Struggling Auburn aims to halt slide at Kentucky

Auburn and Kentucky sit near the bottom of the 16-team Southeastern Conference standings.Prospects of a late-season turnaround don’t look great.But one of the teams will end their losing streak this Saturday night when the Tigers visit the Wildcats in Lexington, Ky.The Tigers (2-5, 0-4 SEC) are tied for last place and have dropped four games in a row. Auburn is coming off a 21-17 loss at Missouri. The Tigers squandered an 11-point lead in the fourth quarter.”It seems like every winnable game has not gone our way,” Auburn coach Hugh Freeze said on Tuesday. “Not a single one. Obviously, I hate the result for the players, our incredible fans, the administration and you guys who cover us. I hate it. It makes you sick, physically ill, when you don’t get across the finish line.”Kentucky (3-4, 1-4) was routed 48-20 by host Florida last weekend, its second straight loss with looming matchups in the next 30 days against No. 7 Tennessee and fifth-ranked Texas.The critics are out in full force and their target is Mark Stoops despite the 12th-year coach having led the program to eight straight bowl games. That streak would be in jeopardy if the Wildcats lose to Auburn for the 10th straight time.”The outside noise, I can’t bother myself, zero, with that,” Stoops said. “I think you know that I’ve been around here a long time. You can face a bad day and tough times with a good attitude and that’s what I’ll do. We’ll go to work and I think you know that. I’m not going to sit up here and flinch.”The bright spot against the Gators was a 99-yard kickoff return by Barion Brown. It is his fifth career kickoff return score to set a new SEC record.Brown, who is averaging 27.9 yards per kickoff return, also had a 45-yard touchdown reception in the contest.Kentucky quarterback Brock Vandagriff has thrown for 1,116 yards, six touchdowns and four interceptions.

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