Boos rained down from the stands as Hugh Freeze left the field. Auburn fans chanted for Freeze to be fired. If the tenure is going to end, Saturday night’s 10-3 loss to Kentucky certainly felt like a fitting end.
Auburn lost for the fifth time in its last 6 games as the offense, despite a change at quarterback, completely collapsed.
The Tigers managed 3 points.
Kentucky entered the weekend allowing an average of 34.4 points in its first 5 games against SEC opponents — all of them losses. Just last week, the Wildcats gave up 56 to Tennessee. They gave up 35 to a spotty South Carolina team earlier in the season.
Auburn punted on each of its first 4 drives. It turned the ball over on downs on its fifth drive. The only score of the night came off an interception from the defense that set the Tigers up at the Kentucky 35-yard line late in the second quarter.
Auburn had 4 second-half possessions. The first 3 ended in punts. The final one ended with a pick.
None of Auburn’s 10 drives gained 50 yards. Only 3 featured snaps on Kentucky’s side of the 50.
Quarterback Ashton Daniels, who replaced Jackson Arnold, completed 13 of his 28 passes for 108 yards and an interception. Auburn averaged 3.4 yards per play.
Kentucky didn’t fare much better. Quarterback Cutter Boley threw 2 picks of his own. Auburn outgained Kentucky by a yard — 241-240 — on the night. The Wildcats had a 10-play, 75-yard touchdown drive to open the third quarter, and that proved to be the difference.
The Tigers are 4-5 on the season now. After a 3-0 start, things have cratered. Freeze is just 6-20 in SEC play across his 3 seasons with the program. And, up next, Auburn has a trip to Nashville to face Vanderbilt.
Kentucky 10, Auburn 3
Here’s the Kentucky-Auburn box score (use the dropdown menu to select team or player stats), followed by the complete play-by-play:
Ashton Daniels vs Cutter Boley
A statistical breakdown of how Auburn quarterback Ashton Daniels and Kentucky quarterback Cutter Boley played in the game:
Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.
