3 Keys to Victory for Auburn over Kentucky

The Auburn Tigers can come home from Lexington with a win against the Kentucky Wildcats, if they take care of these-three keys.

Auburn running back Jarquez Hunter needs to feature prominently against the Kentucky Wildcats. / Joshua L. Jones / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Auburn Tigers take on the Kentucky Wildcats on the road at Kroger Field in Lexington on Saturday night.

The Tigers will be looking to snap their four-game losing streak, but come into this contest as a 1.5-point underdog. Kentucky is on a two-game losing streak, meaning both teams will be hungry for a win.

Here are three keys to victory for Auburn.

Keep Kentucky’s defensive line out of the backfield

There is likely never going to be a game for any team where this is not a priority, but it will be even more important than usual for Auburn this week as Kentucky boasts one of the SEC’s best defensive fronts.

The Wildcats’ defensive line is led by Deone Walker and Octavius Oxendine, both players who are on Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze’s radar.

“This defensive front, it starts there,” Freeze said earlier this week. “They’re the real deal. Zero (Deone Walker) is probably a top 15 pick in the Draft. Eight (Octavious Oxendine) is pretty dang salty, too. The backers are really, really talented. They can run in the secondary. It’s one of the better defenses we’ve seen.”

Kentucky is fourth in the SEC in yards allowed per game (283.6) and its defensive front and linebackers recieve a lot of credit for the unit’s success.

Find ways to get Jarquez Hunter involved

Auburn did a better job of getting star running back Jarquez Hunter the ball against Missouri, but he was limited to 57 yards off 19 carries by Missouri’s talented defensive front.

The Tigers could find themselves in a similar position against Kentucky this week, so head coach Hugh Freeze and company need to get creative when it comes to getting the ball into Hunter’s hands.

This could include prioritizing rushes to the outside or increasing the number of targets Hunter gets in the passing game. No matter where they come from, it is important for Hunter to get touches.

Take care of the football

While turnovers were a constant problem for Auburn in the first half of the season, it appears to have gotten it under control. The Tigers have played two games in a row without turning the ball over.

Despite only two turnovers in their last three games, Auburn has still lost 16 turnovers this season, placing it at No. 129 in FBS.

Particularly when playing on the road, winning the game becomes significantly harder when you can’t take care of the football. Auburn needs to emphasize ball security in Lexington.

Kick off is set for 6:45 p.m. CT and SEC Network will carry the television broadcast.