Carrying a dismal 2-5 record into Week 9, a road win over Kentucky would do wonders for Auburn's 2024 campaign. However, the team is facing a potentially major roadblock with the health of head coach Hugh Freeze.

Freeze did not travel with the team to Lexington on Friday due to an illness but will join them Saturday morning, per Pete Thamel of ESPN. Freeze intends to coach the game despite his delayed arrival. Thamel reports that his illness is due to a suspected food poisoning.

Auburn is coming off a narrow 21-17 loss to No. 19-ranked Missouri in Week 8. The team entered that game off their bye week but was listless on offense and out-gunned by a hobbled Brady Cook.

The veteran head coach is in his second season leading the Tigers after four successful years at Liberty. He was previously the head coach of Ole Miss from 2012 to 2016 before an infamous scandal forced him to resign.

Auburn looks to end four-game losing streak against Kentucky

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Despite a 2-1 start to the year, Auburn has not won a game since their Week 3 game against New Mexico State. The Tigers have since lost their last four outings, all of which were SEC matchups.

However, Auburn appears to have their best chance to change the course of their season in Week 9 against Kentucky despite Freeze's health concerns. The Tigers are just one-point underdogs in the game, their closest spread since being a three-point favorite over Arkansas in Week 4.

While their record suggests a lost season, Auburn was realistically a couple of plays away from potentially securing two ranked wins. They were solidly in control against Oklahoma in Week 5 before a late collapse and entered the fourth quarter against Missouri with a double-digit lead before giving up the go-ahead score with less than one minute remaining.