Bo Nix threw three touchdown passes and Seth Williams caught two to help No. 8 Auburn record a 29-13 home victory over No. 23 Kentucky in SEC play and the season opener for both teams on Saturday.

D.J. Williams tacked on a scoring run and Eli Stove made a touchdown grab as the Tigers improved to 27-6-1 all-time against Kentucky. Nix completed 16 of 27 passes for 233 yards and Seth Williams had six receptions for 112 yards.

Terry Wilson completed 24 of 37 passes for 239 yards, one touchdown and one interception for the Wildcats. Kavosiey Smoke rushed for a touchdown and Akeem Hayes caught a scoring pass.

Kentucky controlled the ball for 36 minutes, 29 seconds and held a 384-324 edge in total yards but committed three turnovers while dropping to 2-13 when playing at Auburn.

There were approximately 12,000 students among the 17,490 fans inside Auburn's Jordan-Hare Stadium. Attendance was limited amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Auburn held a halftime lead of just 8-7 following a crazy sequence near the end of the second quarter.

Kentucky struck first on Smoke's 35-yard touchdown run with 6:44 remaining in the first quarter. The Tigers responded with a 1-yard scoring run by D.J. Williams, and added a two-point conversion from the swinging gate formation when holder Grant Loy connected with John Samuel Shenker.

Late in the half, Kentucky's Chris Rodriguez appeared to score on a 2-yard run but officials ruled his forward progress was stopped short of the goal line.

Two plays later, with the clock running down and the Wildcats out of timeouts, Wilson was intercepted by Auburn's Roger McCreary, who returned the ball 100 yards for an apparent touchdown with seven seconds remaining. But defensive end Derick Hall was called for a targeting hit during the return, nullifying the score and leaving Hall ejected from the game.

Midway through the third quarter, Auburn traveled 76 yards on nine plays with Nix capping the drive with an 11-yard scoring pass to Seth Williams to make it 15-7.

The Wildcats answered with a 73-yard drive of their own. Wilson's 8-yard scoring pass to Hayes with 1:00 in the quarter left made it 15-13, but Kentucky's ensuing two-point conversion pass failed, leaving Auburn with the slim lead heading into the fourth quarter.

Even then, Auburn was unable to gain control until capitalizing the two short-field opportunities. Wilson fumbled on a third-down keeper and Auburn's Jamien Sherwood recovered and returned it 7 yards to the Wildcats' 23-yard line. Five plays later, Nix tossed a 4-yard scoring pass to Seth Williams to give the Tigers a 22-13 lead with 10:21 left.

A fake punt failed on Kentucky's next possession and Auburn took over at the Wildcats' 27. Two plays later, Nix connected with Stove on a 21-yard touchdown play to increase the margin to 16 with 8:17 remaining.

--Field Level Media