AUBURN | Robert Lewis sent out a team-wide text after last Saturday’s 17-14 loss at Missouri in which he dropped a potential touchdown pass that Hugh Freeze said “would break your heart.”

Jerrin Thompson said losing outside leverage on third down and allowing quarterback Brady Cook to scramble for a first down on Missouri’s game-winning drive was “completely on me.”

Malik Blocton, only a freshman, said the game-winning 4-yard touchdown run with 46 seconds left went into the gap which he spun out of and “that that was my fault.”

While Auburn has struggled to a 2-5 start including 0-4 in the SEC, the players have mostly taken personal responsibility for their own lapses.

“It shows that the team is not going to be divided,” said sophomore defensive end Keldric Faulk. “So when we go out the rest of the season, we can play for each other and not for ourselves.

“So the self-accountability, man, it's crucial. I’m glad to hear that a lot of guys are taking that. They’re not just pointing fingers at everybody else.”

Auburn has continued to compete throughout the season, losing tight, fourth-quarter games against Arkansas, Oklahoma and Missouri over the last five weeks.

Remaining focused and together while the team deals with a large does of adversity is a positive sign that the competitiveness will continue and perhaps the Tigers can find a way to start winning some games down the stretch.

“We understand that this is the ultimate team game,” said quarterback Payton Thorne. “And so it's easy sometimes to put the blame on one guy on one play, or, when you're looking at it, and go, ‘Man, you know, what was that?’

“But there's so many things that go into it, and that's every position, and so it's tough, and it stinks, but I think we've got a group of good guys, and guys aren't going to give up, and they're going to keep fighting.”

Auburn plays at Kentucky Saturday at 6:45 p.m. CT on SEC Network.