Three takeaways from Kentucky football’s loss to the Auburn Tigers
READ MORE
Game day: Auburn 24, Kentucky 10
Click below for more of the Herald-Leader and Kentucky.com’s coverage of Saturday’s Kentucky-Auburn football game in Lexington.
Expand All
Three takeaways from Kentucky football’s 24-10 loss to the Auburn Tigers on Saturday night at Kroger Field:
1. Kentucky has a dysfunctional offense
The sad truth about this Kentucky football offense is that it is not very good, and it’s not getting any better.
Yes, the Cats were without their top running back in Demie Sumo-Karngbaye on Saturday. They were also without Chip Trayanum, the Ohio State transfer who was supposed to be their No. 1 back before being hurt during the preseason, then injured again in last week’s 48-20 loss at Florida.
But Kentucky did have starting quarterback Brock Vandagriff. And wide receivers Dane Key and Barion Brown. And a pair of promising backs in Jamarion Wilcox and Jason Patterson. Plus an offensive line that returned three starters from last season, plus a pair of transfers who were supposed to be high-level replacements.
And yet Kentucky remains the only team in the SEC that has failed to score more than 20 points in a conference game. After outgaining Auburn 115-38 in the first quarter, the Cats were outgained 460-109 the rest of the way. Kentucky gained just 30 yards in the second quarter. If you thought that was bad, it gained all of 6 yards in the third quarter.
It didn’t matter who played quarterback. Vandagriff was helped by a terrific Dane Key catches in the first quarter, then struggled in the second. The coaches decided to give Gavin Wimsatt a try in the second half. His two third-quarter possessions were three-and-outs. He did direct a 73-yard drive in the fourth quarter only to throw an interception on a fourth-and-goal from the 2-yard line.
Under new offensive coordinator Bush Hamdan, Kentucky entered the game 114th nationally in total offense and 115th in scoring offense. That won’t improve after gaining a mere 224 total yards and scoring 10 points.
2. Kentucky’s defense has dipped significantly
Brad White was one unhappy assistant coach in the postgame press conference. Kentucky’s defensive coordinator didn’t yell or scream. He simply seethed.
“There’s a standard that we have to play to, a standard that has been set by guys who have come before,” White said. “And that standard was not even close to met.”
Last week, the Cats gave up four passes of 40-plus yards to Florida. Saturday night, the Cats gave up three runs of 40-plus yards to Auburn. In back-to-back games, the Kentucky defense has allowed 476 and 498 yards.
The disturbing part Saturday was the way in which a 2-5 Auburn team took it to the Cats in the second half. With the game tied 10-10 at halftime, Auburn took the second-half kickoff and, as White put it, “ran the ball down our throats.” The Tigers went 75 yards in 14 plays — including 10 running plays and one scramble — to take a 17-10 lead on Jarquez Hunter’s 1-yard scoring run.
That set the tone. Next series, Hunter burst free for a 50-yard run. The series after that, Hunter broke through Kentucky defenders for a 45-yard touchdown run. In Auburn’s final series, Hunter raced 46 yards to finish the night with a jaw-dropping 278 yards on 26 carries.
One more stat: Auburn’s 326 yards rushing was highest total against a Kentucky defense since Georgia rushed for 331 on Nov. 3, 2018.
3. Kentucky’s season has gone from bad to worse
Kentucky is now 3-5 overall and 1-5 in the SEC. Saturday was Kentucky’s seventh straight SEC loss at home. That includes an 0-4 finish this season. Yes, one of those losses was to a then-No. 1 ranked Georgia (by a single point). But the other three were against South Carolina, Vanderbilt and Auburn. That’s not exactly Texas, Alabama and Texas A&M.
With a trip to Tennessee up next on the season, it’s hard to see how things get much better. With a Nov. 23 game at Texas also on the calendar, the chances of avoiding a seventh loss and bowl elimination appear slim.
So you say Kentucky did beat Ole Miss at Ole Miss. That was Sept. 28, which seems months ago now. Since then, the Cats have lost to Vanderbilt 20-13 at home, Florida 48-20 on the road and to Auburn by two touchdowns at home.
As mentioned earlier, UK’s offense remains a mess, its identity a mystery. And now there are real questions about a defense that until the last two weeks ranked as one of the best in the country.
“There’s nothing I can say that will be the right answer,” Stoops said on Saturday. “Just got to do a better job.”
This story was originally published October 27, 2024 at 12:56 AM.
