Auburn-Cal considered to be a ‘must see’ nonconference game

Auburn will travel to the west coast to compete in one of the nation’s most unique nonconference matchups.

Due to the current state of the Pac-12, Cal is more than likely not thinking about their date with the Auburn Tigers in September.

However, ESPN is.

ESPN recently dropped their superlatives ahead of the 2023 season and has included Auburn’s game with Cal on Sept. 9 in Berkeley, California as part of the “Must-see nonconference games” section.

The Tigers will experience their first (and most likely last) dose of “Pac-12 after dark” as the game will kick off at 9:30 p.m. CT on ESPN. That is one of the few headlines surrounding this game. ESPN has dubbed the game a “clash of cultures” due to the differences in conferences and lifestyle.

The culture shock game of the year has to be Auburn traveling to Cal on Sept. 9, the first meeting ever between the teams. At Auburn, they’ve been known to roll trees with toilet paper after big wins. At Cal, they’ve been known to strip naked and climb trees to save them. It’s a 2,438-mile trip for the Tigers and only Auburn’s third regular-season game ever on the West Coast. The Bears are 9-1 at home in nonconference games under Justin Wilcox. The hardwoods will be watching.

Auburn has played 13 games against current Pac-12 teams and owns a 10-3 record. The last time Auburn defeated a Pac-12 foe was in 2019, when the Tigers knocked off Oregon at the Cowboys Kickoff Classic, 27-21.

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