Hugh Freeze dealing with illness, still expected to coach against Kentucky
Tigers’ coach Hugh Freeze is still expected to coach Saturday night against Kentucky despite reportedly battling an illness, according to ESPN’s Pete Thamel.
“Sources: Auburn coach Hugh Freeze is battling an illness — potentially food poisoning — and didn’t travel with the team to Kentucky yesterday,” Thamel wrote on Twitter. “He’s flying up to Lexington this morning and is expected to coach.”
Freeze reportedly did not travel with the team on Thursday but will make his way to Lexington before the game, which starts at 6:45 pm CT.
Auburn Live predictions
Jeffrey Lee: Kentucky, 23-20. This is another game Auburn could, and maybe should, win. However, until they prove otherwise, it’s hard for me to predict they will.
Cole Pinkston: Auburn, 21-17. I don’t think Auburn will be more loose, but I see this as more of a winnable game. I like the matchups across the board. Kentucky is down a few key players and the offense is not great. I think this is the one that gets Auburn back on track. Just a hunch.
Justin Hokanson: Auburn, 20-17. It’s not like Kentucky is playing great football either. This game could go either way, as most games have felt this season. I’ll say Auburn has a playmaker or two more on offense, has the defense to force Kentucky to try and throw the football, and Alex McPherson comes back and makes a short field goal or two.
Quick game notes
— Auburn leads the all-time series 27-6-1. The Tigers have won 18 of the last 19 in the series and have won nine straight in Lexington.
— The Tigers are 13-4 all-time in Lexington. The last win for Auburn in the Bluegrass State was in 2015, with the Tigers coming out on top 30-27. Auburn also won by three in 2010 by the score of 37-34.
— The last meeting between the two teams was in the Covid season of 2020, when Auburn hosted Kentucky in the season opener, winning 29-13.
— The Tigers have scored in a school-record 149 straight games, dating back to the first game of the 2013 season, tying the program record set from 1980-1992.
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— Auburn is tied for the national lead — with BYU and Vanderbilt — with 10 players who have caught a touchdown pass this season.
— The Tigers lead the nation with 13 pass plays of 40 yards or more this season.
— Luke Deal and Eugene Asante are tied for eighth among all FBS players with 60 career games played.
— KeAndre Lambert-Smith ranks 17th nationally and fifth in the SEC in yards per reception (20.23).
— Auburn ranks fifth nationally in yards per completion (15.04). The Tigers are 13th in the nation averaging 6.92 yards per play, 11th nationally averaging 9.1 yards per pass attempt and 39th nationally averaging 4.95 yards per rush.
— Auburn is one of three teams in FBS whose opponents show negative punt return yards.
— In the Hugh Freeze era, the Tigers are 5-0 when having a 100-yard rusher.
— Auburn is 6-4 when scoring first and 2-8 when the opponent scores first. Under Freeze, Auburn is 7-1 when leading at halftime and 1-8 when trailing at halftime. The one loss was against Oklahoma this season and the one win was at Cal last season.
— Under Freeze, the Tigers are 1-8 when scoring less than 20 points. They are 7-4 when scoring 20+ points.
— Auburn remains No. 127 in turnover margin nationally, but in the last two games, Auburn is +1 in turnover margin, which ranks No. 42 nationally.
— The Tigers have held Cal, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Georgia and Missouri all under their scoring averages on the season (when factoring in only offensive points allowed, not defensive scores that add to the total). For reference, Kentucky averages 22 points per game.
