Auburn Football: Post-spring game-by-game predictions for 2019

Kent State was one of college football’s worst teams a season ago, but it might be among the most improved teams in the country in 2019. Not many teams return more of last season’s production than the Golden Flashes, and second-year head coach Sean Lewis will be looking for his team to take a step toward bowl eligibility after a 2-10 debut season in what should effectively be considered his year zero.

Lewis has the offensive pedigree after spending several years learning under Dino Babers for Kent State to score some points, especially if his rising junior quarterback can take a step forward.

The intrigue of this matchup revolves around quarterback Woody Barrett’s return to Auburn. Barrett signed with Auburn out of high school as a four-star recruit but left after a year to enroll into a junior college. He’s now at Kent State, looking to build on his first season as a starting quarterback.

Barrett is a dual-threat, capable of making plays with his arm or his legs. He’s the type of player who can make these games more competitive than they should be, but he’ll probably spend more time running for his life from Auburn’s ferocious front-seven than running for positive gains.

The gap in talent on both lines-of-scrimmage is too large for this to be all that competitive, regardless of the improvement the Golden Flashes may make next season.

Pick: Auburn 48, Kent State 14 (3-0)