The Auburn Tigers regained life last Saturday by defeating SEC-foe Missouri, 17-14 in overtime. The victory moved Auburn to 3-1, with a 1-0 record in SEC play.
The win was important, as it pushed Auburn one game closer to receiving bowl eligibility. With three wins, the Tigers need just three more victories to solidify their place in the postseason.
The Tigers are well on their way to reaching that goal as one ESPN writer predicts, as Auburn has made the list in the latest bowl projections from the worldwide leader.
ESPN’s Mark Schlabach and Kyle Bonagura recently dropped their weekly bowl projections ahead of week five’s matchups. This week, Bonagura believes that Auburn will travel to Tampa to compete in the Gasparilla Bowl at Raymond James Stadium on Dec. 23, and will play Louisville of the ACC.
The Cardinals are currently 2-2 on the season, with losses to fellow ACC programs Syracuse and Florida State, and have wins over South Florida and Central Florida.
Auburn holds a 2-0 advantage over Louisville all time. The last meeting between these two programs took place at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta for the 2015 Chick-Fil-A Kickoff Game. Peyton Barber rushed for 115 yards while Rudy Ford made a team-leading 12 stops in Auburn’s 31-24 win.
Bonagura has stayed true to his Gasparilla Bowl projection for several weeks now. Two weeks ago, he projected the Tigers to meet Duke in the same bowl game. If the projection comes true, this will mark the first time that Auburn will compete in the Gasparilla Bowl.
[mm-video type=video id=01gdty51y1nrb7ss25xe playlist_id=01eqbyzb4ahnasj2m3 player_id=01f5k5y2jb3twsvdg4 image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01gdty51y1nrb7ss25xe/01gdty51y1nrb7ss25xe-cd679e9a8a0dea4fd6528c8713a4ee3e.jpg]
[listicle id=54585]