Auburn was able to earn its first SEC win of the year against Kentucky on Saturday. This victory was due in large part to the strong performances from the rushing game and defense in the final three quarters of play.
After getting off to a slow start and falling behind 10-0, Auburn scored 24 unanswered points to secure the win over Kentucky in Kroger Field.
Senior running back Jarquez Hunter led the offensive attack for the Tigers with a historic rushing performance. Hunter ran for 278 yards which marks the fourth most in a game in Auburn football history. He also was able to add two touchdowns in the dominant performance. Hunter totaled 23 carries which surpasses his previous career-high of 20.
On the defensive side, the Tigers held the Wildcats to zero points through the final three quarters. Also, Auburn only allowed 224 total yards to the struggling Wildcats offense.
Several Auburn players discussed the key performances that led to their first SEC win of the 2024 season:
Bradyn Joiner on the success of the run game:
“I feel like our calls and our communication up front definitely helped,” Joiner said. “They had a lot of schemed up plays, like a lot of pressure plays, so just to pick those up and get him (Hunter) holes, that was a major thing for us.”
“They were like number four in the nation in run defense,” Joiner said. “So I feel like we had to be real keyed up on what we were doing up front.”
Joiner on the turning point of the game:
“When we got down 10-0 and we had that turnover I feel like nobody shook, we were still locked in,” Joiner said. “I feel like that was the turning point, because I feel like the past few games when we had a turnover or something like that, or something bad was going to happen, we just put our heads down. I don’t know why it was different, but it just felt different on the sideline.”
Keldric Faulk on the play of Keyron Crawford:
“Keyron played really good,” Faulk said. “He was flying around. You could tell the energy he had before the game, and then during the game it was just electric. He was feeding energy to everybody on the field, he was everywhere. I mean, I got my second sack of the night because of him. His effort was out of this world.”
Faulk on the six freshmen making a goal-line stand:
“Our freshmen are elite,” Faulk said. “We got some of the best freshmen in the country, those guys grew up so fast. Those guys were holding their own on the 2-yard line, those guys are grown men now playing ball.”
Eugene Asante on Demarcus Riddick’s performance:
“He’s the best qb spy in the country,” Asante said. “Durkin does a great job of telling when to trigger and when to sit back, so he’s doing a great job.”
Keyron Crawford on his strengths from his best game at Auburn:
“Definitely the pass game,” Crawford said. “That’s my bread and butter. I’m also trying to hone in more on the normal downs and play the run better, but so far that was my best game.”
Luke Deal on the rushing attack:
“We were talking about it earlier, how much joy we have from seeing a crease,” Deal said. “We don’t get in the end zone, but It makes it all the more better when you pancake somebody and see your running back do it. So we were just talking about how much joy you really get from that, and especially whenever you love and care for the people and those guys that are running the ball.”
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Marshall is a junior majoring in Journalism. He joined the Plainsman in the fall of 2024.
You can follow him on X (Twitter) at @marshalldow02
