aubiefifty 18,231 Posted September 25, 2020 Share Posted September 25, 2020 al.com Kentucky isn’t Barkley’s Kentucky. Auburn beware By Charles Hollis 5-6 minutes Just when you need a packed stadium, with noise Auburn’s Jordan-Hare Stadium is famous for, COVID-19 swoops in and spoils the party. About 17,500 fans -- 20 percent capacity of the stadium’s 87,450 seats --- will be allowed to watch the Tigers play this fall or until this pandemic stops kicking and screaming. With an offensive line that has almost no experience and a backfield that could use a featured runner, eighth-ranked and 10 1/2-point favorite Auburn is going to have to ride its defense this weekend against No. 23 Kentucky in their 11 a.m. Saturday season opener. It’s a defense that is something of an unknown, too. A packed stadium would have been nice. But getting the SEC to this weekend, to kick off its 10-game, league-only schedule, is the big picture. Auburn isn’t playing Charles Barkley’s Kentucky. The former Auburn star and TNT basketball analyst made an appearance on Monday Night Football this week and predicted the Tigers were going to “kill Kentucky. I’m worried about Georgia the next week.” Kentucky football isn’t Kentucky basketball but under Mark Stoops the Wildcats have become relevant. As in four straight winning seasons and 18 wins the past two years, including two bowl victories. Stoops is 32-20 the last four seasons. Gus Malzahn and the Tigers are 35-18 over that period, with one bowl win and three bowl losses. Barkley may not be sweating the Cats visit but that’s not the case for Malzahn and defensive coordinator Kevin Steele. Barring a COVID-19 outbreak, Kentucky can hold its own at the line of scrimmage against a Steele front seven that features linebackers K.J. Britt and Owen Pappoe and linemen Big Kat Bryant, T.D. Moultry and Derick Hall. The Wildcats return four of five starters from a line that led the Power 5 in rushing. Center Drake Jackson and tackles Darian Kinnard and Landon Young are NFL anchors. When the script is flipped and it’s Auburn’s offensive line and its lone returning starter, center Nick Brahms, matched against the Wildcats defensive front, this could be trouble. Kentucky has veterans Josh Paschal (6-3, 278), Quinton Bohannon (6-4, 357) and Phil Hoskins (6-5, 315) in the middle and an SEC worthy secondary. Depth? UK can go two and three deep. This week’s picks: Kentucky vs. Auburn The Wildcats are to be taken seriously with Stoops opening the year with perhaps his most talented and deepest team. Auburn opens with another stout defense -- maybe not in the league of last year’s unit -- and lots of questions on offense. This is why Chad Morris was brought in. An offense that averaged 5.6 yards per play last year, 10th in the league, won’t put Auburn in Alabama-Georgia-LSU-Florida company. Morris has three things going for him -- Bo Nix and receivers Seth Williams and Anthony Swartz. But that’s the passing game. The running game? Maybe D.J. Williams fixes that. He had his moments last year. But that line? It could be a mess. What the Wildcats have going for them, besides Barkley’s bulletin board boast, is the return of dual-threat quarterback Terry Wilson, who suffered a season-ending knee injury early in 2019, a deep backfield led by Asim Rose, Kavosiey Smoke and Chris Rodriguez Jr. and one of the nation’s best lines. Auburn 26, Kentucky 23 Alabama vs. Missouri We know the second-ranked Crimson Tide is going to be explosive. Count the weapons. Receivers Jaylen Waddle and Devonta Smith, Running backs Najee Harris, Brian Robinson and a cast of many more. They’ll work alongside one of Nick Saban best offensive lines. Redshirt junior Mac Jones just needs to be steady and, yeah, a game manager. Mizzou’s defense returns eight starters. Linebacker Nick Bolton is the star. The secondary should be a good test for Waddle and Smith. Alabama’s defense? That’s the elephant in the room after a couple of not-so-hot years. And, of course, the kicking game, the field goal unit specifically, is a head scratcher. Don’t underestimate Missouri’s firepower. First-year coach Eli Drinkwitz has a couple of runners, Larry Rountree III and Tyler Badie, and pass catching threats in Jalen Knox and Virginia Tech grad transfer Damon Hazelton. Drinkwitz plans to keep his starting quarterback, either TCU transfer Shawn Robinson or redshirt freshman Connor Bazelak, a secret, like that will matter. Robinson may be the most dangerous. An upset isn’t likely. With a clock eating offense, 27-point underdog Mizzou could add some drama to the second half. Alabama 45, Missouri 17 In the SEC Florida 36, Ole Miss 23 LSU 31, Mississippi State 17 Georgia 38, Arkansas 14 Texas A&M 35, Vanderbilt 14 Tennessee 30, South Carolina 20 Upset alert 8 1/2-point underdog West Virginia 38, No. 15 Oklahoma State 35 7-point underdog NC State 30, No. 20 Virginia Tech 28 Other games Oklahoma 40, Kansas State 26 Iowa State 27, Texas Tech 24 Central Florida 41, East Carolina 17 Louisiana 31, Georgia Southern 23 Louisville 24, Pittsburgh 21 Texas 37, Texas Tech 31 Cincinnati 35, Army 28 Miami 38, Florida State 23 BYU 36, Troy 28 Liberty 30, Florida International 28 Tulane 24, Southern Miss 21 Last week: 9-5 Season: 19-10 Charles Hollis has covered college football since 1983. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toddc 13,197 Posted September 25, 2020 Share Posted September 25, 2020 The first thing that caught my eye was the 10.5 line he stated. Last I heard it was 7.5, so if it’s back over two scores then those with money on the line are getting on board. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TieGrrrr 14 Posted September 25, 2020 Share Posted September 25, 2020 If Chuck says anthing is a lock, the trend is to run the other way... at least in NBA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swamp Eagle 5,269 Posted September 25, 2020 Share Posted September 25, 2020 Charles Hollis. Lol! He can pick who he wants, and may be correct on this one, but odd's were much less that he would have picked Auburn to win. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tigerbrotha12 2,362 Posted September 25, 2020 Share Posted September 25, 2020 2 hours ago, TieGrrrr said: If Chuck says anthing is a lock, the trend is to run the other way... at least in NBA. 2017 Iron bowl pick wasn't bad Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gr82be 14,910 Posted September 25, 2020 Share Posted September 25, 2020 3 hours ago, aubiefifty said: Stoops is 32-20 the last four seasons. Gus Malzahn and the Tigers are 35-18 over that period, with one bowl win and three bowl losses. Definitely not what I grew up on. Seeing this, man... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Viper 3,501 Posted September 25, 2020 Share Posted September 25, 2020 5 hours ago, tigerbrotha12 said: 2017 Iron bowl pick wasn't bad So was 2004 Tennessee. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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