Kentucky Wildcats end SEC skid with 10-3 win at Auburn
Mark Stoops says he typically gives his Kentucky team one song in the locker room to dance and celebrate after a victory.
On Saturday night at Auburn, the embattled Wildcats head coach made an exception.
Kentucky earned two songs to whoop it up after snapping its 10-game SEC losing streak with a hard-fought 10-3 win over the Tigers at Jordan-Hare Stadium, a venue that the Cats had only left victorious on two other occasions in program history.
“I loved seeing the joy,” Stoops said. “… I told them we can’t control what has happened throughout this year, and we can’t change that in one night, but they can change the mission that we have tonight.
“To come down here and play with that kind of effort was absolutely amazing. It was awesome.”
Kentucky (3-5, 1-5 SEC) got a dominating defensive effort to spearhead the victory. The Cats held Auburn to only 241 total yards and just 3.4 yards per play. They recorded 12 tackles for loss and sacked the quarterback seven times, including two apiece for linebacker Alex Afari and defensive lineman Kahlil Saunders.
“The D-Line really held it down in there. That was huge,” Stoops said. “They got great pressure all night.
“Looking at that drive chart, it’s a thing of beauty. Auburn’s goes punt, punt, punt, punt, downs, field goal on a 26-yard drive, punt, punt, punt, interception. I’m not sure I’ve ever had one like that.”
Helping bolster that effort was a stellar performance by the punting unit. Aiden Laros averaged 44.8 yards on six punts, pinning the Tigers inside their own 12 on all six.
“Getting some first downs, punting, and flipping the field was huge,” Stoops said. “That goes unnoticed in the stat sheet.”
The Kentucky offense did not fare much better against Auburn’s Top 5 national defense, finishing with 240 total yards, but redshirt freshman quarterback Cutter Boley made just enough plays to engineer the win.
The biggest came on the opening drive of the second half. Boley found senior wideout and fellow Bluegrass State product Fred Farrier twice on 3rd-and-11 plays to extend the drive and set up his 13-yard touchdown pass to Kendrick Law.
That proved to be the game-winner as the UK defense pitched a shutout in the second half after a 3-3 halftime tie.
One of the biggest “defensive” plays of the second half came from a member of the UK offense. After Boley threw a tipped-ball interception with 2:27 remaining in the game, freshman wideout Cam Miller hustled to tackle Auburn’s AnQuon Fegans near midfield and stripped the Tiger defensive back of the ball to give possession back to the Cats.
Stoops said Miller received the game ball in the locker room for his heads-up effort play.
Boley finished the game 18 of 29 for 161 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions. Law was his favorite target, hauling in six passes for 49 yards to lead the receiving corps. Running back Seth McGowan had 53 yards rushing to lead the ground attack.
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In our regular postgame feature, Cats Illustrated touches on some quick-hitters from Kentucky’s victory…
GAME BALL:
KENTUCKY DEFENSIVE LINE — We’re going to let the big guys share the honor this week. They dominated the line of scrimmage from opening kickoff to final horn. Auburn’s ground game averaged only 3.0 yards per carry, and the Cats recorded seven sacks. Kahlil Saunders, Tavion Gadson, and Austin Ramsey combined for four of the seven from the D-Line.
BY THE NUMBERS:
1st – Freshman quarterback (Cutter Boley) at Kentucky to win an SEC road game since Morgan Newton on Nov. 21, 2009, at Georgia.
3 – Points allowed by the Kentucky defense were the lowest since holding Mississippi State to three in 2023. It was also the fewest scored by Auburn in a home game since Nov. 10, 2012, when the Tigers were shut out by Georgia.
10 – Points were the fewest scored by the Wildcats in an SEC road victory since winning 7-0 on Nov. 20, 1976, at Tennessee.
11th – Straight season that UK has recorded an SEC road win, extending the program record.
13 – Number of punts in the game.
2009 – Kentucky’s last win over Auburn, also coming at Jordan-Hare Stadium. The Cats snapped a four-game losing streak to the Tigers, who lead the all-time series 28-7-1.
QUOTABLE:
“I can’t say enough about that play. It’s an effort play. It’s your instincts carrying over, being a football player… the toughness, the grit, the moment was not too big for him. To come back, spin, and punch it out like that was really the play of the game.” — Mark Stoops on freshman wide receiver Cam Miller’s key forced fumble after an Auburn interception late in the fourth quarter.
UP NEXT:
Kentucky returns to action next week at home against Florida. The unranked Gators (3-5, 2-3 SEC) lost 24-20 to No. 5 Georgia today in the schools’ annual rivalry game in Jacksonville, Fla. Kickoff for UK and Florida is set for 7:30 p.m. ET at Kroger Field on the SEC Network.