Kentucky football vs. Tennessee: 3 takeaways from blowout SEC loss

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — To have even the slightest chance of toppling undefeated Tennessee on the road Saturday, Kentucky football needing a near-flawless outing almost was a prerequisite. A little help from the Volunteers in the turnover department wouldn’t hurt, either.

Neither came to pass, though.

Tennessee scored on the fifth play of the contest — a 55-yard strike from Hendon Hooker to his most explosive receiver, Jalin Hyatt — and the hosts were off to the races. 

The Volunteers’ vaunted offense lived up to the billing, gaining 421 yards en route to a decisive 44-6 victory over the Wildcats at Neyland Stadium.

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Though No. 19 Kentucky (5-3, 2-3 SEC) immediately responded to Tennessee’s opening score with a touchdown of its own, the Wildcats couldn’t even tie the game because of a blocked extra point, trailing 7-6 at the 4:44 mark of the first quarter.

But those were the only points UK managed in the first 30 minutes. The No. 3 Volunteers (8-0, 4-0) scored the final 20 points of the half to take a 27-6 lead into the locker room. It didn’t get any better in the second half. Tennessee sacked Kentucky quarterback Will Levis on back-to-back snaps on the first possession of the third quarter; the Volunteers then knocked in a field goal to extend their advantage to 30-6. The Wildcats’ next drive ended in a Levis interception. And the subsequent possession.

At one juncture, Levis tossed three interceptions in the span of four drives.

Compare that to his counterpart, Hooker, the Heisman Trophy hopeful. Tennessee’s superstar signal-caller went 19 for 25 for 245 yards and three touchdowns. 

The Volunteers’ decisive win sets up a mega-matchup versus top-ranked Georgia next week in Athens, Georgia, next week: two undefeated SEC East squads will duke it out between the hedges.

The Wildcats, on the other hand, will lick their wounds and try to regroup as they head to Columbia, Missouri, to face Missouri — a team with momentum on its side after going on the road and upsetting a ranked South Carolina squad Saturday.

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Here are three takeaways from the blowout road SEC loss:

It’s probably not fair to compare Kentucky’s offense to Tennessee. Sure, Levis is going to be one of the first quarterbacks taken in the 2023 NFL draft. Chris Rodriguez is going to end his career among the Wildcats’ all-time rushing leaders. Receivers Tayvion Robinson and Barion Brown are big plays waiting to happen.

But … the unit simply doesn’t compare to Tennessee’s.

The Volunteers possess a gear no offense in the nation — aside from Ohio State — can match.

And that disparity was on full display Saturday.

Hooker made plays with his arm and his feet. (He scored on an 8-yard touchdown run in the third quarter, scrambled for yardage when opportunities presented themselves and kept plays alive when he needed to.) Three players (Hooker, Jaylen Wright and Princeton Fant) scored on the ground — a group that didn’t include leading rusher Jabari Small, who carried 21 times for 78 yards. Six Volunteers caught passes, with three (Hyatt, Bru McCoy and Cedric Tillman) hauling in four or more.  

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That all-around balance disguised how easily Tennessee made it look. The Volunteers didn’t have to fight tooth-and-nail for yards. Make circus catches. Strain in any way, really. They just moved the ball with ruthless efficiency.

Kentucky only wishes it had been that easy.

Levis will want to erase all copies of this game from existence. Saturday arguably was the worst game of his college career. The three interceptions tied his single-game high, matching the number he had in last season’s loss to Mississippi State. He didn’t even break the 100-yard mark, finishing with 98 yards on 16-of-27 passing.

Not that all the blame can be placed at the feet — or on the right arm — of Levis. 

His offensive line was a sieve; the Volunteers notched four sacks and had four quarterback hurries. And aside from UK’s first offensive possession, capped by a 3-yard score from Chris Rodriguez, who finished with 64 yards on 15 attempts, the ground game never got going. 

It was a recipe for disaster for the Wildcats. They needed to go point-for-point with the Volunteers’ high-octane offense. 

They didn’t come close.

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Look, Tennessee has more playmakers than one can shake a stick at. It’s a lot to ask for any defense to have the Volunteers covered on every single play. But what made Saturday’s defensive performance so perplexing was how many times the Wildcats’ secondary whiffed.

Not once. Not twice. But three times.

All three of Hooker’s TD passes? No UK defender was within shouting distance of the pass-catcher. Even more shocking: Two of the wide-open scores went to Hyatt, who broke UT’s single-season touchdown record. 

The wideout who had to be the primary focus of defensive meetings all week.

Entering Saturday, Hyatt had 12 TD receptions this fall, tied for the most in a single season in Tennessee’s illustrious history. He added two more against the Wildcats to give him the record on his own. 

Seeing how often Kentucky lost him Saturday, however, one would think Hyatt was making his collegiate debut.

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A blocked extra point. Another missed point-after touchdown. A kickoff out of bounds. A partially blocked punt. A field goal that left the uprights shaking for minutes after. A 45-yard punt returned 34 yards 

For those who love stellar special teams play, this was a game to forget.

Tennessee shared in the miscues: the missed PAT, the wayward kickoff and the field goal that nearly knocked over the right upright? The Wildcats didn’t make those mistakes.

But Kentucky’s errant extra point set the tone early. Coming moments after Rodriguez’s TD, all UK had to do to tie the ballgame was convert one of the easiest plays in football. Big De’Jon Terry — all 6-foot-4 and 321 pounds of him — got his paw in the air and batted down Kentucky kicker Matt Ruffolo’s attempt. 

It was a sign of (bad) things to come for the Wildcats on this night.

Reach Kentucky men’s basketball and football reporter Ryan Black at rblack@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter at @RyanABlack