Auburn shuffles QBs as offense stalls in 10-3 loss to Kentucky

AUBURN, Ala. (WSFA) - With four games left in their regular season and a new face behind center, Auburn (4-5, 1-5) needed a strong offensive performance to pull ahead of Kentucky (3-5, 1-5) and give the Tigers a spark of life after a mostly disastrous season in conference play.

Switching quarterbacks didn’t give them that spark.

Ashton Daniels, who made his first quarterback start of the season, completed 13 of 28 passing attempts for 108 total yards in his three quarters of play before he was benched in favor of Jackson Arnold in the fourth quarter.

Auburn’s stalled offense did not pick up any momentum behind Arnold, and Freeze elected to bring Daniels back in for a final failed push as the Kentucky Wildcats held onto a slim lead for three quarters.

Kentucky, who went into the matchup winless in conference play, held Auburn to a single field goal and walked away with their first SEC win while handing Auburn their fifth conference loss.

Game Recap

Jacob Kauwe drew first blood for Kentucky with a field goal after a scoreless first quarter to get the Wildcats on the board with a 3-0 lead.

An interception over midfield by Elijah Menendez seemed to breathe life into a sluggish Auburn offense with 1:00 left in the first half. The Turnover gave Auburn a much-needed momentum boost to get into Kentucky’s territory for just the second time of the night. However, the Wildcats’ defense held Auburn to a field foal to tie the game 3-3 at halftime.

Kendrick Law rushed for 13-yards into the Auburn endzone for the first touchdown of the night to give Kentucky the go-ahead score of 10-3 halfway through the third quarter.

Arnold took the field with 9 minutes left in the fourth, but the offensive line could not get things going behind him.

Two sacks across two failed drives saw Arnold back on the bench for the final drive of the game.

The game ended on an interception thrown by Daniels which followed six incomplete passes and a sack for a loss of 10 yards.

Jeremiah Cobb, who has carried Auburn’s offense since SEC play began, put up 72 rushing yards, his lowest since the Tigers’ 20-10 loss to Georgia in October.

Both quarterbacks combined for just 120 yards, less than Kentucky’s Cutter Boley, who threw for 160.

Up Next

With three games left in the regular season, Auburn now faces two top 10 teams in No. 9 Vanderbilt, who they will face next Saturday, and No. 4 Alabama, who will be waiting for them in the Iron Bowl four weeks from now.

The Tigers could have a brief respite against an unranked Mercer, who they’ll face on Nov. 22.

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