Frozen due to illness, expected to practice against Kentucky

Tigers coach Hugh Freeze He is still expected to practice against him on Saturday evening Kentucky According to ESPN's Pete Thamel, he was reportedly battling an illness.

“Sources: Auburn coach Hugh Freeze is battling an illness – possibly food poisoning – and did not travel with the team to Kentucky yesterday,” Thamel wrote on Twitter. “He's flying to Lexington this morning and is supposed to train there.”

Freeze reportedly did not travel with the team on Thursday but will head to Lexington ahead of the game, which begins at 6:45 p.m. CT.

Auburn Live Predictions

Jeffrey Lee: Kentucky, 23-20. This is another game that Auburn could and perhaps should win. However, until they prove otherwise, it's hard for me to predict that this will be the case.

Cole Pinkston: Auburn, 21-17. I don't think Auburn will be any looser, but I see this as more of a winnable game. I like the matchups across the board. Kentucky lost some key players and the offense isn't great. I think this is what gets Auburn back on track. Just a hunch.

Justin Hokanson: Auburn, 20-17. It's not like Kentucky plays great football either. This game could go either way, as has been the case with most games this season. I would say Auburn has one or two more playmakers on offense, has the defense that forces Kentucky to throw the ball, and Alex McPherson comes back and makes a short field goal or two.

Short 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, when the Tigers came out on top 30-27. Auburn also won in 2010 with three wins and a score of 37-34.

– The last meeting between the two teams was during the 2020 Covid season, when Auburn hosted Kentucky in the season opener and won 29-13.

– The Tigers have scored in a school-record 149 consecutive games, dating back to the first game of the 2013 season, tying the program record set from 1980-1992.

— Auburn is tied with BYU and Vanderbilt for the national lead 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 rank 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 rank 13th nationally 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 have negative punt return yards.

– In the Hugh Freeze era, the Tigers are 5-0 with a 100-yard rusher.

– Auburn is 6-4 when the opponent scores 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 only loss this season was against Oklahoma and the only win was at Cal last season.

– Under Freeze, the Tigers are 1-8 when scoring fewer than 20 points. They are 7-4 when they score 20+ points.

– Auburn remains No. 127 nationally in turnover margin, but over the last two games, Auburn is +1 in turnover margin, which ranks 42nd nationally.

– The Tigers held Cal, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Georgia and Missouri all below their season scoring average (when considering only offensive points allowed, not defensive points, which contribute to the point total). For comparison, Kentucky averages 22 points per game.