Kentucky is the early favorite to beat Auburn

The vibes surrounding Kentucky football are not high right now, but they’re still higher than what’s happening with the Auburn Tigers.

So it shouldn’t shock you to hear that Kentucky has opened as the betting favorite to beat Auburn next weekend in Lexington. FanDuel currently has the Wildcats listed as 3.5-point favorites with the over/under set at 42.5. ESPN Analytics also slightly favors Kentucky, giving the ‘Cats a 51.4 percent chance to take down Auburn.

Kickoff at Kroger Field is set for Saturday, Oct. 26 at 7:45 p.m. EST on the SEC Network.

Kentucky is a 3.5 point favorite over Auburn

— Matt Jones (@KySportsRadio) October 20, 2024

Kentucky will welcome Auburn to town by looking to end a two-game losing streak. The Wildcats came up short against Vanderbilt last week (20-13) before getting absolutely smacked by Florida this past Saturday in Gainesville (48-20). UK will bring a 3-4 overall record into the matchup with a 1-4 mark in the SEC. Any chance at regaining momentum heading into the final stretch of the regular season begins with beating the Tigers. This is must-win territory.

But as mentioned, Auburn might be in worse shape than Kentucky. Following a 2-1 start to the season (wins over Alabama A&M and New Mexico), the Tigers have dropped four straight games, all coming against SEC opponents. Granted, three of those opponents were ranked at the time, but head coach Hugh Freeze and his squad desperately need some juice moving forward. They nearly got it against Missouri on Saturday before a bad fourth quarter cost them in the end. Auburn is one of just two SEC teams without a conference win (Mississippi State).