2018 Franklin American Mortgage Music City Bowl Preview

Bowl Info:

• Game will be held at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee
• Game will start at 1:30 PM ET on 12/28
• Purdue is 10-8 in their bowl games
• Auburn is 23-16-2 in their bowl games
• This is the first meeting between the two teams

Offensive Players to Watch:

Purdue: If you want to talk about instant-impact freshman, then look no further than Rondale Moore. Moore has served as the leading receiver for the Boilermakers this season and has went above and beyond in play. His season has consisted of 1,164 receiving yards, along with 12 receiving touchdowns. It has become obvious on how much Purdue likes to use this young man’s talent and I think we’ll see a lot of that today in big plays. Watch out for Rondale Moore to have another breakout game.

Auburn: When you’re going to play a Purdue team with a weak secondary, you let your QB have some fun. For Auburn, this would all be in Jarrett Stidham. For majority of this season we have seen Stidham perform at mediocre level compared to others. However, don’t take away from his ability to play competitive football on the big stage. Stidham has thrown for a compilation of 2,421 passing yards and 13 passing touchdowns. I think we will see Auburn take some big chance plays downfield and try to expose this Boilermaker secondary.

Defensive Players to Watch:

Purdue: The Boilermakers are sure to lean towards senior CB Antonio Blackmon to do a big deal. Blackmon has been a productive player on the team for 3 seasons now and has proved himself a leader. His tackling ability in space also shows how viable his skills are to this defense. On the season, Blackmon has tossed together 62 total tackles and 1.5 tackles-for-loss. Watch for Blackmon to play a bigger role, especially with the heavy pass attack to come.

Auburn: Deshaun Davis is an offensive nightmare for teams the Tigers have played this year. Davis shows an absolute pro-like ability to blitz the line perfectly and produce behind-the-line tackles. Davis has collected 103 total tackles, 14.0 tackles-for-loss, and 2.5 sacks among his senior season. I think we see Purdue try some inside runs/passes that get blown up by Davis’s heightened ability to play that inside area. Watch out for the Tigers to get Purdue to go deep with a heavy linebacker presence.

The Basics

Purdue has an incredible offense that has done tremendous things in the Big Ten. However, if we are being fully honest, it has been a down year for the Big Ten’s defense as a whole. This is where Auburn will feel safe, in a low scoring affair. Watch for Auburn’s defense to dominate the game and get the win.

Score Prediction

27-13 Auburn

Photo Credits: https://www1.ticketmaster.com/franklin-american-mortgage-music-city-bowl-nashville-tennessee-12-28-2018/event/1B00550AECD1B397