Tennessee annihilates No. 6 Kentucky behind another outstanding defensive effort
By Ethan Stone
Published:
The best defense in college football may very well reside in Knoxville, Tennessee.
Josh Heupel and DC Jim Knowles’ unit put on another clinic in front of a raucous home crowd, helping Tennessee dispatch No. 6 Kentucky in blowout fashion, 34-6. The Vols are now 7-2 on the season and 4-2 in SEC play.
Kentucky failed to find the end zone and the Wildcats never led. The Vols started the scoring with a 66-yard touchdown from sophomore running back Daune Morris just before the end of the 1st quarter. Kentucky responded with a field goal, then the teams traded field goals to enter halftime with Tennessee on top, 10-6.
Tennessee opened the 2nd half with another field goal, then came up with a crucial stop with Kentucky facing 3rd and 2 near midfield. Another promising Kentucky drive ended with a Wildcats fumble forced by Vols defensive back Qua Moss. It was the final of 3 turnovers Tennessee’s defense forced on the evening. Despite this, Kentucky was still holding on, trailing 13-6.
Then came the 4th quarter.
Facing an exhausted Wildcats defense, Tennessee ended the game with 3 straight touchdown drives — including a package with Faizon Brandon earning a passing touchdown off a technicality, a pitch pass to Mike Matthews for a 24-yard score.
Morris and DeSean Bishop put the cherry on top of Tennessee’s top 10 win, rushing for 65 yards across a 10-play scoring drive. Here’s the score that put the Wildcats to bed:
Tennessee’s defense was outstanding, but the Vols’ rushing attack held its weight, too. Tennessee finished with 240 yards rushing across 37 attempts (6.1 yards per carry) with 3 touchdowns — 2 from Bishop and 1 from Morris.
Kenny Minchey and the Wildcats offense will see Arion Carter in their nightmares this week. Carter collected 4 of Tennessee’s 8 tackles for loss and 2 of the Vols’ 4 sacks on the evening. Even his game-high 13 tackles don’t do it justice — the senior linebacker was everywhere.
Saturday’s win was Tennessee’s 6th straight over Kentucky. The all-time series sits at 86-26-9 in favor of the Vols.
Ethan Stone is a Saturday Down South News Editor and an advocate for the return of the Seattle Supersonics.
