Just out of curiosity, why do you hate Auburn? Not that I'm complaining, just that I'm surprised a Spartan would have any thoughts one way or the other.
Regarding the Citrus Bowl, I always thought we were the beneficiaries of MSU not caring. If I remember right, you tied for the BIG, but got jobbed out of the Rose Bowl by some inane tie-breaker despite the fact you beat the team that did go, and you had the same overall record. You ended up in Orlando against a 3-loss Alabama team, and frankly just didn't care any more.
Kind of like when we lost to Utah in the Sugar Bowl after losing the 2008 SECCG -- after being in the hunt for the NC until the 4th quarter of that game, it was hard to get excited about the Utes, and our play showed it.