Quarterback Cutter Boley connected on 18 of 29 through the air with a touchdown and the Kentucky defense played a huge game as the Cats beat Auburn 10-3 on Saturday night at Jordan-Hare Stadium.
Kentucky (3-5, 1-5 Southeastern Conference) allowed just 241 yards of total offense in the game and held an SEC opponent without a touchdown for the first time since a 24-3 win over Mississippi State on Nov. 4, 2023.
The Cats had seven sacks in the game, including 1.5 each from Alex Afari and Khalil Saunders. Kentucky had 12 tackles for loss in the game.
Each team punted on their first possessions of the game, with Auburn making one first down and Kentucky none. Auburn’s second time with the football produced a pair of first downs, but ended with another punt.
Kentucky took over at its own 17 yard line and the Cats would get a first down on an 18-yard completion from Boley to Kendrick Law. However, UK would be forced to punt again and Auburn took over at its own 12 yard line.
The Tigers would punt again on their third possession and the Cats took over at their own 26. Boley would scramble for a first down on the final play of the first quarter, and the Cats were near midfield.
On the first play of the second quarter, Law rushed for 10 yards, getting Kentucky into Auburn territory. A Seth McGowan 18-yard run got the Cats another first down. However, the drive stalled at that point and freshman kicker Jacob Kauwe came on and converted a 48-yard field goal to give Kentucky a 3-0 lead.
The momentum stayed on Kentucky’s side as the UK defense forced a three-and-out and another Auburn punt. The Cats would take over at their own 29 with 10:12 left in the first half. UK would make a pair of first downs, but would have to punt it back to the Tigers, who took over at their own 12 with 4:51 left in the half.
The Tigers had their best possession of the first half, to that point, on the ensuing drive. Auburn crossed midfield. However, on fourth and six, Auburn went for it and Saunders came up with a sack. UK took over at the Auburn 49 with 1:44 left in the half.
Kentucky would give the ball back to Auburn when Boley was intercepted by Elijah Melendez, who returned it to the UK 35 with 1:00 left in the half. The Tigers would get into the UK red zone, but the UK defense held and Auburn settled for a 27-yard field goal from Alex McPherson, tying the game at 3-3. That would be the halftime score.
The Cats got the first possession of the second half and UK made the most of the opportunity. Twice on third down plays, Boley connected with Fred Farrier, first for 13 yards and later for 32, getting UK into the Auburn red zone. Two plays later, Boley found Law for a 13-yard touchdown, the first of the night for either team. Kauwe added the PAT and Kentucky led 10-3 with 9:27 left in the third quarter.
Auburn made three first downs on its first drive of the second half. However, the drive stalled and when Saunders registered another sack on the night, the Tigers were forced to punt. UK took over at their own nine yard line with 3:12 left in the third quarter.
The Cats would get a pair of first downs as the third quarter expired with UK holding a 10-3 lead. Early in the fourth quarter, the Cats crossed midfield but were eventually forced to punt. Auburn took over at its own eight yard line with 11:56 remaining.
Auburn switched quarterbacks, going with Jackson Arnold in place of Ashton Daniels, and the Tigers were able to make a pair of first downs. However, the UK defense stood tall yet again and forced an Auburn punt. The Cats took over at their own 16 with 8:59 to play.
Kentucky would get two first downs and got near midfield before being forced to punt. Auburn took over at its own 12 yard line with 5:18 remaining.
The UK defense again came up huge, forcing a three-and-out capped by a sixth quarterback sack. The Tigers punted it back to the Cats, who took over at their own 38 with 3:56 to play.
UK appeared to be ready to milk the clock to put the game away. However, Boley was intercepted by Auburn’s AnQuan Fegans. During the interception return, UK wide receiver Cam Miller stripped the ball away from Fegens and UK’s Henry Boyer recovered.
From there, the Cats would be forced to punt again, and the Tigers took over at their own nine yard line with 2:09 remaining. Auburn would drive into UK territory but on the final play of the game, Daniels was intercepted by UK’s Jordan Lovett to seal the victory.
Kentucky returns to action next Saturday, hosting Florida at Kroger Field. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. ET and the game can be seen on the SEC Network.
Courtesy: UK Athletics
