AUBURN, Alabama – Don’t look for Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn to rest easily when Kentucky visits Jordan-Hare Stadium on Sept. 26 for the season-opener. In Malzahn’s time at Auburn, first as offensive coordinator and then as head coach, games against Kentucky have been harrowing experiences.

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Will Joey Gatewood be cleared to play against his former team? (Photo: USA TODAY Sports)

None of the three Kentucky teams Malzahn has played finished those seasons with fewer than six losses. But Auburn, even the 2010 national championship team, has struggled mightily against the Wildcats.

In 2009, Randall Cobb assaulted Auburn’s defense, Auburn’s offense struggled and Kentucky escaped Jordan-Hare Stadium with a 21-14 victory in Malzahn’s first season as offensive coordinator.

In 2010, Auburn went to Lexington with a 5-0 record and No. 8 national ranking. Kentucky was 3-2 and had both of its SEC games. Auburn blew a 31-14 lead and won 37-34 on Wes Byrum’s 24-yard field goal as time expired.

Mark Stoops replaced Joker Phillips as Kentucky head coach in 2013. In 2015, Auburn went to Lexington again, led 23-10 at halftime and hung on for dear life to win 30-27.

This time, Kentucky will come to town carrying high expectations, though it is not ranked. Auburn is ranked No. 11. The Wildcats might also bring along former Auburn quarterback Joey Gatewood, who is waiting for an answer on an eligibility waiver request to the NCAA.

Auburn supported Gatewood’s pursuit of a waiver that would make him eligible to play on the campus he called home for two years. Stoops said on a podcast earlier this summer that he believes Gatewood should be cleared.

“I think it’d be very unfair for Joey not to be able to play this year, but we’ll see,” Stoops said. “We’re waiting to hear back on that. I think there’s quite a few issues going on in the NCAA, but that’s not a good reason to put a guy like Joey Gatewood on hold. His future and his career are very important.”

Auburn, originally scheduled to play North Carolina on Sept. 5 in Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, opened as a double-digit favorite over Kentucky, but COVID-19, a 10-game, SEC-only schedule, altered preseason camps and dramatically fewer fans in stadiums have created uncertainty.

"This year is about adjusting," Malzahn said. "The teams that adjust are going to have an advantage. Our coaches will start working extremely hard to get prepared. Usually you go into the season and you've got the first three opponents broken down. We'll be playing catch-up really fast along with everybody in our conference the next few weeks."

Here is a look at Malzahn’s previous three games against Kentucky:

KENTUCKY 21, AUBURN 14, OCT. 17, 2009, JORDAN-HARE STADIUM

Auburn’s defense had no answer for Cobb, Kentucky’s dynamic receiver and wildcat quarterback. Cobb ran 61 yards to the Auburn 3 and scored the winning touchdown from the 4 two plays later as the Wildcats pulled off the upset.

Auburn scored first on Neiko Thorpe’s 69-yard run with a field goal blocked by Jake Ricks in the first quarter and led 14-7 at halftime after Ben Tate scored from the 1 with six seconds left. Kentucky tied it with 6:29 left and won it on Cobb’s touchdown run.

Kentucky couldn’t move the ball through the air, but it didn’t have to. The Wildcats rushed 49 times for 286 yards. Derrick Locke rushed 19 times for 126 yards and Cobb 12 times for 109 yards.

Auburn quarterback Chris Todd was nursing a sore arm and passed for 80 yards. Tate ran 31 times for 132 yards.

Auburn finished the season 8-5. Kentucky finished 7-6.

AUBURN 37, KENTUCKY 34, OCT. 9, 2010, COMMONWEALTH STADIUM

Auburn’s drive to a national championship could have come to an early end. Auburn led 31-14 with 1:06 left in the first half, but it was far from over.

Kentucky kicked a field goal on the last play of the half to cut it to 31-17. Cobb caught a 16-yard pass from Mike Hartline and scored on a 1-yard run to tie it 31-31 with 4:03 left in the third quarter. The two teams swapped field goals in the fourth quarter and it was 34-34 when Auburn took over at its own 7 with 7:22 left.

On third-and-6, quarterback Cam Newton threw to Darvin Adams for 9 yards and a first down. Auburn methodically took it down the field from there. Six straight Newton runs set up Byrum’s 24-yard field goal as time expired.’

Newton ran 28 times for 198 yards and four touchdowns. He completed 13-of-21 passes for 210 yards.

Cobb didn’t have gaudy numbers like the previous season, but he was still a pain for Auburn’s defense. He ran 11 times for 47 yards and two touchdowns. He caught seven passes for 68 yards and two touchdowns.

Kentucky finished the 2010 season 6-7 overall and 2-6 in the SEC. Auburn went 14-0 and won the national championship. Newton won the Heisman Trophy.

AUBURN 30, KENTUCKY 27, OCT. 15, 2015, COMMONWEALTH STADIUM

Daniel Carlson’s 52-yard field goal on the last play of the first half gave Auburn a 23-10 lead. The Tigers led 30-20 after a 3-yard Peyton Barber run with 7:56 left in the game.

But Kentucky came charging back.

Mikel Horton’s 1-yard run cut the gap to 30-27 with 4:06 left. On third-and-three at the Auburn 44, quarterback Patrick Towles lofted a deep pass for wide receiver Jeff Badet. He had the ball in his hands near the goal line, but cornerback Jonathan Jones knocked it free at the last second. On fourth down, Justin Garrett sacked Towles for a 2-yard loss. Auburn ran out the clock.

12COMMENTS

The 2015 season was not memorable for either team.

Auburn finished 7-6 overall and 2-6 in the SEC. Kentucky finished 5-7 and 2-6.