How Kentucky football and Auburn match up — with a game prediction
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Kentucky offense centers on Cutter Boley’s passing growth and McGowan’s status.
- Auburn ground game relies on Jeremiah Cobb’s production and Coleman-Singleton.
- Defenses split; Auburn edges front-seven pressure while Kentucky controls line.
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Preview: Kentucky football at Auburn
Click below to read more of the Herald-Leader and Kentucky.com’s preview coverage ahead of Saturday’s Kentucky-Auburn game in Auburn, Ala.
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How the Kentucky Wildcats (2-5, 0-5 SEC) and the Auburn Tigers (4-4, 1-4 SEC) match up at each position for Saturday’s college football contest — with a game prediction:
Quarterbacks
• Since becoming the Kentucky starter five games ago, redshirt freshman Cutter Boley (66.5% completions, 1,215 yards, nine touchdowns vs. five interceptions) has made rapid development. In UK’s 56-34 loss to Tennessee last week, the 6-foot-5, 220-pound Lexington Christian Academy product completed 26 of 35 passes for 330 yards with five touchdown passes vs. one interception (a pick-six). The five TD throws were a new UK single-game freshman record. Boley’s 330 passing yards were the first 300-yards-plus performance by a Kentucky QB since Devin Leary threw for 306 yards in UK’s 38-35 loss to Clemson in the 2023 Gator Bowl.
• Auburn starter Jackson Arnold (63.3% completions, 1,263 passing yards, six TDs, two interceptions) was benched in last week’s 33-24 win at Arkansas after throwing a pick-six late in the first half that put the Razorbacks ahead 21-10. In half two, ex-Stanford QB Ashton Daniels directed the Tigers to the comeback win. In his first game action of 2025, Daniels completed 6 of 8 throws for 77 yards and ran seven times for 35 yards. Tigers head man Hugh Freeze has been coy this week about which QB will get the start vs. UK.
Advantage: Kentucky
Running backs
• Kentucky standout Seth McGowan (476 rushing yards, seven TDs, 5.1 yards a carry average) did not play last week against Tennessee after suffering an apparent shoulder injury in UK’s 16-13 overtime loss to Texas two weeks ago. UK coach Mark Stoops said the determining factor in whether McGowan can return this week will be “whether he is physically strong enough to hold the ball.” In McGowan’s absence, Nebraska transfer Dante Dowdell ran for a team-high 52 yards on 12 carries vs. Tennessee. Redshirt freshman Jason Patterson rushed for 51 yards on 16 carries vs. UT and caught seven passes for 44 yards.
• Auburn’s Jeremiah Cobb (717 rushing yards, four TDs, 6.1 ypc) ran for a season-high 153 yards on 28 carries in the win at Arkansas. The 5-11, 200-pound junior from Montgomery, Alabama, is second in the SEC and 18th in the FBS in rushing. Auburn is 3-1 this season when Cobb exceeds 100 yards rushing in a contest. Last season, when Jarquez Hunter decimated the UK run defense for 278 yards in a 24-10 Tigers win over the Wildcats, Cobb carried only three times for two yards.
Advantage: Auburn
Wide receiver
• A Kentucky youth movement at wideout has give the Wildcats’ passing game a spark. True freshman DJ Miller caught five passes for 120 yards and two touchdowns vs. Tennessee. The 6-3, 204-pound St. Louis product has made seven catches for 133 yards over the past two games. Fellow frosh Cameron Miller, a 5-11, 167-pound product of Camden, New Jersey, has five receptions for 62 yards in the past three contests. Redshirt senior J.J. Hester, a transfer from Oklahoma, made his biggest statistical contribution to date as a Wildcat vs. Tennessee, catching four passes for 23 yards and two TDs. Senior slot receiver Kendrick Law turned an outside screen into a 71-yard TD reception vs. Tennessee. Law, an Alabama transfer, leads UK in receptions (24) and receiving yards (302).
• Though poor pass protection and inconsistent quarterback play have hampered their ability to show it, Auburn’s Cam Coleman and Eric Singleton Jr. are one of the most talented wideout duos in the SEC. A 6-3, 201-pound sophomore, Coleman has 32 catches for 440 yards and three touchdowns. In last season’s win over UK, Coleman had four receptions for 24 yards. A transfer from Georgia Tech, Singleton leads Auburn with 38 catches, which have gone for 367 yards and two TDs. Singleton has made at least one catch in all 32 college games in which he has appeared.
Advantage: Auburn
Tight ends
• Kentucky sophomore Willie Rodriguez caught two passes for 28 yards vs. Tennessee and is third on the Wildcats in receptions (14) and second in receiving yards (201). However, the 6-4, 252-pound Covington Catholic product left the game with an injury. Mark Stoops said Monday he anticipated Rodriguez to return to action this week but “we’ll see.” Senior Josh Kattus, a 6-4, 247-pound Cincinnati product, has 12 catches for 163 yards and two TDs.
• At 6-7, 267 pounds, Auburn’s Brandon Frazier will be one of the largest tight ends UK has faced in 2025. The senior from McKinney, Texas, has 10 catches for 62 yards. Preston Howard, a 6-5, 236-pound junior, has eight catches for 55 yards.
Advantage: Kentucky
Offensive line
• Two seasons after Kentucky’s attempt to convert guard Jager Burton to center ended after three games, the ex-Frederick Douglass High School standout has locked down the center spot through seven contests this year. “Very pleased with the way Jager’s playing,” Mark Stoops said. “He’s been a great leader for us, very solid player. ... This year at center, (there is a) lot of stress on him, a lot of pressure, and he’s done very well.”
• A transfer from Virginia Tech, Auburn left tackle Xavier Chaplin, a 6-7, 348-pound junior, anchors an offensive front that has fared far better in run blocking than in pass protection. While Tigers running back Jeremiah Cobb is second in the SEC in rushing, the Tigers have given up a whopping 30 quarterback sacks, worst in the FBS.
Advantage: Kentucky
Defensive line
• Kentucky tackles Tavion Gadson and Khalil Saunders have each put together productive seasons. The 6-5, 298-pound Gadson made three tackles, two of them solo, vs. Tennessee. As a sophomore, the Savannah, Georgia, product has established himself as one of the most promising players on the UK roster. A senior, the 6-5, 293-pound Saunders, a Jon Sumrall recruit out of Huntsville, Alabama, also made three stops vs. UT and had a tackle for loss.
• A transfer from Arkansas State, Auburn edge Keyron Crawford is eighth in the SEC in quarterback sacks with five. The 6-4, 255-pound Memphis product also has eight tackles for loss, three QB hurries and a forced fumble. End Keldric Faulk, a 6-6, 285-pound junior, had two sacks of Kentucky quarterbacks last season. This year, Faulk is tied for the Auburn team lead in pass breakups with three.
Advantage: Auburn
Linebackers
• Quietly, Kentucky OLB/edge rusher Sam Greene is putting together a solid season. The 6-2, 248-pound sophomore made three tackles vs. Tennessee and now has 17 stops and three QB hurries on the season. MLB Daveren Rayner had UK’s only QB sack vs. UT.
• Auburn WLB Xavier Atkins earned Bronko Nagurski National Defensive Player of the Week honors for his performance in the win at Arkansas. The 6-foot, 210-pound sophomore, a transfer from LSU, made 13 tackles, sacked the quarterback twice and was credited with four tackles for loss. On the season, Atkins, a Houston product, leads the SEC in TFL (13), is second in sacks (seven) and fourth in tackles (61).
Advantage: Auburn
Defensive backs
• The Kentucky secondary had a rough go in the loss to Tennessee, surrendering 396 passing yards and touchdown passes of 35, 13 and 62 yards. Boundary cornerback JQ Hardaway, a 6-3, 193-pound senior from Columbus, Georgia, led the Wildcats in tackles Saturday with six. In last seasson’s loss to Auburn, free safety Jordan Lovett was UK’s co-leading tackler with eight stops.
• Last week, Auburn cornerback Rayshawn Pleasant scored on a 49-yard pick-six with 9:15 left in the game to put the Tigers ahead of Arkansas for good, 27-24. With two interceptions on the season, Pleasant, a 5-11, 200-pound junior from West Monroe, Louisiana, is the Auburn team leader.
Advantage: Even
Special teams
• Kentucky senior punter Aidan Laros did not have a good night vs. Tennessee, kicking three times for an average of 34 yards a kick. That dropped the UK punter’s average from 45.6 yards a kick to 44.5 and moved him from third in the SEC in punting to sixth. Redshirt freshman place-kicker Jacob Kauwe is 10 of 13 on field-goal tries with a long make of 51 yards. UK has had so much trouble cleanly fielding punts in the past two games that the Wildcats have tried three different punt returners.
• Auburn place-kicker Alex McPherson is SEC Special Teams Player of the Week after he tied the school record with six made field goals — from 36, 23, 43, 26, 47 and 37 yards — in the win at Arkansas. On the season, McPherson is 12 of 15 on field-goal attempts with a long make of 47 yards. Australian punter Hudson Kaak, a transfer from Oklahoma State, is averaging 41.7 yards a kick, and has stopped only six of 32 punts inside an opponents’ 20-yard line. Auburn is last in the SEC in punt returning, averaging 3.3 yards a return.
Advantage: Even
Prediction
Auburn 26, Kentucky 17
This story was originally published October 29, 2025 at 6:15 AM.
