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Auburn deployed a new field goal strategy to end the first half against Kentucky on Saturday. The Tigers put 2 holders on the field and 14 total men.
It has been a weird week, to say the least. Head coach Hugh Freeze was not able to fly with the team to Lexington as he was sick and dealing with food poisoning. He wound up flying privately to the game. Then, late in the second quarter, Auburn provided one of the strangest plays of the season.
After quarterback Payton Thorne was sacked on third-and-5 with less than 15 seconds remaining, Auburn tried to run its field goal unit onto the field to set up a last-second try without any timeouts. That obviously didn’t work.
I counted 14 Auburn players on the field for that attempt at a field goal. pic.twitter.com/wQUI9AMflK
— Michael Casagrande (@ByCasagrande) October 27, 2024
And the Tigers weren’t flagged on the play either. The clock ran out on the half before the Tigers were able to get the snap off and they went to the break in a 10-10 game.
It was an otherwise good night for Auburn, which came away with a 24-10 win in Lexington. Turnovers have been an issue all year, but the Tigers were able to win the turnover battle 2-1.
This was arguably the best performance for Auburn, as Kentucky had beaten Ole Miss and even took Georgia to the wire in a good game. The victory snapped a 4-game losing streak and gave Auburn its first league win of the season.
The Tigers will look to build off this win next week when they host Vanderbilt.
