The Wildcats Lose at Auburn
What was expected to be a great day ended up turning really shitty really quickly. Excuse my language but I'm still upset over that blown call at the end zone right before halftime.
Yes, that one. Which should've put Kentucky up 14-8 going into halftime. I guess it was the referees first game too. Although that was an awful call, it's not entirely to blame for Kentucky's loss. Turnovers, some rust on defense, and letting Auburns Bo Nix practically do whatever he wanted definetely contributed.
Terry Wilson started off hot, landing the first touchdown of the game from either team, while going for 82 rushing yards and 37 passing yards, balancing the field very well. Then something in there second quarter flipped. After the missed touchdown before halftime, the Cats just never recovered. Auburn managed to run the field as if it was just them out there. Kentuckys defense looked lost.
Kentucky finished with 3 turnovers ( 2 fumbles and 1 interception), which Auburn scored off of all three of them. The Wildcats also finished with 239 passing yards backed up by 145 rushing yards, a little different than last years Lynn Bowden show, although it clearly wasn't enough to defeat the Auburn Tigers as they won 29-13.
My biggest takeaways:
The rust on Kentuckys secondary defense
Terry Wilson turnover management
Missed call before halftime
One of those are out of control, but the other two can easily be fixed. Some rust is expected by all means. It's the first game of the season, they haven't had a real defense outside of their inner squad scrimmages in 9 months, but at some point it has to be limited. That rust has to be knocked off if you want to win the football game. Kentuckys secondary defense gave up 324 total yards and 3 touchdowns to Auburn. That just aint going to cut it if you're wanting to beat the 8th ranked team in the nation.
Terry Wilson's biggest weakness is the turnovers. He's known for having loose hands, dropping the ball after contact, and having a few interceptions here and there. That's another thing that HAS to be controlled. Auburn scored more points off of Kentuckys turnovers than Kentucky scored in the entire game..
Lastly, I won't be revisiting that call. You've seen it, I've seen it, we can all agree it was terrible. Definitely wouldn't have changed the outcome of the game, but could've very well gave Kentucky some big momentum going into the half leading the scoreboard, and starting with the possession at the beginning of the sound half. Could've been a big swing for Kentuckys offense...
Overall, I liked what I seen all the way up until about 5 minutes before halftime. The Wildcats had it going, it felt good to finally have Kentucky Football back into our lives, and we were all thriving, but once things took a turn for the worse, Kentucky never recovered. Kentucky wasn't a lock for the win by any means, but many believed Kentucky could've left Jordan-Hare Stadium with a win this afternoon if all of the cards lined up just right. Would've been a huge addition to Mark Stoops resume too, but unfortunately, that didn't happen.
I'm still high on the Cats and fully expect them to have a good season. It is just the first game of the season, so relax a little. Being 0-1 sucks, but I'm already waiting for the Cats to bring this thing back to .500 with a win next Saturday vs. Ole Miss.
Go Cats.
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