Auburn is heading to The Magic City. The Tigers accepted a bid on Sunday to play Houston in the Birmingham Bowl from Protective Stadium on Dec. 28, 2021.
This is the ninth consecutive season that Auburn has gone to a bowl game and will be the second appearance in the Birmingham Bowl in program history. The Tigers previously defeated Memphis 31-10 in the 2015 Birmingham Bowl.
“Auburn football has a long history of playing in Birmingham, and now we have a chance to continue that against a nationally ranked Houston team that has won 11 games this year," Harsin said.
Auburn, which finished at 6-6 on the season, will take on Houston, which finished with an 11-2 record. The Cougars lost to No. 4 Cincinnati in the American Championship on Saturday 35-20.
"Our mindset is to end the season with a win as we build momentum for 2022, while allowing our guys to enjoy a great bowl experience,” Harsin said. “This game is an opportunity for a number of our players to play close to home and many of our fans to easily attend after Christmas. We want the Auburn Family to turn the new Protective Stadium in Birmingham orange and blue, creating a home field advantage on game day.”
Bryan Harsin has now led his teams to a bowl game in each of his nine seasons as a head coach, excluding the 2020 season where Boise State only played seven games.
In his lone season as head coach at Arkansas State in 2013, the Red Wolves played in the GoDaddy Bowl against Ball State. Harsin did not coach in that game, as he had already accepted the same position at his alma mater, Boise State.
While at Boise State, Harsin led the Broncos to a bowl berth in each of his seven seasons except for 2020. It should be noted that the 2018 First Responders Bowl, where Boise State was set to face Boston College, was cancelled.
Overall, Harsin has posted a 3-2 record in five bowl games he's coached.
This will mark the seventh time that the two schools will play each other. The Tigers lead the series 5-1 and won the most recent matchup 7-0 in 1973.
Auburn will take on Houston from Protective Stadium in Birmingham at 11 a.m. CST on Dec. 28, 2021. The game will be broadcast on ESPN.
“We look forward to competing in the TicketSmarter Birmingham Bowl and the opportunity to send our seniors off on a positive note as we build for the future,” Auburn Director of Athletics Allen Greene said. “We invite the Auburn Family to support the Tigers December 28 in the first postseason game at state-of-the-art Protective Stadium.”
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Originally from Helena, Ala., Caleb Jones is a senior studying journalism at Auburn University. He has been on staff with The Plainsman since 2019.
You can follow him here on Twitter: @calebjsports
