In the scorebook, Keldric Faulk racked up two sacks in Auburn's 24-10 victory over Kentucky on Saturday in Lexington. But as head coach Hugh Freeze points out, Faulk wouldn't have had those opportunities without one of his teammates: Keyron Crawford.

"Keldric Faulk got two sacks and is going to get player of the week," Freeze said. "Obviously, we love Keldric. He's the most solid player we have. But the reason he got those two, both those sacks — if you go watch the film — is Keyron Crawford flushed him right to him."

Faulk admitted as much as well.

"He was feeding energy to everybody on the field," the sophomore said. "He was everywhere. I got my second sack of the night because of him. His effort was out of this world."

As for what Crawford thinks, he was a bit bummed at first, but quickly got over it.

"It was painful from the beginning, but I'm also a team player, so I'm also about winning and helping my brother get his stats up," he said.

It was arguably Crawford's best game in an Auburn uniform after transferring from Arkansas State this past offseason. And while he was credited with just one solo tackle, his performance will not look amazing in the stats but will on film.

So, what switch did Crawford flip to become such a menace against the Wildcats? It starts with what was happening between his two ears earlier this season.

"I felt like I was under a rock for the past six games, in my head, and just second-guessing myself," he said. "And my pass game, I just said I'm going to go out here and play free and have fun, and that, finally, that confidence — I felt more like myself."

Now comes a bigger challenge as Auburn hosts Vanderbilt and electric quarterback Diego Pavia in Jordan-Hare Stadium on Saturday. Playing for New Mexico State last year, Pavia lit up the Tigers' defense as the Aggies pulled off the 31-10 upset. And while Crawford wasn't on the Plains for that one, he understands what Pavia is capable of.

"He's a threat," he said. "Like, he's different, but he's also a threat. He can run. He can pass. He's very accurate, but I know he likes to scramble down the middle. We're scheming him up pretty well."