LEXINGTON, Ky. _ If you concentrate really hard, you can hear that clock ticking.
Countdown: Only two weeks to go.
I know, it seems like it has been forever. Other conferences are already playing football, after all. Not the Big Ten and Pac-12, of course. But the ACC pushed the start button Saturday. So did the Big 12. Well, at least those Big 12 teams fortunate enough not to be caught in the COVID-19 web.
SEC football is still two weeks away. That seems so far and so close all at the same time. The "It Just Means More" league started practice Aug. 17. It announced its revised conference-only schedule that very same day. From then until now it has been practice and testing, practice and testing, rinse and repeat, fingers crossed that everyone makes it to Week 1.
"Our No. 1 thing is just getting to the 26th with a full group," Kentucky offensive coordinator Eddie Gran said last week.
For Kentucky, the 26th means the Auburn Tigers. At the Auburn Tigers. Eastern Michigan as opening opponent this is not. Auburn was 9-4 last year under Coach Gus Malzahn. It beat Oregon, 27-21. It won at Texas A&M, 28-20. It lost by three points (23-20) at eventual national champion LSU, by seven points (21-14) to SEC East champ Georgia and it beat Alabama, 48-45, in the Iron Bowl. It did so with a true freshman playing quarterback. Bo Nix is back, by the way.
In the preseason AP Top 25 college football poll, which included teams that have indicated they will not be playing football this season _ don't ask me, I don't make the rules _ Auburn was ranked 11th. The Tigers have just 10 starters returning, but hey, it's Auburn. You know there is going to be talent on the roster. You know it's going to be a hard game for Kentucky to win. Pandemic or not.
To be sure, the Cats can win. Stoops has his program to the point where it can compete against any team in the conference, even against the toughest teams, even on the road. That's important. Of what appears to be the four toughest games on UK's SEC-only 2020 slate, three are away from Kroger Field. At Auburn the first week. At Alabama on Nov. 21. At Florida on Nov. 28.
What "on the road" means this season is anyone's guess, of course. At least at the start, SEC schools are allowing fans to watch in-stadium, just not a lot of fans. UK announced Thursday it plans on allowing 20% capacity. Auburn is doing likewise at Jordan-Hare Stadium, which translates to the neighborhood of 17,000 fans in an 87,451-seat facility. How much of a home-field advantage all those empty seats represents is yet to be determined.
Only, here's the thing, this won't be so much a season as it is a grind. No non-conference opponents means no breathers, no FCS guarantee, no MAC foes, no cupcakes, just an all-meat diet. Given the grind, it would behoove SEC teams to hit the ground running. Being 0-1 isn't a death sentence but 1-0 will sure look a whole lot better. After all, every win this season will be something worth cherishing.
Thursday, I asked UK defensive coordinator Brad White if the staff was using the extra prep time to teach the Auburn game plan to the players, or were Stoops and Co. using a more traditional approach where you don't start hardcore opponent prep until game week?
"I think right now our focus is still on development and execution of our defense," White said. "Obviously we've looked at what Auburn is and what they're all about, so some calls that you (practice) might have a little bit lean that direction. But right now through this week, the focus is us ... . We'll definitely start getting Auburn-focused come next week."
Because the week after will be Game Week. Seriously, the clock is ticking.
