NFL Tickets
TV Schedule: Thursday, October 15, 7:00 p.m. ET, ESPN
Stadium: Commonwealth Stadium, Lexington, Ky.
Line: Auburn (-2)
While the rest of the SEC has been focusing on the surprising resignation of South Carolina head coach Steve Spurrier, Florida QB Will Grier’s suspension for using an illegal substance, Ole Miss’ back-to-back defeat of Alabama for the first time ever and the absence of an SEC team in the AP Poll top five for the first time since October 10, 2010 (that’s five years and 80 polls’ worth of SEC dominance), Kentucky has quietly been beating two ranked teams (Missouri and Eastern Kentucky) and two SEC East rivals (Missouri and South Carolina).
Kentucky has started the season 4-1 with the Wildcats’ lone loss coming against Florida, and they sit behind the Gators for second place in the SEC East. Unfortunately for Kentucky, it’s always been hard for them to keep their momentum going. The Wildcats started last season 5-1 before losing their last six games of the season to end with a 5-7 record and sixth in the East.
While Kentucky certainly has a more experienced quarterback than Auburn in Patrick Towles (4,101 career passing yards and 23 TDs), can the Wildcats capitalize on Auburn’s QB struggles? Or will history play a factor in yet another Auburn victory? The Wildcats are 6-25 against the Tigers and haven’t played them since Mark Stoops took over as head coach in 2013. Stoops is 0-4 against SEC West teams.
Meanwhile, Gus Malzahn is 4-1 against SEC East teams and managed to take Auburn all the way to the national championship game his first year as head coach.
However, this season hasn’t been as good as expected for Auburn. After defensive woes caused the Tigers to struggle later in the 2014 season, Auburn hired Will Muschamp as their new defensive coordinator and brought in a top 10 recruiting class. But quarterback struggles have plagued the Tigers who are 0-2 in the SEC and barely scraped out a win against Jacksonville State in Week 2.
Despite a disappointing start to the season, Auburn will be hard-pressed to let Kentucky win its first game against a West team in the Stoops era. Although Towles will put up good numbers and the line makes it look close, Auburn’s defense is rested and should be able to stop the Wildcats.
Prediction: Auburn 26, Kentucky 21
Hannah Fields is a Tennessee Titans and SEC Football writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow her on Twitter @hanfran7, “Like” her on Facebook or add her to your network on Google.
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