Auburn Football: Defense may steal the show vs. Kentucky in opener

After losing the Outback Bowl to Minnesota, Auburn football is looking to build momentum by taking down Kentucky to start the season.

The Kentucky Wildcats are looking to build off a win over Penn State in the Citrus Bowl a year ago, while Auburn is looking for some answers after a loss to Minnesota trying to get things back together and ready to go for the season opener in 2020.

Now, Bo Nix enters into his sophomore campaign and is looking to kick it off with a bang, taking on No. 23 Kentucky. After opening with Kentucky, the Tigers take on No. 4 Georgia, so there is no time for error. It is time now to figure out what and how the Gus Bus is going to run this year before things get rocky in Athens.

The Wildcats, on the other hand, get a “break” with Ole Miss after a matchup with a top-10 team in Auburn. Quarterback Terry Wilson is back from injury and ready to go. Is Kentucky ready to beat Auburn though? I’m not so sure.

Here is how you can watch the matchup.

Date: Saturday, Sept. 26
Time: 12:00 p.m. ET
Location: Auburn, Ala.
Venue: Jordan-Hare Stadium
TV: SEC Network
Live Stream: WatchESPN

Keys to Victory

For both of these teams, quarterback play will be important. After almost a year off due to injury, will Terry Wilson be ready to go? Will Nix have a sophomore slump? He was already inconsistent at best in 2019, so does he have the ability to become a game changing quarterback in 2020?

Auburn has to get going offensively and they have the weapons on the offensive side of the ball to do just that. Kentucky, on the other hand, has to play strong secondary defense to keep those big receivers from doing what they need to do to get this one done.

Prediction

Nix will get this one done, but it will be a low-scoring affair. The Kentucky defense will do enough to stay in the game, but not enough to win it. With a couple of late scores, the Auburn offense will put this game away. Look for the Tigers’ offense to make that late showing and impress, despite this being a one-score win for them.

Final Score: Auburn 21, Kentucky 14