Kentucky travels to Jordan-Hare Stadium for the first time since 2009 on Saturday when it faces Auburn in an early season Top-25 matchup. Let’s take a look at the series history between the two schools.
It’s been a while since the Wildcats have played in Jordan-Hare Stadium. In 2009, Apple released the iPhone 3, Blockbuster was still a thing and the video board inside the stadium was 435% smaller than it is currently.
Kentucky came into the 2009 matchup at 2-3, while Auburn was 5-1 and returning from Arkansas, where it had suffered its first loss of the season. The Wildcats snuck out of Jordan-Hare with a 21-14 win thanks to a 14-point fourth quarter by Kentucky.
Auburn has largely dominated the series though, with the 2009 defeat the only one since 1966. The two schools have played 18 times since then, highlighted by a 15-game win streak by Auburn. The Tigers lead the all-time series 26-6 with one tie in 1955.
Since 1970, only four games have had the losing team be within one possession of either tying or taking the lead. Three of the four games are the last three meetings between Auburn and Kentucky.
The 2010 match up featured current NFL players such as quarterback Cam Newton for Auburn and wide receiver Randall Cobb for Kentucky. In a game where Newton rushed for four touchdowns and Kentucky tied the game at 34 after trailing 31-14 in the third quarter, Wes Byrum kicked a 24-yard field goal as time expired to give Auburn the win, 37-34.
The latest edition of the game was in 2015, a 30-27 road victory by Auburn. The Tigers are 13-3 all-time in Lexington, while Kentucky is 2-12 all-time in Auburn. Kentucky has never won back-to-back games against Auburn.
Saturday will mark the first time that both teams will be ranked when playing each other since 1955. That game was held in Birmingham, Alabama, and resulted in a 14-14 tie.
Regardless, the match up has been close as of late, with only 13 total points separating winner from loser over the last three games. If this ranked match up is anything like the 1955 version, Saturday is sure to be exciting.
