The season rolls into week nine which means Kentucky football (2-5, 0-5 SEC) takes on Auburn (4-4, 1-4 SEC) in its third SEC road game of the year.
What to Watch-
Both teams have been the topic of conversation all season long for the wrong reasons as both teams are going in the wrong direction in 2025.
The two programs squaring off have been at the topic of conversation for possible coaching changes with the heat really turning up on Kentucky Head Coach Mark Stoops and Auburn Head Coach Hugh Freeze.
Kentucky is yet to win a conference game this season and enters the matchup reeling as it’s on a 10 game SEC losing streak and will enter the game after a 56-34 loss to then No. 17 Tennessee.
The Tigers come into the game after their first SEC week a week ago, taking down Arkansas 33-24.
What does not work in the Wildcats’ favor is that Jordan-Hare Stadium is one the most hostile environments in all of college football no matter how good or bad Auburn is playing.
Furthermore, Kentucky is currently on a four-game losing streak to Auburn.
Offense-
Kentucky’s offense has continued to blossom over the last two weeks but will need to show they can do it away from Kroger Field.
Cutter Boley will lead his team into Jordan-Hare in just his third SEC road start, and he’s thrown for 1,215 yards, nine touchdowns and five interceptions on the season.
Just like last week, the status of Seth McGowan will be huge for this offense if he can return after missing the Tennessee game with an injury.
McGowan has been an anchor for the offense this season and can provide some security and stability.
On the season, McGowan leads the team with 476 rushing yards and seven touchdowns while also being a threat in the passing game for Boley.
If McGowan misses this game, Dante Dowdell and James Patterson will lead the running game on the road just like they did against Tennessee.
Dowdell has rushed for 326 yards this season while Patterson has run for 154 yards in limited action he has seen thus far in 2025.
Kendrick Law is the leading receiver for Kentucky as he’s hauled in 302 yards and two touchdowns.
DJ Miller has arrived in a big way the past two weeks and is another receiver to watch out for in this one as he’s secured 133 yards and two touchdowns in his two games.
Auburn’s quarterback situation looks like Kentucky’s at the beginning of the season as it’s currently unknown who will start under center in this matchup.
When the time comes, it will either be Jackson Arnold or Ashton Daniels getting the nod for the home squad.
Arnold had played the majority or reps at quarterback this season but was pulled for Daniels in the teams win over Arkansas.
When it comes to stats, Arnold has thrown for 1,263 yards, six touchdowns and two picks. The dual threat is also second on the team with 270 rushing yards.
Speaking of the ground game, Jeremiah Cobb leads the team with 717 yards, and he’s found the endzone four times this season.
The receiving core is headlined by the duo of Cam Coleman and Eric Singleton Jr.
Coleman leads the team with 440 yards and two touchdowns with Singleton Jr. trailing just behind with 367 yards and two scores.
Looking at the two teams compared to the rest of the SEC, Kentucky is 13th in the conference in yards per game at 361.3. The Wildcats move one spot down to 14th when it comes to points per game at 24.1.
The home Tigers are 15th in the conference with 340.6 yards per game but improves to 13th in points per game at 24.8.
Defense-
Kentucky enters the game reeling on defense after getting gashed against Tennessee as the Vols tallied over 500 yards of total offense and pounced on a major flaw of the defense and that’s explosive plays.
Giving up those explosive plays have been an issue the entire season and could cost them yet again if they cannot get it cleaned up.
The large chunks of yardage have resulted in Kentucky being ranked 14th in both yards and points allowed per game at marks of 389.9 and 30.1 respectively.
Auburn has quite the opposite problem on defense as they are sixth in the SEC with 318.5 yards allowed per game and fifth in the conference with 18.6 points allowed per game.
While the two teams are closely matched in terms of offensive numbers, the defensive statistics give the home team an advantage.
What do the odds say?
When it comes to the all-time series, Auburn has a 28-6-1 advantage and the last time Kentucky won against the Tigers was back in 2009.
For this edition of the matchup, Auburn is favored to win by 10.5 points according to ESPNBET. Also, Kentucky is given a 22.8% chance to get into the win column in conference play according to ESPN matchup predictor.
With the stage now set, Kentucky and Auburn will take the field on Saturday, Nov. 1 with kickoff set for 7:30 ET. The game will air live on SEC Network.
