It was a mistake-plagued season opener for just about everyone except the home team on Saturday in Auburn, Ala.

The No. 8 Tigers took advantage of three Kentucky turnovers, another critical mistake by the UK special teams, and a controversial call en route to a 29-13 win over the Wildcats at Jordan-Hare Stadium.

Leading 15-13 early in the fourth quarter, Auburn (1-0) turned a Kentucky fumble at its own 23-yard line and a failed fake punt attempt by the visitors into 14 points in a two-minute span to break the game open.

No. 23 Kentucky (0-1) also threw an interception at the goal line at the end of the first half to erase a scoring opportunity -- preceded by a replay review that appeared to take away a touchdown run by the Cats -- and fumbled late in the game at the Auburn 10.

"Two possessions there at the end of the first half were critical, along with the five-minute stretch there in the second half with the turnovers," UK head coach Mark Stoops said. "Big, big turning points in the game there."

"We did a lot of good things against a good team (but) it’s hard to win a game with that many turnovers," said UK quarterback Terry Wilson, who was playing for the first time since tearing ligaments in his knee during the second game of the 2019 season.

"Being off a year, I haven't been hit at all, but no excuses. I just have to be able to hold onto the football," added Wilson, who had fumble and threw an interception. The senior finished the day 24 of 37 through the air for 239 yards with a touchdown while rushing 13 times for 42 yards.

"There's a lot to build on there," Stoops said, "but a lot he can do better. The turnovers were a big piece of it for him. It's hard to simulate that in practice. That's the critical area where he needs to improve, securing the football in the run game, and with the interception he made in the first half, bad decision there."

Auburn's passing game proved to be much more dangerous. Sophomore quarterback Bo Nix finished 16 of 27 for 233 yards and three touchdowns. Receiver Seth Williams caught six of those passes for 112 yards and two scores.

Nix found Williams for a 4-yard touchdown pass to give Auburn a 22-13 lead with 10:21 remaining, then after UK's failed fake punt, he connected with Eli Stove on a 21-yard TD strike with 8:17 remaining to give his team its first comfortable lead of the day.

The Cats outgained the Tigers 384-324, but Auburn did not commit a turnover.

"A lot of things to work on, but I really think our team has a lot of potential," Auburn coach Gus Malzahn said. "We beat a good football team today. Hats off to Kentucky and Coach Stoops for what he’s done with that program. They are going to beat a lot of people. We were very concerned coming into the game."

*****

In this Cats Illustrated "Rapid Recap" feature, we touch on some quick-hitters from the UK victory…

THE GOOD:

Kentucky had placed itself in a position to win a game against a Top 10 opponent going into the fourth quarter. There were long stretches when it appeared the Cats were in control of the game's flow.

THE BAD:

It's difficult to win any game with a 0-3 turnover margin, especially on the road in the SEC against a Top 10 opponent. Throw in the fake punt for an unofficial fourth turnover and a holding call that negated a 1st-and-10 from the Auburn 30 in the second quarter as two more crucial errors.

THE UGLY:

The SEC officiating crew completely botched a call on a Chris Rodriguez 1-yard touchdown run with just seconds remaining in the first half. The play was ruled short by the officials on the field, which was the first mistake. The SEC replay crew compounded that by suggesting there was not sufficient video evidence to overturn the call on the field, despite a clear replay to the contrary. Kentucky lost a touchdown and a ton of momentum going into the locker room at the half.

GAME BALL:

Seth Williams, Auburn -- The Tigers' 6-foot-3 wideout looked like the future NFL player he's being touted as today, catching six passes for 112 yards and two touchdowns. "They have a wideout who's an absolute monster," UK head coach Mark Stoops said.

BY THE NUMBERS:

1st - Collegiate touchdown for UK sophomore receiver Akeem Hayes, who caught an 8-yard scoring pass from Terry Wilson in the second half.

2.8 - Kentucky's yards per play on first down.

3 - Auburn wideouts with an average yards per reception over 10, led by Seth Wiliams at 18.7 yards per catch.

8 - Tackles for loss by the Auburn defense. The Cats recorded only four.

12-19 - The Cats' third-down conversion rate on offense, including eight of their first 10 on the day.

145-91 - UK won the rushing column, led by 62 yards on seven carries by Alabama native Kavosiey Smoke.

36:29 - Kentucky's time of possession compared to just 23:31 for Auburn.

27-6-1 - Auburn's lead in the all-time series with Kentucky, including a three-game win streak.

QUOTABLE:

"That was a situation where it was a read, and that's not on Max (Duffy), that's on me. That's on us. We had it on when we were down two the possession before, but we turned it over on the fumble. And then we went back out, and being down nine, that's not where you call that. I shouldn't put that on Max. That's my fault. I've got to communicate that and take that off with my special teams coach prior to Max going back out there, taking that read off him." -- UK head coach Mark Stoops on Max Duffy's fake punt attempt.

UP NEXT:

Kentucky returns to action Saturday in the home opener against Ole Miss. The Rebels lost 51-35 on Saturday to No. 5 Florida in Oxford, Miss. The Gators recorded 642 yards of total offense, but Lane Kiffin's debut for Ole Miss featured a 613-yard offensive effort.