the program has its first bowl win since Tom Herman took the Cougars to a stunning victory over Florida State in the 2015 Peach Bowl.
And head coach Dana Holgorsen has his first bowl win since taking 2015 West Virginia to the Cactus Bowl title.
This win doesn’t mean Houston is about to take off from here, but it’s going to make the offseason a whole lot more fun. On the other side …
Birmingham Bowl 5 Thoughts
5. The SEC is 0-3 …
4. The Auburn home game
3. Clayton Tune made the throw
1. Auburn closed with a thud
NEXT: Auburn closed with a thud
1. Auburn closed with a thud
There are a slew of reasons and valid excuses for why Auburn had issues over the late part of the season, but a five game losing streak is a five game losing streak.
And it was a losing season under first year head man Bryan Harsin.
The lack of a consistent offense and the inability to come up with that one big defensive play in the clutch both were on display in the loss to Houston, but of course this is all fixable.
The Tigers have their offensive backfield. They have a solid defense coming back, and they have a full season under the belt of the new coaching staff.
It’s why this bowl game mattered.
The close loss to Alabama was fine by normal standards – obviously not to Auburn fans – and a win in a bowl would have been a momentum-changer.
Now the offseason narrative will be about the losing streak, and the offense that stumbled, and the inefficient passing game, and all the things that made some question the hiring of Harsin in the first place.
And it could also serve as fuel for a program that might be one tweak away from rolling in games like these.
Birmingham Bowl 5 Thoughts
5. The SEC is 0-3 …
4. The Auburn home game
3. Clayton Tune made the throw
2. Houston’s defense stepped up
1. Auburn closed with a thud