Houston beat Auburn to win the TicketSmarter Birmingham Bowl. Five thoughts and analysis of the game, and what it all means.
[mm-video type=playlist id=01f1343a1wt7q817p7 player_id=none image=https://collegefootballnews.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]
– Contact/Follow @ColFootballNews & @PeteFiutak
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