NASHVILLE | On a cold, dreary afternoon in Tennessee's capital, Auburn fans filed into Nissan Stadium full of hope of a victory, sending the Tigers into the offseason with momentum. Outnumbering the Maryland faithful by a considerable amount, Auburn took the field to a huge roar.

Unfortunately, that was the last time the game was even interesting.

Give credit to Mike Locksley and the Terrapins. They showed up ready to play, punched the Tigers in the mouth on the very first drive, and Auburn laid down. There was no fightback from Hugh Freeze's squad, as the players seemed content on getting dominated by a middle-of-the-pack team without its best player and Big Ten all-time leading passer.

Before Auburn had earned a first down, ironically coming on a fake punt by Oscar Chapman, Maryland had put 21 points on the board and the game, by all measure, was seemingly over. And it seemed the Tigers didn't even want to be on the field. On a long pass down the middle of the field from Payton Thorne, Camden Brown lolly-gagged and made absolutely no effort to try to catch the ball.

It was a microcosm of the entire game. Early on, Auburn had chances to turn the momentum. Five Tigers went after a fumbled ball, but none came up with it. A few plays later, the Terrapin were in the end zone. It didn't matter who was at quarterback for Maryland in the first 15 minutes, as both Billy Edwards and Cam Edge had their way with Auburn's defense.

The young secondary that will be counted on next season was getting roasted. Auburn linebackers were losing their jock straps on fakes by Terrapin quarterbacks and running backs. If you squinted hard enough, you could almost picture it being New Mexico State on the field, running up and down on a sluggish Auburn team that had their minds anywhere but on the football field.

And, much like the disaster against the Aggies in November, it was an embarrassing display in front of a fan base looking for something to cheer about. It's one thing to get beat; it's another to be a no-show. That is what the Tigers did on Saturday. Those 30,000 or so Auburn fans who braved the cold deserved better, and showed their frustration by filing out of the stadium in droves in the third quarter. Unlike the NMSU game, there was no booing, just looks of disgust on their faces as they drowned another overpriced beer, probably hoping to drown out what was happening in front of their eyes.

It was a disaster in every way. After one of the few good plays – an interception by Caleb Wooden late in the third quarter – Jalen McLeod got flagged for unnecessary roughness while down 31-7. But, hey, at least he was fighting, right?

Ending the season with such a clunker after almost pulling off the upset victory in the Iron Bowl and signing a program-changing recruiting class was not in the plans for anyone. Freeze said the correct things postgame by saying the blame falls on him, but for the second time in three games, his team laid an egg.

There were built-in excuses for this year's team and its many failings, and sure, the Tigers were playing a lot of new players in the bowl game, but there's no excuse for no fight, no resolve in a game that you are favored to win by at least a touchdown in front of a friendly Auburn-ruled crowd.

The loyal, faithful fans who made the trip should demand their money back. Dropped passes, missed tackles and every other possible way to get dominated in a game. No-show Auburn.