Halftime analysis: What Kentucky must do in the second half to beat Auburn
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Game day: Kentucky at Auburn
Click below for more of the Herald-Leader’s and Kentucky.com’s coverage of Saturday’s Kentucky-Auburn football game at Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn, Ala.
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With Kentucky trailing Auburn 8-7 at halftime of the 2020 season opener for both, here are three second-half keys that will determine whether or not the Wildcats can win the game:
1. Overcome the disastrous end of the first half. Two plays after Kentucky’s Chris Rodriguez appeared to have crossed the plane of the goal but was not credited with a touchdown, Kentucky had the ball third-and-goal from the Auburn 1. Terry Wilson’s pass was intercepted by Auburn’s Roger McCreary (the Cats got a subsequent break when McCreary’s 100-yard return of the interception was overturned by a targeting call).
UK must shake off its disappointment with the way the half ended.
2. Finish drives. All four Kentucky first-half drives reached Auburn territory. Only one of them ended with points on the board.
That, obviously, needs to change.
3. Tackle better. UK had numerous missed tackles on Auburn’s sole touchdown drive. The Cats have otherwise shown they can stop the Tigers offense if they wrap up on initial contact.
This story was originally published September 26, 2020 at 1:33 PM.
