What went wrong on Max Duffy’s failed fake punt

There were two critical mistakes in Kentucky’s 29-13 loss at Auburn that happened on consecutive fourth quarter possessions. A Terry Wilson fumble quickly turned a two-point deficit into nine. On the next possession, the Wildcats were stopped once again, forced to punt facing a fourth and five. The next mistake happened before the snap.

Max Duffy tucked the ball and ran near the UK sideline. The fake punt was snuffed out almost immediately by Auburn, who tackled the UK punter before he reached the line of scrimmage.

Head coach Mark Stoops explained after the game that the fake was a predicated on a pre-snap read by Duffy. If Auburn gave UK a certain look, Duffy had the green light to take off…