GAMETHREAD: KENTUCKY VS. AUBURN

When I think of 1939, the first thing that pops into my head is "Germany invades Poland, officially kicking off WW2" but I'm a military history geek. Other things happened besides the start of mankind's deadliest war to date, to include:

• Debut of the comics "Superman" and "Batman"
• Conclave selected Eugenio Pacelli (you probably know him as Pope Pius XII) as leader of the Catholic Church
• The MS St. Louis - aka "The Voyage of the Damned" - left Hamburg with 937 desperate Jewish refugees
• The State of Massachusetts finally ratified the Bill of Rights.  Connecticut was inspired to do likewise the following month. (Only took 147 years)
• Oregon beat Ohio State for the first NCAA Men's Basketball Championship title
• "The Grapes of Wrath" was published, much to the horror delight of high school students teachers everywhere
• The first ever sports telecast featured a Columbia vs. Princeton baseball game
• Oh, and Kentucky hosted its last Thursday night home game. (Make of that historical footnote what you will.)

At the start of the season, the majority of talking heads had this chalked up as an easy Auburn win, with just a few citing it as a "classic trap" game for the WarEagleTigerPersons. Highly confident but somehow horribly confused talking heads had Bama winning the West but somehow Auburn winning in Atlanta.  Flash forward to Week 6 and no one seems to quite know what's going to happen, but everyone knows it's going to be a fun game to watch.

Here's what I know: if we win this, we are in an outstanding position to go not just a bowl but potentially a good bowl, held where the weather is actually warm. (No offense, Birmingham BBVA Compass Bowl!) If we lose, we still have a shot at a bowl but our chances start looking dicier for one played in warmer climates. Long story short, our guys can play the game of their lives while playing with nothing to lose.

Auburn on the other hand? They're 3-2, and still have to play at Arkansas (never easy), get to host Ole Miss (who up until the Florida game looked pretty freaking awesome), travel to Kyle Field (where A&M is having a fun fall), host Georgia (hard to predict), host Idaho (ok, that's probably a W), and finally host Alabama in the Iron Bowl (I just don't see another Kick Six in their future).  I could see them going as high as 7-5 but have no problem envisioning them going 5-7. As such, I expect their team to play like it has everything to lose.

TL; DR? Tonight's game is one of potentially EPIC proportions. So get your best lucky t-shirt, don those earrings of victory and come cheer our boys on to glory. Let's do this, Cats!