Houston defeats Auburn in Birmingham Bowl

The Auburn Tigers saw their second come to an end on a sour note Tuesday, losing 17-13 to Houston in the Birmingham Bowl.

Auburn never led until late in the game, as the Tigers appeared to be checked out and ready for 2022

Auburn quarterback TJ Finley completed 19 of 37 passes for 227 yards and a touchdown, as the bulk of the passes went to Tank Bigsby, John Samuel Shenker, and Kobe Hudson, as the three combined for 14 receptions and 179 yards.

The Tigers fell behind 10-0 before a field goal late in the first half took them into the locker room with a 10-3 lead.

Auburn started the second half with a field goal to move to 10-6, and then followed with their lone touchdown drive, where Finley found Hudson in the end zone but put Auburn on top. The lead wouldn’t last, though, as Houston would drive down the field and end with Clayton Tune finding Jake Herslow for the game winning score with 3:27 to go. Nathaniel Dell had 10 receptions for 150 yards for the Cougars, as Auburn had no answer for him.

With the first season of Bryan Harsin in the books, Auburn is in for an interesting 2022. Bo Nix has transferred to Oregon and Tank Bigsby has already flirted with the transfer portal. IF he also leaves, the Tigers could be in for some trouble next season.