Defense Sparks Kentucky Victory at Auburn

The Kentucky defense and the defensive staff made it clear this week – what they did against Tennessee last week was absolutely unacceptable. The Cats gave up 56 points and over 500 yards of total offense. Defensive coordinator Brad White and the defensive players were not happy with how they played and looked forward to the opportunity to get the bad taste out of their mouths.

The UK defense got its redemption on Saturday night. The Cats held Auburn to just 241 total yards and just three points in a 10-3 win on the Plains. It was the first time Kentucky held a Southeastern Conference opponent without a touchdown since a 24-3 win over Mississippi State nearly two years ago.

Kentucky racked up seven sacks in the contest and had 12 tackles for loss. Alex Afari and Khalil Saunders each had 1.5 sacks to lead the way for Kentucky. After the game, UK head coach Mark Stoops told the SEC Network’s Alyssa Lang that he took a lot of pride in what happened at Jordan-Hare Stadium on Saturday.

“Really proud of our defense,” Stoops said. “We didn’t have our best effort a week ago and we bounced back. That’s the pride that we’re looking for.”

Stoops said he was very proud of his team for hanging in there during some tough times this season.

“Just a team effort,” Stoops said. “So happy, so proud. We’ve been getting better, we’ve been up and down. Just grateful for this team, these players, they hung in there, they believe, they don’t flinch. I love them.”

While Stoops admitted that it’s just one win, he also admitted that it meant a lot to him.

“It means an awful lot. We’ve been through a lot,” Stoops said. “It means a lot. It’s one victory but we’ve been through a lot.”

Kentucky has played well defensively in two of the last three games. UK held Texas to 179 yards and just 16 points in an overtime loss. Couple that with Saturday night’s performance and it shows just how good this defense can be. They were spectacular on Saturday night at Auburn.