Auburn beats Memphis in Birmingham Bowl 31-10, finishes season 7

After forcing Memphis to a quick punt, Auburn regained possession on their 30-yard-line. On the tenth play of the drive, Kerryon Johnson broke for an eight-yard touchdown run to extended Auburn’s lead to ten. He threw a pick six in the second quarter and threw another interception on Auburn’s next play.

Another field goal try by Elliott, from 34 yards out, was blocked by Blake Countess.

Carlton Davis (above) led Auburn in tackles vs. Memphis.

Auburn established the tempo of this tilt on the ground early and often. However, the game went into halftime tied at 10-10 as Memphis scored on a 53-yard interception return on a fourth down and less than two play. He couldn’t complete any passes down the field and even some of his dump-offs were poorly thrown.

After a Memphis punt, Auburn was again in business. Auburn outgained Memphis 402-205 in total yards within the 1st game since defensive coordinator Will Muschamp left to grow to be South Carolina’s head coach.

Quarterback Paxton Lynch and the Memphis offense have been a mismatch for plenty of opposing defenses over the last two years. The Tigers aren’t going to lose too many games when they’re rushing for over 250 yards. He ran 17 yards on his 2nd play from scrimmage & opened the fourth quarter with a 5-yard touchdown run on his 3rd. Mixing in the passing game, Auburn quickly moved inside the Memphis 10-yard line once again.

Auburn players ran to midfield to celebrate the program’s first bowl win since 2011 while a freaky scene unfolded on its sideline.

“Our defense was outstanding”, said Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn, who won a bowl game for the first time as a head coach.

Memphis announced Wednesday night that defensive back Reggis Ball has been removed from the team for his actions after he made two interceptions in Wednesday’s Birmingham Bowl. Lynch was unable to get anything going offensively, and he only went 17-of-38 for 104 yards with no touchdowns and one interception.

“This game today is special, because it’s personal”, Robinson said. Robinson had 121 of those yards on 25 carries. Auburn punter Kevin Phillips was game’s leading passer after a quarter, throwing for 37 yards on his only pass…. Steele was previously the defensive coordinator at LSU. There are still a lot of questions heading into 2016, but Auburn now has some momentum.

The victory improved Auburn’s record to 7-6 while Memphis finished the 2015 football season at 9-4.