Auburn staves off Kentucky for first SEC win

“At the end of the day, it came down to we didn’t make enough plays, we came up a little short”. Would Auburn let him play running back?

That was technically a football game.

“Yeah, since it didn’t work”, Stoops responded when asked if we would have changed those series of plays. “I’ve got to make a play”. We’re 4-2, and we had chances to win the two games we dropped.

Auburn players have been informed that White will be the starter for Thursday’s game against Kentucky, Wesley Sinor of AL.com reports. I suspect the Wildcats aren’t done knocking off SEC East opponents.

Auburn started its season with high expectations, which – in hindsight – was based exclusively on several assumptions. This may be good. They played a brilliant opening quarter and closed out the game very well. With no outside run threat, defensive ends can crash down the line to reach the running back before the run can get started. Auburn didn’t look like that type of team on Thursday night. Rudy Ford was dumped on the first kickoff by the first man down the field, but that was the only moment for the Kentucky kickoff team. Kentucky Wildcats, on the other hand, ranks No. 107 in rushing offense at home with 137.7 yards. If I play my best game tonight we win. They haven’t beat an SEC team when trailing at half since beating South Carolina 31-28 after a 28-10 halftime deficit on October. 16, 2010. {Online^Live} Kentucky vs. Auburn Football 2015: TV Channel, Live Stream Info, Prediction, Betting Odds. I didn’t feel that H-back run blocking was consistently productive, but the backs picked up blitzes on passing downs pretty well.

Long, long way from the midsummer days when many of college football’s cognoscenti had the Tigers ticketed for the College Football Playoffs and an ambitious Auburn media relations department even included the playoff dates on the football schedule posted on the Auburn athletics website.

Auburn gets their first SEC win and finds out who their playmakers are.

I predict: Auburn, 35; Kentucky, 17. You can really see it from this angle. Again, the linebackers were MIA. “That’s on me. I just gotta throw a better ball”. Close, but incomplete. Then came the quarterback’s failed run. San Jose drove up and down the field without Auburn ever being able to stop them. He needed three yards. The only loss was to Florida (14-9).

Kick Returns: A-. It was fun this game watching a Kentucky kicking game that could not boot touchbacks. We struggled in many areas. It has become apparent under the third-year coach that his program is headed in the right direction – but getting over the proverbial speed bumps continues to be hard. We have six games left. With this being the case, they need everyone to pull out their best effort and Garrett Johnson definitely got that memo. A loss at Kentucky could spell disaster for the Auburn Tigers. There were far too many big-yardage plays for anybody’s comfort. It was good for the Tigers to get out of Lexington with a win.

How about in Commonwealth Stadium on a Thursday evening? Defensive tackle Corey Johnson had a 19-tackle game. Patrick Towles lofted a pass to him that Badet almost reeled in, but a Tiger defender wrestled the ball from his grasp as the two hit the ground together inside the five-yard line.

Kentucky enters play with a 4-1 record but is just 2-3 at the betting window this season, while Auburn is now 3-2 but has yet to cover a spread this season. This will be an interesting game for Auburn being at a cross-road in the season.

Kerryon Johnson added 36 yards, including a 6-yard touchdown on nine attempts.

Auburn is now 3-2 with both losses coming from SEC teams. QB position is still undecided for this weekend. Another gamechanger to watch for is Reyton Barber who has 558 yards and six touchdowns. “Senior Photographer” / Ricardo Louis (5) catches ball in the first half.