Today's Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl between No. 7 Auburn and No. 12 Central Florida doesn't factor into this season's playoff picture, but it isn't lacking for intriguing storylines, either.
The 50th anniversary of the Atlanta bowl game that began at Georgia Tech's Bobby Dodd Stadium will take place inside a sold-out Mercedes-Benz Stadium, which opened in late August with a $1.6 billion price tag and will host next Monday's national championship game. This afternoon's showdown pits the 12-0 Knights of Scott Frost, who accepted the coaching vacancy at Nebraska last month, and Gus Malzahn's 10-3 Tigers, who whipped a No. 1 Georgia and a No. 1 Alabama by a combined score of 66-31 in November only to succumb 28-7 in the rematch against the Bulldogs during last month's Southeastern Conference championship game.
"Obviously that game was a disappointment," Auburn senior left tackle Austin Golson said late last week in a news conference. "Our team is trying to look at this as a chance to redeem ourselves in the stadium and a chance to come out and play much better than we did the first time we were here. At the end of the day, you have to put that game behind us. You can't let Georgia beat us twice.
"We have to go out and perform to the best of our ability."
The Knights won the American Athletic Conference title and have remained perfect behind an offense that has averaged 49.4 points per game. They rank fifth in yards per game (540.5) and are led by sophomore Mckenzie Milton, the nation's second-leading quarterback in efficiency behind Oklahoma's Baker Mayfield.
PEACH PICK
The Central Florida football program is an amazing story, going from 0-12 to 12-0 in two seasons, and the Knights would seem to have the motivational edge compared to Auburn, which had a playoff appearance within its reach. The Tigers could get thumped if disinterested, but they possess a defensive front that excelled against Georgia and Alabama in November and should be vastly superior to what the Knights faced during the regular season.› Prediction: Auburn 30, UCF 27—David Paschall
Auburn will not have Carlton Davis, with Malzahn announcing Sunday the junior cornerback has gone home due to an illness.
The most talked about Knights player in recent weeks has been sophomore running back Adrian Killins, who said last month that Auburn was in for a "rude awakening" today.
"SEC football, they don't have a lot of speed, honestly," Killins told the Orlando Sentinel. "Auburn hasn't seen any speed like we have here. We're UCF fast and UCF fierce."
Multiple Auburn players have been asked about the comments by Killins, but they've kept their responses in check.
"That just is what it is," Tigers running back Kerryon Johnson said. "We're not really the trash-talking type, and if that's what he thinks, then that's what he thinks. The bottom line is once the game comes, we've got to go out there and show what's different. If we don't, what he says is correct.
"If we do, what he says is wrong, and that's just how life goes."
Johnson is the SEC's offensive player of the year after rushing for 1,320 yards and averages of 120.0 yards per game and 5.0 yards per carry. He shredded Georgia for 167 yards on 32 carries on Nov. 11 but left the win over Alabama two weeks later with a shoulder injury that rendered him ineffective in the SEC title game.
The 6-foot, 212-pound junior rushed 13 times for 44 yards against the Bulldogs in Mercedes-Benz.
"Kerryon's looked great every day in practice," Auburn redshirt sophomore quarterback Jarrett Stidham said. "He looks like the old Kerryon, running around a lot and smiling a lot, so it's been good having him back healthy and everything. I think it's pretty obvious to see what he brings to the offense every day."
Said Johnson: "I feel 100 percent, or as close to 100 percent as you can get at this point. I've been running like my old self and making moves like my old self, and that's giving me confidence and making me happy. I'm ready to see what I can do in the real game now."
Auburn went 2-2 against teams that made this season's four-team playoff, which takes place later today with No. 3 Georgia facing No. 2 Oklahoma in the Rose Bowl and No. 4 Alabama taking on top-ranked Clemson in the Sugar Bowl. The Tigers vaulted to No. 2 in the playoff rankings after their Iron Bowl triumph, and they are out to prove this can still be remembered as a special season.
"Obviously, we had hoped to win the SEC championship, but to be in a New Year's Six bowl like the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl is a very big opportunity for this team," Stidham said. "Winning 11 games hasn't been done that much at Auburn, so hopefully we can finish it out."
And perhaps spoil another perfect season.
"We have an opportunity to beat three 9-0 or better teams in the same year," Auburn defensive coordinator Kevin Steele said. "I don't think that's ever been done."
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.