Kentucky vs. Auburn: Who has the Edge?
By Paul Jordan
Kentucky returns home to take on the Auburn Tigers this Saturday. The Tigers are currently 5-0 and opened as a 6.5 point favorite over the Wildcats in Commonwealth. Kentucky actually matches up well with Auburn, and this could be one of the best home games since the 2007 LSU thriller.
QUARTERBACK
With the way Auburn quarterback Cam Newton has been playing this year, it would be easy to go ahead and hand this over to Auburn. But then again, looking at Hartline’s stats this year makes this a harder choice. Newton has been the very definition of a dual-threat guy and has amassed 928 yards through the air and 474 on the gound to go along with his 17 total touchdowns. Mike gets a lot of crap from the UK fans, but he’s played well this year and has piled up 1222 yards on the season while completing 64% of his passes. As much as I really want to show Mike some love this week, Newton is just too dynamic of a player. He’s also the top rated passer in the NCAA.
The Edge: AUBURN
RUNNING BACK
It’s kind of tough to evaluate Auburn’s running backs because they don’t really get the ball that much individually. While Newton remains the team’s leading rusher, Onterio McCalebb, Michael Dyer, and Mario Fanin have been a running attack by committee. The three have a combined 784 rushing yards on the year and Dyer and McCalebb have both complied about 335 of those yards each. On the flip side though, Kentucky has a true feature back in Derrick Locke who has rushed for 543 yards by himself. He’s had some support from freshman Raymond Sanders and sophomore Donald Russell, but Locke is clearly the main guy and continues to be one of the top rushers in the SEC. If Auburn could pick one back and really let them get in a rhythm, they might have had a chance here. On second thought, there really isn’t a back I’d put in front of Locke right now. If he keeps pace, I could easily see him as the first team all-SEC rusher.
The Edge: KENTUCKY
WIDE RECIEVERS/TIGHT END
Auburn will feature Darvin Adams and Terrell Zachery as their top two pass-catchers with 284 and 218 yards receiving respectively. They are decent size targets with excellent speed and athleticism. Tight end Phillip Lutzenkirchen has chipped in 63 yards receiving and has been a top target in the endzone with two catches for touchdowns. Kentucky will have Chris Matthews and Randall Cobb as Hartline’s top two targets again this week, and they would be tough for anyone to cover. Cobb has 25 catches for 335 yards on the year and Matthews has 287 receiving yards on 19 catches. Tight end Jordan Aumiller has contributed his eight catches for 106 yards, but hs yet to score a touchdown on the year. While Auburn has a very solid group of receivers, Kentucky has two of the most dynamic offensive playmakers in the SEC in Cobb and Matthews. If they can avoid turning the ball over, they’re both going to be a tough draw for the Auburn defense.
The Edge: KENTUCKY
OFFENSIVE LINE
If you want to pick out one of the most dangerous offenses in the NCAA, Auburn’s would be a decent choice. The Tigers have managed to rack up 2377 total yards on the year and have been equally effective on the ground (1345 yards) and through the air (1042 yards) this season. They have given up 7 sacks on the year. The unit is led by senior tackle Lee Ziemba, who’s quite a force at 6’8 and 319 pounds. Meanwhile, the Kentucky offensive line that was expected to be one of the team’s weakest position groups before the season has actually been a pleasant surprise. The Wildcats have piled up an impressive 2268 total offensive yards and have also had luck through the air (1319 yards) and on the ground (949 yards). Now that junior guard Stuart Hines should be back to full strength, the unit will have its best player back. The group has give up only two sacks on the year. This one might be a surprise to some, but I’m actually going to pick Kentucky here. Despite starting four seniors and a junior, the Auburn line has paved the way for only 109 yards more than the Kentucky line and has given up five more sacks. The Tigers will have to try to protect Cam Newton against a speedy defense while he rolls around and extends the play with his leg, which is tough for any lineman to do. The Cats haven’t always been pretty, but they’ve done a good job of keeping the Quarterback clean this year.
The Edge: KENTUCKY
DEFENSIVE LINE
Kentucky has struggled on the defensive line this year and junior Mark Crawford has been moved to one of the starting defensive tackle spots in place of walk-on Luke McDermott for this week’s game. Senior defensive end DeQuin Wvans was expected to be an all-SEC performer before the season, but he’s struggled to make even a slight impact on the previous games. Meanwhile the Tigers have monster defensive tackle Nick Fairley who just might be better than the entire UK defensive line combined. He’s been excellent at stopping the run and rushing the passer this year and is quickly working his way up NFL draft boards. This one is too easy.
The Edge: AUBURN
LINEBACKERS
One of the biggest surprises for Kentucky this season has been the emergence of junior Danny Trevathan. While he did start as a sophomore last year, playing in the shadows of Micah Johnson and Sam Maxwell kept him relatively off the radar. This year he’s burst onto the scene and has managed to record 42 total tackles on the season including 8 tackles for a loss. The rest of the UK linebackers however, have not been so hot. Junior Ronnie Sneed and senior Jacob Dufrene haven’t been terrible, but the talent drop-off between this year’s starting group and the players Kentucky has had in previous years is apparent. On the other sideline, the Auburn trio of Craig Stevens, Daren Bates and Josh Bynes has been only adequate. The group has kept opponents in line on the ground, but they’ve been exploited when required to cover the pass. While Trevathan has been the best player at linebacker for either team, the group effort of the Auburn starters puts them ahead of the Wildcats because the lack of help Danny is getting from his teammates.
The Edge: AUBURN
DEFENSIVE BACKS
The first thing most Kentucky fans would say when asked about their defensive backs is that they have struggled to make any tackles this year. The amount of arm-tackling has been alarming and several teams have managed to pile up some impressive yardage on the ground due to the groups inability to assist in the run, but on closer inspection, Kentucky has held opponents to an average of only 142 yards a game through the air despite several players playing injured at times. The Auburn defensive backfield hasn’t fared so well despite starting three seniors and a junior in their backfield. The Tigers have allowed opponents to pass for a ridiculous 335 yards a game and will be facing one of the most dynamic aerial offenses in the SEC this week when the Wildcats come to town. The Wildcats win this one because despite their inability to consistently make tackles, the Kentucky defensive backs have done a much better job at their primary responsibility, stopping the opponents passing game.
The Edge: KENTUCKY
SPECIAL TEAMS
While the Tigers come into this weekend’s game featuring the conference’s top return man in Demond Washington, they’ve struggled in the kicking game going 5-8 on field goals and averaging only 38.9 yards per punt. The Wildcats will have both Derrick Locke and Randall Cobb at their disposal on returns, and have seemingly settled on Craig McIntosh at kicker (who is 4 for 6 on field goals). Punter Ryan Tydlacka continues to be one of the top performers in the conference and is averaging 46.4 yards per kick and has 73 yard punt on his resume for the season. Despite the severe disadvantage the Kentucky special teams has in their ability to cover kicks and punts, the playmakers all around actually put the Wildcats in front in this category.
The Edge: KENTUCKY
COACHING
Auburn raised a few eyebrows when they hired Gene Chizik away from Iowa State last year. He then led the Tigers to an 8-5 record and a win over Northwestern in the Outback bowl. While defensive coordinator Ted Roof has drawn the ire of many Auburn fans this year, offensive coordinator and magician Gus Malzahn has orchestrated the offense to the #7 unit in the country. Joker Phillips has taken some lumps over his last two games, and will try to turn things around for his alma mater this week. Offensive coordinator Randy Sanders and defensive headman Steve Brown will support him. While I think Joker will probably be a better head coach than Chizik in time, Malzahn’s expertise and Brown’s lackluster defense sway this one to the Tigers.
The Edge: AUBURN
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