The SEC took its sweet time in rolling out its revamped 2020 schedule.

First the two additional cross-divisional opponents were revealed. Then the curtain was pulled and Week 1 opponents were revealed.

Finally, on Monday night the SEC released its full slate of games.Here are thoughts following the release of that schedule.

1. Auburn is not a bad first week opponent for Kentucky.Every team in the SEC is going to come out with energy and something to prove. Players and coaches alike will just be happy to have football after the last six months. But now that we can really talk about matchups and schedules, Auburn doesn't appear to be a bad first week foe for the Wildcats.

In my view this matchup is similar to the last couple of games between Kentucky and Florida, at least on paper. While the Tigers have some nice defensive line talent in spite of heavy losses it's probably fair to say Kentucky will have something of an advantage along the line of scrimmage in this contest. The issue will be whether Kentucky can contain quarterback Bo Nix and skill position players like Seth Williams, Anthony Schwartz, and Shaun Shivers, among others.

In that respect Auburn's potential strengths play into a strength for Kentucky from last season. The Wildcats don't give up many big plays, or they haven't in recent years, and the Cats' pass defense was among the nation's best with almost everyone returning in the secondary.

Playing on the road won't be the same with either no fans or greatly limited capacities.Make no mistake: Auburn has talent and the fact that the Tigers have played well with good outcomes in some titanic early season games in recent years should serve as a reminder that the game is a toss-up. But it does indeed seem like a toss-up.

College football reporter Brett McMurphy noted that oddsmaker Collin Wilson projectedan 11-point spread in Auburn's favor. That seems very steep given Kentucky's experience in an opener with such unique circumstances.If Kentucky were to defeat Auburn the Wildcats would instantly be regarded as a true contender in the SEC East.

2. Kentucky-Auburn is the game of Week 1 nationally.

Take a look at the reconfigured schedules for the SEC, Big 12 and Pac-12. It's not a stretch to say that Kentucky-Auburn is the best game on the docket.

All that does not mean it will be the CBS game of the week. LSU is coming off a national championship season and hosting a Mississippi State team coached by Mike Leach. The storylines and intrigue in that game might make for a large TV audience. From there in the SEC we're talking about a game like Tennessee-South Carolina among the Week 1 headliners.

So far, advantage UK-Auburn.In the Big 12 the top Week 1 games are a little tough to discern because outside of Oklahoma and maybe Texas at the top there aren't a lot of teams drawing a lot of national hype this year.

Iowa State-TCU should be a good contest between evenly matched teams but anything close to a push goes to an SEC game between two teams that would both be in the Top-20 in any looming re-rank.There aren't really any marquee games in the ACC the first week of the season.So really it's not wild at all to think about UK-Auburn as the nation's best game.

3. Kentucky needs to be 2-1 going to Tennessee.The Wildcats' first three games come against Deep South programs from the SEC West. After a roadtrip to Auburn the Wildcats will welcome Ole Miss and Mississippi State to Lexington.

Neither team is expected to make much noise in the West. Then again, both of the Mississippi teams have to be taken seriously because Mike Leach's Mississippi State team should be able to score some points with K.J. Costello at quarterback (even if there are big questions at receiver and on defense), and Lane Kiffin has certainly built a reputation for offensive success.

In most years we couldn't reasonably look at a three-game stretch such as this and put 2-1 as the baseline for what's acceptable for the Wildcats. But for this to be a special season, absent the out of conference "gimme" contests, the 'Cats need to be at least that, especially since two of those games will take place at Kroger Field.

If UK is worse than that, 1-2 for instance, then the situation would be dire with back-to-back games at Tennessee and then against Georgia.

4. 'Cats get Tennessee early in the season.

As we've laid out the history of some of Kentucky's football program dating back to the post-war period there are some similarities to what we've seen in our own lifetimes. Namely, even good Kentucky teams have struggled against Tennessee for a really long time, and those games took place late in the season.

It will be odd to see Kentucky-Tennessee take place in a month other than November, especially considering the season is starting a month late.

Does that mean anything other than novelty? We can't know. But any shakeup against the Volunteers, especially in Knoxville, can't be a bad thing. Neyland Stadium has been the worst House of Horrors imaginable and it does seem that some of those games against the Vols came after UT had righted the ship and once Kentucky had become more of a depth-tested squad.

5. Games against Florida and Georgia got tougher.

In assessing the SEC's schedule for Kentucky it's hard to make the case the league was anything other than fair and competent. There will be nice stretches and rough spots for every team in the league and Kentucky is no exception.

Perhaps the most daunting thing in the big picture is the circumstances of games against Florida and Georgia seem more difficult than they did under the original scheduling plan.Kentucky gets Georgia one week after taking on Tennessee in Knoxville. The Wildcats get Florida, a team it has matched up with better than UGA, only after a road trip to Alabama. Anyone who follows college football should understand that the second of two consecutive road games is sometimes difficult because travel changes a team's schedule and routine. That UF will come after what will inevitably be an emotional game against Alabama seems to make the trip to the Swamp more daunting.

Speaking of the Florida game, it will finally come late in the season. Weather shouldn't be a factor since it's in Gainesville.Why is this so important, especially since these games were already going to be difficult?

Kentucky's goal should be to win the East this season. For that to happen it seems very likely that Kentucky needs to at least split with the Gators and Bulldogs, the two teams widely regarded as the East's favorites in 2020.