The Auburn Tigers had the chance to play in their home state at Protective Stadium for their second Birmingham Bowl since 2021, but the program opted not to play an extra game as it transitions to the Alex Golesh era.
According to On3's Justin Hokanson, "Coaching change, staff building, roster retention, players in offseason mode — a bowl trip simply wouldn’t make sense."
As On3's Brett McMurphy notes, multiple programs, including the FSU Seminoles, UCF Knights, Baylor Bears, Rutgers Scarlet Knights, Temple Owls, and Kansas Jayhawks, declined the invitation to play the Georgia Southern Eagles.