LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Kentucky's season will not officially end for another five weeks, but fans and media alike may point to Saturday's 24-10 loss to Auburn as the fatal blow to the Wildcats' hopes for 2024.

"I really don't have that much to say," said a dejected UK head coach Mark Stoops. "Just hit the repeat button. It's more of the same. Need to finish drives, need to get in the end zone, need to play better in each phase of the game.

"Just got beat. The bottom line, we got beat."

Auburn, which came to Lexington winless in SEC play and averaging a woeful 16.2 points in league games, had its way with favored Kentucky despite falling behind 10-0 in the first quarter.

The Tigers (3-5, 1-4 SEC) scored 24 unanswered points by dominating the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. Offensively, they rushed for 326 yards, including a career-high 278-yard night and two touchdowns for senior running back Jarquez Hunter.

“People haven’t run it on them, outside of the Florida game, no one," Auburn coach Hugh Freeze said. "There are some good football teams that they’ve really stopped rushing the football, so I think it speaks highly of our O-Line, our running backs, our tight ends, and our coaching staff."

Auburn quarterback Peyton Thorne also completed 20 of 26 passes for 172 yards and a touchdown as part of his team's 498 yards of total offense.

"Give credit to them," Stoops said. "They came in and moved the ball against us as well as I can remember anybody doing in a while."

Defensively, Auburn held Kentucky's anemic offense 224 total yards, prompted a quarterback change by the Wildcats, and forced two turnovers.

Kayin Lee's interception of UK backup quarterback Gavin Wimsatt denied UK's final chance to get back into the game at the 4:39 mark. It marked the third consecutive week that the Cats have failed to score after achieving a 1st-and-goal situation from inside the opponent's 5-yard-line.

Kentucky (3-5, 1-4 SEC) lost all four of its league home games this season and have now dropped 11 of its last 13 conference games at Kroger Field. The Cats' streak of eight consecutive bowl game appearances is now in jeopardy with just four games remaining, two of them on the road against Top 10 teams in Tennessee and Texas.

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In this "Rapid Recap" feature, we touch on some quick-hitters from the UK loss...

KEY MOMENT:

Leading 10-0 in the first quarter, Kentucky seemed to be in position to open a huge lead after JQ Hardaway intercepted an Auburn pass at the Tigers' 40 yard line. But the Wildcats went backwards instead, quickly punting the ball back to Auburn. The game changed dramatically at that point as UK struggled to come up with anything offensively the rest of the night, and the defense began to falter. Auburn tied the game at 10 by halftime and put the game away with a pair of second-half touchdowns.

GAME BALL:

Jarquez Hunter, Auburn -- When you rush for close to 300 yards, this honor is a no-brainer. Honorable mention to the Tigers' offensive line, which bullied one of the league's top defensive fronts.

BY THE NUMBERS:

4-for-12 - Kentucky's third-down conversion rate. Auburn, meanwhile, went 8-for-14.

7 - Touchdowns scored by UK in its first six SEC games. The Cats have not scored more than two touchdowns against any league opponent.

12.1 - Rushing yards per attempt by Auburn's Jarquez Hunter. He had long runs of 50 and 45 yards.

54 - Total plays run by the Wildcats, 22 fewer than the Tigers.

70 - Yards rushing by UK, a season-low. It was the fewest rushing yards by the Cats in a home game since recording only 48 against Florida in 2013.

326 - Rushing yards by Auburn are the most allowed by a UK team since surrendering 346 to Louisville in 2017.

1966 - The last time Kentucky defeated Auburn in Lexington.

QUOTABLE:

"I don't want any headlines on that... We're not playing very well, and it's never on one person." -- UK head coach Mark Stoops when asked about a potential quarterback controversy after switching from Brock Vandagriff to Gavin Wimsatt for the entire second half.

UP NEXT:

Kentucky returns to action next week at Tennessee. The No. 7 Volunteers (6-1, 3-1 SEC) had an open date on the schedule this week. Kickoff is slated for 7:45 ET at Neyland Stadium on the SEC Network.