Kentucky Loses Third in Row to Auburn 24-10
LEXINGTON – October 26, 2024 – Michael Willis
Kroger Field saw a matchup tonight of two teams that have underperformed this season. Kentucky had lost their last two games and Auburn had lost their last three. Both teams desperately needed to win tonight’s matchup to keep their bowl game dreams alive. I can’t speak for the Tiger’s fan base, but I know that the Kentucky Faithful have not been happy with the coaching decisions this season and a win would have helped start rebuilding the relationship between fans and the program. However, that was not to be. The 24 to 10 loss gives the fans another reason to look past football and on to the basketball season.
The Wildcats got off to a quick start scoring the first ten points of the game. They looked like the Cats may get a three-possession lead after a pass interception by JQ Hardway, however Kentucky’s offense fell flat and did not score for the remainder of the game. This allowed Auburn to take the momentum and pulled even with the Cats at the half. It seemed that Auburn was going to take a late field to take the lead, but Kentucky’s defense made a quarterback sack that allowed time to expire.
The second half started with a long seven-minute drive that ended with a touchdown for Auburn. That gave the Tigers the lead and seemed to take the air out of Kroger Field. From that point forward Kentucky didn’t play well on either side of the football. The coaching staff even benched Brock Vandagriff to get a spark, that didn’t even end well with an 4th quarter endzone interception that ended all hopes for the Cats and emptied Kroger field.
There was a point tonight that felt like the team gave up. Which means that they have given up on the season. The Cats fall to 3-5 for the season and have lost all four of the home SEC games. All hope of a post season is gone for the Cats with Texas and Tennessee still remaining on the schedule. The football program appears to be in free fall with no end in sight.
Game Summary:
1st Quarter:
- [11:31] Kentucky’s Alex Raynor makes a 46-yard field goal. [UK 3 Auburn 0]
- [8:28] Kentucky’s Jamarion Wilcox rushes for a 2-yard touchdown. [UK 10 Auburn 0]
2nd Quarter
- [10:56] Auburn’s KeAndre Lambert-Smith catches a 6-yard pass for a touchdown. [UK 10 Auburn 7]
- [3:57] Auburn’s Alex McPherson makes a 27-yard field goal. [UK 10 Auburn 10]
3rd Quarter
- [7:53] Auburn’s Jarquez Hunter rushes for a 1-yard touchdown. [UK 10 Auburn 17]
4th Quarter
- [12:11] Auburn’s Jarquez Hunter rushes 45-yards for a touchdown. [UK 10 Auburn 24]