AUBURN, Ala. (EETV) - Senior Trey Lindsey takes the knee for Auburn after 24 unanswered points in the second half for the Tigers put the game out of reach as Auburn earns their second straight win, 41-17.
22 seniors suited up for the Tigers on Senior Night in Jordan-Hare and were honored for their time on the Plains. In their time, they've had multiple head coaches, plenty of position coaches and the COVID pandemic to get through during their time.
"They had every reason to fold, every excuse. They've been through a tough time," interim head coach Carnell "Cadillac" Williams said about this senior class. "They want more. They have gave me so much confidence to do this job."
DJ James put the nail in the coffin with a 27-yard pick-six and the first defensive touchdown of the season.
Western Kentucky's up-tempo air raid offense was on full display, running 88 plays in 29:54 time of possession. For comparison, Auburn ran 62 plays in 30:06 time of possession.
Hilltopper quarterback Austin Reed threw for 222 yards in the first half and finished with 290. The Western Kentucky coaches pulled Reed for freshman Darius Ocean who went 2-for-3 and 11 yards.
After the first quarter ended 10-0 in favor of Auburn, Western Kentucky scored 17 in the second quarter ending it with a touchdown catch from Joshua Simon. Simon finished the game with two touchdowns.
Jarquez Hunter had a big game on the ground and through the air. Hunter rushed for 109 on 13 carries and threw a 20-yard touchdown to Koy Moore to put the Tigers up 17-10 before Simon's second touchdown catch of the day brought the two teams even going into halftime.
"That play right there, Jarquez showed me that he could throw it," Koy Moore recalls. "I seen the safety just crash down, and I'm like, 'Oh my God,' touchdown."
After the break, Auburn scored 10 in the third quarter with a 31-yard rush bouncing outside to the boundaries and taking it for six.
Freshman Alex McPherson went 2/2 on field goals with a long of 51 and 3-for-3 in PATs.
"It's just a kicker's dream, isn't it?" McPherson said. "The execution by the whole operation. From snap to hold, all the blocks. I couldn't do that without them. When everything went smoothly, it felt good to hit that."
Hunter's counterpart in the backfield, Tank Bigsby led the team in rushing with 110 yards on 19 carries with two touchdowns. Between the two backs and QB Robbie Ashford, Auburn finished with 252 rushing yards.
Cam Riley led the Auburn defense with eight tackles. Senior Hayden Brice recorded his first career sack in the game's waning moments after making the switch to edge rusher from tight end in the offseason.
Auburn gave the seniors a night to remember and moved to 5-6 on the year heading into rivalry week with hopes of becoming bowl eligible with a win against Alabama in Tuscaloosa on Saturday, Nov. 26.
"I'm on fire. I got a lot of respect for the great Nick Saban," Coach Williams said about the upcoming game. "But, we are going to play football, Auburn football."
