An Auburn fan's guide to watching the Super Bowl
On Sunday, Super Bowl LVI will be played in Los Angeles at the new SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California at 5:30 central time on NBC. The Game will feature the AFC champion Cincinnati Bengals and the NFC champion Los Angeles Rams.
There are a few Auburn connections and ties that will be a part of this Super Bowl on Sunday.
The biggest Auburn tie in Sunday’s game is Cincinnati Bengals tight end CJ Uzomah. CJ played for Auburn from 2011 to 2014. The former tight end for the Tigers had some memorable games and catches for Auburn including the 2013 game-winner over Mississippi State and a touchdown grab in the incredible 2013 Iron Bowl.
In 2020, Uzomah tore his Achilles in the second game of the year, which sidelined him for the remainder of the season, but Uzomah returned to start every game this year and set career highs for receptions, receiving yards, and touchdowns. He tallied 49 catches for 493 receiving yards and five touchdowns during the regular season. Uzomah hurt his knee early in the AFC championship game against the Kansas City Chiefs, but said earlier this week that he won't miss “the biggest game of his life.”
Another Auburn tie and former player in this year's Super Bowl is Los Angeles Rams defensive back Blake Countess. Blake played for the Tigers in 2015 as a graduate transfer from Michigan. This is the second time Countess has been on the Rams, the first coming from 2016-2018. The Rams are the former Auburn’s defensive back 4th team including three different times on the Philadelphia Eagles along with one-year stints on the New York Jets and the Baltimore Ravens.
Countess will mostly be used Sunday as a special team's contributor and as a safety net in case of injuries for the deep Los Angeles Rams defensive back room.
CJ Uzomah and Blake Countess are the only two former Auburn Tigers playing in the big game on Sunday. But there is one more connection that Auburn fans can be on the lookout for. Bengals starting kicker Evan McPherson who is a former Florida Gator as well as hit the game-winner in overtime against the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC championship, is the brother of current Auburn signee and highest-ranked kicker in the 2022 class, Alex McPherson.
No matter who you'd like to win on Sunday or who you are pulling for, it's very exciting knowing that one of our former Tigers will go home with their first Super Bowl ring.
