Alabama Running Back EJ Crowell (13) after scoring the go ahead touchdown against Kentucky at Kroger Field in Lexington, KY on Saturday, Sep 12, 2026. (Credit to Crimson Tide Photos / UA Athletics)
The 12th ranked Alabama Crimson Tide rallied in the second half to win at Kentucky while Auburn opens their home schedule with an easy win against Southern Miss.
While Alabama won 45-17 Saturday in Lexington against the Wildcats, the game wasn’t as easy as it appeared. Alabama quarterback Keelon Russell showed some growing pains while making his first start on the road by throwing two interceptions and losing on fumble in the first half. He finished 16-23 with 188 passing yards and one touchdown.
One of the biggest sighs of relief was seeing Bama run the ball. Daniel Hill has a career high of 106 yards on the ground on 18 carries to lead the Tide’s 192 total rushing yards on the day.
The story of the game was the resiliency. The Tide had three total turnovers in the first half which led to 10 points for Kentucky, giving them a 17-13 lead at the half which was big since the Wildcats haven’t beaten Alabama since 1997 and only twice ever.
Then the second half happened. Alabama outscored the Wildcats 32-0 after halftime thanks to a fumble recovery and a fake punt attempt by Kentucky, both of which gave the Tide drives starting deep within Wildcat territory.
The defense continued to be a shining light for Bama holding Kentucky to 209 total yards of offense and 1-14 on third down. They also recovered two fumbles and a pick-6 by sophomore linebacker Luke Metz in the first quarter.
Head coach Kalen DeBoer after the game said the game wasn’t perfect but he was proud of how the team came out of the game.
“We faced a lot of resiliency in different ways,” adding on that they lost the coordinator to quarterback communication in the 3rd quarter.
DeBoer also spoke about Russell on his first road start and the struggles he had early:
“Sometimes he goes and tries to make a play and we got to help him understand the situation and how to keep us on the field but I don’t want to take his aggressiveness away from him because there were some plays he made out there too.”
After their thrilling opening win against Baylor, Auburn played their first game at Jordon-Hare Stadium and handled business against the Southern Miss Golden Eagles 43-8.
After an hour-long delay thanks to lightning, senior cornerback Andre Jordon Jr. got the fireworks started early by running a pick-6 back on the first play of the game, making it the fastest score in modern Auburn history.
Overall, the game was a lot less stressful for the Tigers. 613 total yards of offense by Auburn with only one sack allowed after they allowed five against Baylor.
Quarterback Byrum Brown had a much cleaner game as well, going 18-29 and 226 yards through the air and two touchdowns and no picks.
Photo by Zach Bland/Auburn Tigers
Sophomore running back Omar Mabson II led the Tigers ground attack with 110 yards and one touchdown. The Tigers had 350 total rushing yards on the game.
Auburn also held the Eagles to 221 total yards and 5-13 on third down.
Despite their good game, Auburn coach Alex Golesh wasn’t 100% pleased with what he saw.
“Defensively, to start like that was huge.” He said in his post-game interview. “Offensively, I thought we were beyond sloppy. Overall, a lot to clean up, and we’re going to have to really quickly here.”
