AUBURN, Ala. – Nashville better be ready. The Tigers are coming.
On Sunday, the SEC announced that Auburn (7-5) will play in the Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl against a Purdue team that finished 6-6 in the regular season. The game is scheduled for Friday, Dec. 28 and will kick off at 12:30 p.m. CT from Nissan Stadium, home of the Tennessee Titans. It will be televised on ESPN.
"We are excited to be heading to the Music City Bowl and making our sixth-consecutive postseason appearance," Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn said. "Nashville is a great city, and we will be facing a very talented and well-coached Purdue team. We look forward to enjoying the bowl experience while working to send our seniors out with a victory."
"Our student-athletes have worked extremely hard and this opportunity is a reward for their efforts throughout the year and the season," added Auburn Director of Athletics Allen Greene. "Nashville is a great city, has a large Auburn alumni base and is geographically in a great location for our fans. We look forward to a large crowd of orange and blue at Nissan Stadium to cheer on our team against a very good Purdue program."
This will be the first-ever meeting between the Tigers and the Boilermakers on the gridiron.
Auburn has played in the Music City Bowl once before in 2003 when it beat Wisconsin, 28-14, behind the efforts of Ronnie Brown and Carnell "Cadillac" Williams. The dynamic duo rushed for two touchdowns apiece, including one each in the fourth quarter to clinch the victory. As a team, the Tigers ran for 197 yards.
This marks the 42nd bowl game in program history, and it's the sixth-straight bowl appearance for Malzahn in his six years as head coach on the Plains.
Join the Auburn Family in Nashville at the 2018 Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl on Friday, Dec. 28 at 12:30 pm CT. Tickets are on-sale now.
Greg Ostendorf is a Senior Writer for AuburnTigers.com. Follow him on Twitter: @greg_ostendorf