Simulating Auburn's 2020 season: Kentucky
Day 93 without sports.
I rummaged up a copy of NCAA Football 14 for the Xbox 360, downloaded 2020 rosters for every team, set up the schedule, and simulated Auburn's entire 2020 football season — because, at this point, why not?
Video-game depictions of sporting events have become common during the pandemic, and fans seem to eat it up. Look at Barstool Sports' NCAA 14 series, for example, which netted more than 125,000 viewers during a national championship earlier this month.
But our usage of the game will differ slightly. Here are the ground rules, for those who missed the first installment. In short, I don't touch the controller; I let the CPU simulate the game how it will.
Onto the games.
Week 5: No. 8 Auburn (4-0, 1-0 SEC) vs. Kentucky (2-2, 0-2 SEC)
1Q
• Both offenses open up the afternoon sluggish. On the third possession, Owen Pappoe forces a fumble in the open field against Kentucky running back Asim Rose, but the 'Cats recover.
• Bo Nix appears to find Seth Williams for a 47-yard gain on third down, but he's ruled out of bounds.
• Kentucky strikes first with a field-goal drive. 3-0 Kentucky
2Q
• Nix is targeting Williams essentially every other throw. This time he loads up and underthrows him in the end zone, and the UK safety picks it off. That's virtual Nix's eighth interception of the year.
• Pappoe again lays the boom in the open field, this time on Kentucky quarterback Terry Wilson. K.J. Britt recovers and picks up a few yards to the UK 22.
• Auburn can't get a first down and only manages a field goal off the turnover. 3-3.
• Wilson begins to find success in the air and on the ground, taking the Wildcats the distance of the field for the game's first touchdown — a short pass to Rose. 10-3 Kentucky.
• Auburn responds with its best drive right before the half. Nix keeps on a zone read and sheds one tackle, going 46 yards for a score. 10-10.
HALFTIME: Auburn 10, Kentucky 10
3Q
• Three plays into the second half, Nix loads up and finds Williams way downfield, who breaks one tackle and goes 66 yards for a touchdown. 17-10 Auburn.
• Kentucky strings together some decent runs, but Auburn gets a stop on its side of the field. Still, kickers can't miss in this game, so Kentucky kicker Chance Poore makes his second 54-yarder of the game, with leg to spare. 17-13 Auburn.
• Kentucky's offense has been overall better this game up to this point. Auburn is inconsistent but has more big-play weapons. Teams trade punts to close the third quarter.
4Q
• Nix starts to get in a rhythm and finds Harold Joiner for a 23-yard touchdown pass over the middle. 24-13 Auburn.
• Kentucky again works into Auburn territory. Mark Stoops elects to go for it on fourth-and-1 at the Tigers' 30-yard line, and Pappoe slams into running back Kavosiey Smoke for a loss and a turnover on downs. Pappoe is having a monster game.
• The Wildcats are proving they can't guard Williams. Nix hits his No. 1 wideout again for a 46-yard score down the sideline. 31-13 Auburn.
• Auburn's run game continues to struggle, though. After another stop by the defense, Nix works Anders Carlson into field goal range. 34-13 Auburn.
• Wilson can't manufacture any points before the clock hits triple zeros.
FINAL: No. 8 Auburn 34, Kentucky 13
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TOTAL YARDS
Auburn: 440
Kentucky: 300
PASSING YARDS
Auburn: 333
Kentucky: 234
RUSHING YARDS
Auburn: 107
Kentucky: 66
THIRD DOWNS
Auburn: 6-of-14
Kentucky: 7-of-18
TURNOVERS
Auburn: 1
Kentucky: 1
PASSING
B. Nix (AU): 21-for-38, 333 yards, 3 TDs, INT
T. Wilson (UK): 23-for-37, 234 yards, TD
RUSHING
D. Williams (AU): 20 carries, 56 yards
B. Nix (AU): 6 carries, 52 yards, TD
A. Schwartz (AU): 1 carry, 3 yards
T. Bigsby (AU): 4 carries, -4 yards
A. Rose (UK): 16 carries, 38 yards, fumble
T. Wilson (UK): 15 carries, 13 yards, lost fumble
M. Drennen (UK): 3 carries, 9 yards
K. Smoke (UK): 3 carries, 6 yards
RECEIVING
S. Williams (AU): 5 receptions, 165 yards, 2 TDs
E. Stove (AU): 6 receptions, 74 yards
A. Schwartz (AU): 3 receptions, 31 yards
J. Shenker (AU): 5 receptions, 30 yards
H. Joiner (AU): 1 reception, 23 yards, TD
D. Williams (AU): 1 reception, 10 yards
A. Dailey Jr. (UK): 7 receptions, 119 yards
C. Thomas Jr. (UK): 4 receptions, 48 yards
I. Epps (UK): 2 receptions, 24 yards
J. Ali (UK): 3 receptions, 21 yards
A. Rose (UK): 3 receptions, 10 yards, TD
J. Rigg (UK): 1 reception, 5 yards
K. Upshaw (UK): 1 reception, 5 yards
K. Smoke (UK): 2 receptions, 2 yards
AU DEFENSIVE LEADERS
O. Pappoe (AU): 12 tackles, 3 TFLs, sack, 2 forced fumbles
D. Hall (AU): 4 tackles, 3 TFLs, sack
K. Britt (AU): 9 tackles, PBU, fumble recovery
C. Tutt (AU): 5 tackles, 2 PBUs
D. Newkirk (AU): 4 tackles, 2 TFLs, sack
R. McCreary (AU): 6 tackles, TFL, PBU
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SEC STANDINGS
EAST
1. Florida (5-0, 3-0 SEC)
2. Tennessee (3-2, 1-1 SEC)
3. Missouri (4-1, 1-1 SEC)
4. Georgia (4-1, 1-1 SEC)
5. South Carolina (3-2, 1-2 SEC)
6. Vanderbilt (1-4, 0-2 SEC)
7. Kentucky (2-3, 0-3 SEC)
WEST
1. Alabama (5-0, 2-0 SEC)
2. Auburn (5-0, 2-0 SEC)
3. Mississippi State (5-0, 2-0 SEC)
4. LSU (4-1, 1-0 SEC)
5. Texas A&M (4-1, 1-1 SEC)
6. Arkansas (2-3, 0-2 SEC)
7. Ole Miss (1-4, 0-3 SEC)