2021 Birmingham Bowl

The 2021 Birmingham Bowl was a college football bowl game played on December 28, 2021, with kickoff at 12:00 p.m. EST (11:00 a.m. local CST) and televised on ESPN. It was the 15th edition of the Birmingham Bowl (after the 2020 edition was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic), and was one of the 2021–22 bowl games concluding the 2021 FBS football season. Sponsored by the TicketSmarter ticket sales company, the game was officially known as the TicketSmarter Birmingham Bowl. This was the first edition of the bowl played at Protective Stadium.

2021 TicketSmarter Birmingham Bowl
15th Birmingham Bowl
Houston Cougars Auburn Tigers (11–2) (6–6) The American SEC 17 13 Head coach:  Dana Holgorsen Head coach:  Bryan Harsin AP Coaches CFP 21 21 20
1 2 3 4 Total Houston 7 3 0 7 17 Auburn 0 3 10 0 13
Date	December 28, 2021
Season	2021
Stadium	Protective Stadium
Location	Birmingham, Alabama
MVP	Clayton Tune (QB, Houston)
Favorite	Auburn by 2
Referee	Michael Mothershed (Pac-12)
Attendance	47,100
United States TV coverage
Network	ESPN
Announcers	Taylor Zarzour (play-by-play), Eric Mac Lain (analyst), and Taylor Davis (sideline)

Teams

Consistent with conference tie-ins, the bowl features teams from the American Athletic Conference (AAC or "The American") and the Southeastern Conference (SEC).

This was the seventh meeting between Auburn and Houston; previous to the game, the Tigers led the all-time series, 5–1.

Auburn Tigers

Main article: 2021 Auburn Tigers football team

Houston Cougars

Main article: 2021 Houston Cougars football team

Game summary

2021 TicketSmarter Birmingham Bowl

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 20 Houston	7	3	0	7	17
Auburn	0	3	10	0	13

at Protective Stadium • Birmingham, Alabama

• Date: Tuesday, December 28, 2021
• Game time: 11:00 a.m. CST
• Game attendance: 47,100
• TV announcers (ESPN): Taylor Zarzour (play-by-play), Eric Mac Lain (analyst), and Taylor Davis (sideline)
• Box score

Scoring summary

Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP Houston Auburn 1 8:46 12 87 6:14 Houston Alton McCaskill 5-yard touchdown reception from Clayton Tune, Dalton Witherspoon kick good 7 0 2 6:58 9 44 4:10 Houston 52-yard field goal by Dalton Witherspoon 10 0 2 3:10 8 67 3:48 Auburn 27-yard field goal by Ben Patton 10 3 3 12:12 7 57 2:48 Auburn 35-yard field goal by Ben Patton 10 6 3 3:52 11 78 6:20 Auburn Kobe Hudson 12-yard touchdown reception from T. J. Finley, Ben Patton kick good 10 13 4 3:27 8 80 3:20 Houston Jake Herslow 26-yard touchdown reception from Clayton Tune, Dalton Witherspoon kick good 17 13 "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football.

Statistics

Team statistics

Team statistical comparison

Statistic	Houston	Auburn
First downs	19	15
First downs rushing	6	6
First downs passing	12	8
First downs penalty	1	1
Third down efficiency	6–14	4–15
Fourth down efficiency	1–2	1–3
Total plays–net yards	67–398	66–352
Rushing attempts–net yards	26–115	29–125
Yards per rush	4.4	4.3
Yards passing	283	227
Pass completions–attempts	26–41	19–37
Interceptions thrown	2	0
Punt returns–total yards	0–0	0–0
Kickoff returns–total yards	4–52	2–42
Punts–average yardage	4–35.8	6–38.3
Fumbles–lost	2–0	2–0
Penalties–yards	6–34	3–35
Time of possession	29:50	30:10

Individual statistics

Houston statistics

Cougars passing
	C–A	Yds	TD–INT
Clayton Tune	26–40	283	2–1
Seth Green	0–1	0	0–1
Cougars rushing
	Car	Yds	TD
Alton McCaskill	14	78	0
Clayton Tune	7	43	0
Ta'Zhawn Henry	2	−2	0
TEAM	3	−6	0
Cougars receiving
	Rec	Yds	TD
Nathaniel Dell	10	150	0
Jake Herslow	5	65	1
Christian Trahan	3	30	0
Jeremy Singleton	2	17	0
Alton McCaskill	4	15	1
Ta'Zhawn Henry	2	6	0

Auburn statistics

Tigers passing
	C–A	Yds	TD–INT
T. J. Finley	19–37	227	1–0
Tigers rushing
	Car	Yds	TD
Tank Bigsby	16	96	0
Malcolm Johnson Jr.	2	24	0
Jarquez Hunter	5	17	0
Ja'Varrius Johnson	1	2	0
John Samuel Shenker	1	1	0
TEAM	1	−3	0
Demetris Robertson	1	−5	0
T. J. Finley	2	−7	0
Tigers receiving
	Rec	Yds	TD
Tank Bigsby	5	68	0
Kobe Hudson	4	57	1
John Samuel Shenker	5	54	0
Ja'Varrius Johnson	1	20	0
Demetris Robertson	2	15	0
Shedrick Jackson	2	13	0

Externals links

• Game statistics at statbroadcast.com