Cole Cubelic played at Auburn from 1996-2001, so he’s certainly familiar with the program. But the former Tiger and current SEC Network analyst doesn’t sound like he’s too high on the team’s odds heading into Saturday’s opener against Kentucky.

During an appearance on Kentucky Sports Radio on Thursday, Cubelic called it a “bad, bad matchup for Auburn” going up against Kentucky. He cited the losses that the Tigers suffered on defense, both up front and in the secondary, as well as the fact that the Wildcats have an experienced starting quarterback in senior Terry Wilson, who started 13 games in 2018 before being limited to four games last year due to injury.

And as for a potential upset win for Kentucky, Cubelic said the idea is “not crazy at all.”

“It’s a bad matchup for Auburn because normally, Auburn can physically impose their will on the people they’re playing,” Cubelic told Kentucky Sports Radio. “Sometimes it’s the O-line, sometimes it’s the D-line, sometimes it’s both, and then you add athleticism, speed on top of that with some coaching, they don’t have all those advantages in this game.

“You mentioned being at home, but it’s an 11 a.m. kick with 17,000-18,000 people in there? That ain’t gonna be the same Jordan-Hare Stadium that’s been helping them win games the last three or four seasons.”

No. 23 Kentucky and No. 8 Auburn are set to kick off on Saturday at noon ET on SEC Network.