We've reached the halfway point of our opponent previews. We'll continue them through this week, even though there will be plenty of Auburn news once practice starts Tuesday. If you've missed one, you can find them all in the upper right-hand corner of the blog.

Now for Kentucky ...

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Kentucky Wildcats

• Head coach: Joker Phillips (1st season at UK; assistant for Kentucky, Cincinnati, Minnesota, Notre Dame and South Carolina)
  
• 2009 record: 7-6 (3-5 SEC, t-4th East), lost to Clemson 21-13 in Music City Bowl
  
• Returning starters: 11 (5 offense, 6 defense)
• Total offense: 331.5 ypg (10th SEC, 93rd nationally)
• Total defense: 340.5 ypg (8th SEC, 53rd nationally)
• Series: Auburn leads 24-6-1
• Last meeting: Kentucky won 21-14 at Jordan-Hare Stadium last year
  
• Consensus prediction: Fifth in the SEC East

Five-week schedule glimpse

• Sept. 25: at Florida
• Oct. 2: at Ole Miss
• Oct. 9: Auburn
• Oct. 16: South Carolina
• Oct. 23: Georgia

If there's one game that stick out on Auburn's schedule last season that most Tigers fans look back at with the most regret, it's the Kentucky game. With freshman quarterback Morgan Newton making his first career start, the Wildcats rallied for 14 unanswered fourth-quarter points as the Auburn offense sputtered, giving Kentucky its first win at Auburn since 1966. Some of the principals have changed this year. Phillips took over for the retired Rich Brooks, bringing with him a renewed energy for a program that Brooks got to respectability, making a bowl game his final four years. Now we'll see if Phillips can get the Wildcats to the next level.

To find our if he can, I got some help from Chip Cosby, the Kentucky football beat writer for the Lexington Herald-Leader. You can read his blog here and follow him on Twitter here. Here's what he had to say about Kentucky in a short Q&A:

AB: Brooks retired last winter, making way for long-time offensive assistant and Kentucky alum Phillips to take over as head coach. How is Phillips' younger, up-tempo approach sitting with the players compared to that of the laid-back, avuncular Brooks?

CC: I don't think there's been that much of an adjustment, actually. Phillips has been around since Brooks took over in 2003, so I think the players have gotten used to his style, personality, etc. The practices were definitely more up-tempo in the spring, and I think it took the players a couple of days to adapt, but they seem to be buying into everything so far. Joker's staff changes, such as bringing in Mike Summers from Arkansas to coach the O-line, getting Tee Martin in to coach wide receivers, and hiring Greg Nord away from Illinois to coach tight ends/special teams, have generated a lot of positive vibes.

AB: Mike Hartline has the most experience, Morgan Newton the most recent success and Ryan Mossakowski the biggest arm. Who wins the starting quarterback job this fall and how secure with that decision do you think Phillips will be? In other words, will this be a fluid situation throughout the season?

CC: I'd be shocked if Hartline isn't the starter for the season opener against Louisville. It's a must-win game for Phillips, and while Hartline isn't spectacular, he has the most experience and I think he's the QB that Phillips will trust the most in this situation. I think Newton and Mossakowski will both get opportunities to play, but I think a lot of it depends on Hartline. If he plays well and the team is winning, it's his job. But if he struggles out of the gate, Joker won't hesitate to pull the trigger.

AB: The Wildcats seem to be loaded with offensive skill players (especially running back Derrick Locke and wide receiver Randall Cobb), but will the offense take any steps back after losing four starting offensive linemen from last season?

CC: On paper, it looks like the O-line might be in a little bit of trouble after losing four starters. And when you consider that last year's line were among the best run-blockers in the league and also did an adequate job of protecting the QB, there will be some dropoff. But Phillips doesn't think the bottom will fall out. Stuart Hines, the lone returning starter, is a potential All-SEC candidate at guard, and right tackle Brad Durham has been a part-time starter the last couple of years. Also, Mike Summers developed a reputation as one of the best O-line coaches in the game for his work at Louisville and Arkansas. The key will be at left tackle, where Chandler Burden is trying to make the adjustment after moving over from defensive end.

AB: We hear a lot about Kentucky's offense, and with good cause considering Locke and Cobb are such dynamic players, but what about the defense? Kentucky lost five starters from a unit that was susceptible to the run, allowing 182.9 yards per game, 11th in the SEC. Is there any reason to believe that group will be better this year?

CC: The defense is a big concern. They lost two draft picks in tackle Corey Peters cornerback and Trevard Lindley. Sam Maxwell and Micah Johnson were All-SEC linebackers. UK's other returning corner, Paul Warford, was recently ruled academically ineligible. Projected starting tackle Mister Cobble might not be eligible, either. UK has some major, major question marks, especially in the front seven. Either some young, unproven players must step up and play beyond their years, or the Wildcats could be faced with the task of having to try and outscore teams to win.

AB: Brooks made Kentucky football relevant again, going to four straight bowl games at the end of his run and winning three of them. But are Kentucky fans satisfied with reaching seven or eight wins and going to a second-tier bowl game or has Brooks' success whetted their appetite for bigger things? Furthermore, is Phillips the right man to take the program to new heights?

CC: After watching Brooks' commendable run the last four years, the fans want more. They want to see Kentucky make more noise in the SEC East. They'd like to see more wins over the traditional powers. They'd like to see the program spend more weeks in the Top 25. Phillips played at UK and has coached two different stints here. He understands the landscape. He knows that Kentucky will have to recruit at a much higher level than they have in the past if they want to take the next step. All that being said, he has to win enough games to be given time to see his vision come to fruition. There won't be much of a honeymoon. He has to at least do what Brooks did (win 6-7 games and get to bowls) the first year or two, and if that happens, he'll be able to continue to recruit at a higher level and hope for an eventual breakthrough.

There you have it. This will be another interesting game for Auburn, which hasn't traveled to Kentucky since 2005. The Tigers should be plenty motivated after last year's debacle at Jordan-Hare. The Wildcats still have all the same weapons that gouged the Auburn defense last year, so this could be a dangerous game. If Auburn wants to improve on its eight wins from last season, it will have to take care of business in games like this.

Up next: What could be the most entertaining game of the year, a potentially high-scoring home game against Ryan Mallett and Arkansas.