Whoever said dual-threat quarterbacks were just a passing trend, think again.The Tim Tebows, Denard Robinsons and Terrelle Pryors of the college football game are going nowhere anytime soon. Even if the NFL continues to return to its pro-style passing game, the running quarterbacks are thriving more than ever on the college scene.Just ask Kentucky.Against Florida the Cats had to worry about backup quarterback Trey Burton (six total touchdowns). Last Saturday it was a former Heisman Trophy candidate Jeremiah Masoli. And this  Saturday when No. 8 Auburn rolls into town, it will be darkhorse Heisman candidate Cam Newton.For a team that has notoriously struggled with dual-threat quarterbacks, Kentucky’s schedule sure feels like it’s been loaded with run-heavy, spread-happy teams.”That is what you get in the SEC,” junior cornerback Anthony Mosley said. “That’s what we signed up for when we came to Kentucky. That’s what we expect every week.”For as shifty and as talented as UK’s counterpart was last week in Masoli, the Cats’ stiffest test at quarterback might be this week’s matchup. Cut from the same mold as Ohio State’s Pryor and former Texas great Vince Young, Newton has elbowed his way into what appears to be a five-man race for the Heisman Trophy (ironically, three of the early season favorites, Newton, Pryor and Robinson, are all dual-threat QBs). At 6-foot-6, 250 pounds, Newton has the height to see over defenses and throw the ball down the field as well as the strength to break through tackles.”He’s the guy you’ve got to stop in their offense,” head coach Joker Phillips said. “You stop him, you’ve got a chance. … Obviously there are a couple of guys at Florida and a couple guys at Alabama that can go the distance on you. He’s one of the guys that can do it at the quarterback position. He’s the guy that touches the ball every dang snap, so you’ve got to account for him.”Facing a dynamic and burly athlete like Newton is troubling news for a UK defense trying to still solve some tackling issues.Tackling will once again be a priority this week. “We’re now just trying to get people on the ground, just trying to tackle the football,” Phillips said. “We’ve got to try to get them on the ground and worry (about turnovers) later. We’ve got to put our hats on the ball.”When Newton runs, it looks effortless. He’s so big and takes such long strides that it doesn’t appear he’s running all that fast. Yet with 474 rushing yards on the season, fourth among all players in the Southeastern Conference (even after failing to register a single rush last week), it’s clear his gliding is faster than most defensive backs’ sprint.”I don’t think that we should be afraid of them defensively,” senior defensive tackle Mark Crawford said. But the Cats should be wary of him. Although Kentucky defeated a similar, high-octane Auburn team a season ago in Auburn and gained a lot of confidence from it (on Monday, Phillips said, “We know how to beat this team. We’ve done it.”), that team was without Newton, a transfer from Florida.In addition to leading Auburn to the SEC’s best rushing offense (269.0 yards per game; eighth nationally), Newton has demonstrated his ability to throw the ball. Auburn leads the nation in passing efficiency and Newton ranks second individually with a 191.4 passer rating. “He’s a guy that they create open opportunities in the passing game with his ability to run because you have to pack the box so much and you have to come up to play the run,” Phillips said. “They do some play action with him just stepping forward, which allowed them to a hit a 90-something-yard pass last week.”Mosley said UK would like to try to get some pressure on Newton and Auburn’s zone read this week, forcing Newton to beat the Cats by making plays over the top.”A guy like him, you just don’t want him to get comfortable in the pocket, and from what I’ve seen of him so far, once he gets going, he really gets going,” Mosley said. “As long as we keep him a little bit disturbed back there, I think we can keep him contained.”With Auburn’s ability to both run and pass well, it will put a huge importance on the play of Kentucky’s linebackers, which have struggled to cope with losses of Micah Johnson and Sam Maxwell. That corps could be without freshman Qua Huzzie, who is having surgery Tuesday on a ligament at the base of his thumb. Huzzie is regarded as questionable for this week’s game.If Huzzie can’t play Saturday, Phillips said true freshmen Jewell Ratliff and Avery Williamson could be called into action.Despite back-to-back losses and a three-game home stretch that includes the likes of No. 8 Auburn, No. 19 South Carolina and Georgia, Phillips said his team’s spirit remains high.”You’re only guaranteed 12 opportunities and you’ve got to take advantage of every opportunity to be awarded that 13th opportunity,” Phillips said. “This is week No. 6 of our 12 guaranteed opportunities and we’ve got to take advantage of it. We’re at home. We’ve been on the road at two pretty good opponents that have been battles. We come home for another big-time battle that will be an exciting one. It’ll be a tough game for us but we’ve got to do the little things.”