The 2022 season hasn’t even started, but it’s never too early for bowl predictions.
In 247Sports’ latest bowl predictions ahead of spring camp, Auburn is slated to go to the Gasparilla Bowl to play the Virginia Cavaliers in Tampa Bay. Auburn made and lost the Birmingham Bowl to Houston in 2021 and Virginia was set to play SMU in the Fenway Bowl before the game was canceled due to COVID-19.
Despite picking Auburn for the bowl, the list didn’t seem too confident in Auburn or Virginia’s ability to ensure its bowl eligibility.
“Will either of these teams get to six wins this season? That’s tough to answer at this point. Auburn is a bit of an unknown heading into Bryan Harsin’s second season after the 2021 campaign ended in a losing streak and was followed by a tumultuous multi-month period of uncertainty. Virginia and first-year coach Tony Elliott are led by quarterback Brennan Armstrong, who is one of the nation’s most underrated players.”
Auburn finished last year with a 6-7 record in its first year under [autotag]Bryan Harsin[/autotag], losing to the No. 20 Houston Cougars in the Birmingham Bowl. Following a tumultuous offseason where many believed Harsin could be on his way out, the Tigers retained him for the 2022 season. It would certainly be a disappointment for the Tigers to make a lower-tier bowl like the Gasparilla Bowl following last season.
Virginia, meanwhile, suffered a similar season, only winning six games. The bowl they were looking to play in was canceled, however, so the Cavaliers will hope to bounce back after finishing the season ranked and making a New Year’s Six bowl just two years ago.
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