Was the win over Kentucky a turning point for Auburn football?

Head coach Hugh Freeze sure thinks it could be considering how the Tigers (3-5, 1-4 SEC) found themselves in a quick 10-0 hole at the end of the first quarter. Auburn proceeded to drop 24 unanswered points on the Wildcats, leaving Lexington with their first SEC win of the year.

For Freeze, seeing his team fight made him ponder in game if this was the same team from the first half of the season.

"Just really proud of our kids," he said. "The reality is, down 10-0 with an interception, it could have grown. A lot of teams, after going through the disappointments we’ve gone through in losing difficult games this year could have easily said ‘Oh my,’ and it could have gotten away from us.

"Our kids chose to fight, and think that’s a testament to the character on this team and what we’re trying to build here. Very thankful and pleased with a lot of things that happened in that game."

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Going into the Kentucky game, Freeze wondered if the Tigers' players and coaches, including himself, were playing to not lose football games instead of going out there and believing they would win them.

Something clicked on Saturday as the Tigers found a groove on both sides of the ball. On offense, a major reason for the switch came from Jarquez Hunter, who ran wild for 278 yards and two scores. He never had negative yardage run play in the win.

During Auburn's four-game losing streak, Freeze felt that the Tigers had a chance to win at least three of the games, and could've been competitive with Georgia. On Saturday, the Auburn locker room was filled with relief after living through a few "gut punches" this season. Freeze was also excited to see the freshmen celebrate finishing out a tough win finally.

"Some of the ways they ended were just like gut punches and we just haven’t learned how to win yet. I told them at halftime it was time for them to experience what it’s like to find a way to win and that’s where the joy came from, truthfully," Freeze said. "Again, I just mentioned how many freshmen we were playing on that last drive there, defensively, so the joy came from seeing them get to experience what it’s like to finish a game."

The Tigers will look to create their first winning streak of the season when they host Vanderbilt at 11:45 p.m. Saturday on SEC Network.

This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Is the win over Kentucky a turning point for Auburn football?