LEXINGTON, Ky. - The Auburn Tigers (2-5, 0-4) head up to Lexington Saturday night for a clash with the Kentucky Wildcats (3-4, 1-4). The Tigers are looking to right the ship and win their first conference game after dropping their last four.
A heartbreaking last-minute defeat at Missouri last weekend marked the Tigers' third loss of the season that came in one-score fashion. They had a lead in all three of those contests, but have continued to lack the final product.
“Unfortunately it’s kind of a repeated topic it feels like,” head coach Hugh Freeze said in his midweek presser. “Our kids are playing really hard. I’m pleased to see that and I’m proud of them for that, but we’ve got to figure out how to finish.”
Tigers back Jarquez Hunter enjoyed an increase in his touches against Missouri, but his production was down significantly. Auburn will certainly need Hunter to step up this week, especially as they prepare to face a solid Kentucky rush defense.
Kentucky’s defense as a whole is a unit that is set up to give the Tigers some troubles. The Wildcats rank fifth in the conference in rush defense and third in the conference in pass defense.
“The defensive front, it starts there. They’re the real deal,” Freeze said. “0 [Deone Walker] is probably a top-15 pick in the draft, 8 [Octavious Oxendine] is pretty dang solid too, the backers are really, really talented and they can run in the secondary. It’s one of the better defenses we’ve seen.”
While Kentucky gave up over 475 yards last week against Florida, Freeze claims it to be a “total outlier” for a stellar defense.
Another factor of the Auburn offense to watch will be the development of the RPO. It hasn’t necessarily been a great success this season, but the Tigers still have hope for it to click. With a Kentucky defense that will be flying around, decision-making will be crucial for quarterback Payton Thorne and the Auburn offense.
Thorne threw for 17 completions on 29 attempts last week, however, nine of those completions were thrown at or behind the line of scrimmage. The Auburn quarterback will need to be clicking with his downfield targets for Auburn to be able to come out of Lexington with their first conference win this season.
It has been a week of tough news for the Wildcats on the offensive side of the football. It was announced on Thursday that Kentucky’s leading rusher Demie Sumo-Karngbaye would not be available to play Saturday night. He joins DeaMonte Trayanum as the second Wildcat back to be announced unavailable for the contest with the Tigers.
Redshirt freshman Jamarion Wilcox is now in a position to get the majority of the carries for Kentucky. The most carries he has had in a game this season was the nine he received versus Ohio. He averages a solid seven yards per carry and will hope to continue that mark with an increase in production.
The time for Auburn to make a turnaround is surely now, with some of the most difficult games approaching fast. A win to cap off the road trip would be crucial for Freeze’s Tigers.
“I’ve said it before, I remain confident in the staff and our players,” Freeze said. “Just continuing to trust the process of what we are becoming through challenging times. Hopefully, the results will start to come sooner rather than later, but I know they are coming.”
The Tigers are set to kick off in Lexington under the lights. The contest is scheduled for a 6:45 p.m. CT kick on Saturday, Oct. 26, and will be broadcast on SEC Network and the Auburn Sports Network.
