Blue Preview: Your one-click guide to the Kentucky football game at Auburn
No. 23 Kentucky at No. 8 Auburn
When: Noon Saturday (Sept. 26).
Where: Jordan-Hare Stadium (normal capacity 87,451, but attendance capped around 20 percent of capacity (17,490) in 2020 because of the coronavirus).
TV: SEC Network (play-by-play, Tom Hart; analysis, Jordan Rodgers; sideline, Cole Cubelic).
Radio: WLAP-AM 630, WBUL-FM 98.1.
Satellite radio: XM Channel 192; Sirius Channel 136; Internet Channel 963.
Records: Kentucky (0-0, 0-0 SEC); Auburn (0-0, 0-0 SEC).
Series history: Auburn leads 26-6-1 and has won 17 of the past 18 meetings.
Last meeting: Auburn won 30-27 on Oct. 15, 2015, at the venue then known as Commonwealth Stadium.
Line: Auburn is favored by eight points.
The story line
After an irregular and elongated preseason caused by the coronavirus, a veteran and talented Kentucky roster begins the first of 10 straight Southeastern Conference games by traveling to Auburn to face the team with the second-fewest returning starters (10) in the SEC.
The number to watch
Auburn’s average yards per rush. As College Football News pointed out in its preseason UK preview, Mark Stoops’ troops are 13-2 over the past two seasons when limiting foes to an average of less than 5 yards a carry.
The big threat
Bo Nix. Last season as a true freshman, the Auburn quarterback had an up-and-down season. The son of former Tigers QB Patrick Nix led Auburn to nine wins and played well in an Iron Bowl win over Alabama. He also ranked 88th in the FBS with a 57.6 percent completion rate. With a year of starting under his belt, Gus Malzahn and company are counting on Nix taking a big step upward as a sophomore.
On the spot
Terry Wilson. The Kentucky starting quarterback returns after missing all but two games last season after suffering a torn patellar tendon in his left knee. Whether Wilson can improve on his 12-3 record as a UK starter may depend on how much faith he has in his rehabbed knee and how quickly he is able to shed the rust from missing last year’s final 11 games.
The mood
Is confident. With UK having won 18 games over the past two seasons and returning ample experience, the Big Blue Nation is more optimistic about the football Cats than at any time since the 1977 postseason (when UK was coming off a 10-1 season). A road upset of No. 8 Auburn would allow Kentucky to lock in the belief of its fan base.
This story was originally published September 21, 2020 at 10:35 AM.
