It’s an Auburn football game week.

Auburn will face Maryland in the Music City Bowl at 1 p.m. on Dec. 30 at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee.

Auburn and Maryland have three all-time matchups, with Auburn leading the series 2-1. All three games have been played in the state of Alabama. Maryland beat Auburn in 1952 in Birmingham. Auburn then beat Maryland in 1958 in Auburn and beat the Terps again in 1983 in Auburn.

The 1983 game featured No. 7 ranked Maryland and quarterback Boomer Esiason against No. 3 ranked Auburn and running back Bo Jackson. Jackson was one of three Auburn players to rush for more than 100 yards in the win.

In 2023, opt-outs are going to have a big impact on this game, especially as Maryland will be without starting quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa — the all-time leading passer in Big Ten history.

Auburn will be without key defensive pieces in cornerbacks DJ James and Nehemiah Pritchett as well as defensive tackle Marcus Harris.

As a result, team statistics for the course of the 2023 season may not be completely reflective of what the bowl game will look like.

Keep that in mind as we take a look through the tale of the tape in Auburn’s upcoming bowl game matchup. All rankings are Auburn’s standing nationally among 130 FBS teams.

2023 Auburn stats

Record: 6-6 (3-5)

Total offense ranking: 88th, 355.5 yards per game

Scoring offense ranking: 65th, 27.2 points per game

Passing offense ranking: 122nd, 157.1 yards per game

Rushing offense ranking: 14th, 198.4 yards per game

Total defense ranking: 50th, 361.1 yards allowed per game

Scoring defense ranking: 35th, 21.9 points allowed per game

Passing defense ranking: 30th, 201.7 passing yards allowed per game

Rushing defense ranking: 80th, 159.4 rushing yards allowed per game

Leading rusher: RB Jarquez Hunter with 896 yards. Hunter averages 5.9 yards per carry and has seven touchdowns.

Leading receiver: TE Rivaldo Fairweather with 349 yards. Fairweather has found the endzone six times and has 30 catches.

Other key stat notes: Third downs have been a key point for Auburn. Defensively, Auburn is among the best getting off the field, allowing third-down conversions just 32% of the time. That’s the 16th-best rate in the nation. Conversely, Auburn’s offense has been bad on third down. Its conversion rate is 34%. That is 109th nationally.

2023 Maryland stats

Record: 7-5 (4-5)

Total offense ranking: 55th, 393.8 yards per game

Scoring offense ranking: 52nd, 29.6 points per game

Passing offense ranking: 20th, 284.8 yards per game

Rushing offense ranking: 114th, 108.9 yards per game

Total defense ranking: 34th, 336.9 yards allowed per game

Scoring defense ranking: 46th, 23.2 points allowed per game

Passing defense ranking: 40th, 207.3 yards allowed per game

Rushing defense ranking: 33rd, 129.6 yards allowed per game

Leading rusher: RB Roman Hemby with 663 yards. Hemby averages 4.9 yards per carry and has scored four touchdowns.

Leading receiver: WR Jeshuan Jones with 741 yards and four touchdowns. WR Tai Felton is close behind with 723 yards but two more touchdowns.

Other key notes: Maryland is being hit much harder with transfers and opt-outs than Auburn. Maryland has five crucial players who will not be taking part in this game wether it be for the NFL or the transfer portal. Beyond Tagovailoa, Maryland will be without its starting tight end (Corey Dyches), its best linebacker (Jaishawn Barham) and two elite defensive backs (Tarheeb Still and Corey Coley Jr.). Tagovailoa certainly is the biggest loss, but the core of what has been a very good Maryland defense will not be taking part in the bowl game.

Matt Cohen covers Auburn sports for AL.com. You can follow him on X at @Matt_Cohen_ or email him at [email protected]