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Taulia Tagovailoa Opts Out Of Music City Bowl vs Auburn Tigers

Originally posted on FanNation Auburn Daily
By Brian Smith | Last updated 12/19/23

The Music City Bowl pits the Auburn Tigers against the Maryland Terrapins, but the latter's quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa will not be a part of the action.

After throwing for 11,356 yards and 77 touchdowns during his college career, Tagovailoa is deciding to opt out of the bowl game and prepare for the NFL Draft. Here's what Maryland head coach Mike Locksley says about the job Tagovailoa has done for the Terrapins:

"We certainly thank Taulia and his family for all he's given this program over the last four years. Like all positions, it's next man up." @CoachLocks on the quarterback situation for the bowl game pic.twitter.com/gbXsdJL3fH
— Maryland Football (@TerpsFootball) December 19, 2023

With a four-year quarterback no longer being behind center, Auburn's defense will be seeing a new signal caller, Billy Edwards. In two seasons, Edwards is 32 of 56, 57.1%, 310 yards, 3 touchdowns, and 1 interception. With 10 attempts this season, Edwards has just 2 yards passing. Among others, here are a couple of ways to look at this transition for the Auburn defense.

First, it's a chance to bring the heat against an inexperienced quarterback. One can bet that Auburn defensive coordinator Ron Roberts will certainly consider dialing up blitzes to sack Edwards. There's a bigger picture to consider as well.

How dialed in will the Auburn defense players be now that Tagovailoa will not play?

He's the Big 10's all-time leading passer. That would be fun to go against. With that not on the table, Auburn defenders cannot take the challenge of facing the inexperienced Edwards lightly.

It's a chance to win another game and head towards the 2024 season with a bowl win. Going to be interesting to see how the Music City Bowl unfolds with Tagovailoa no longer slated to play for Maryland.

This article first appeared on FanNation Auburn Daily and was syndicated with permission.

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