No. 19 Kentucky Smushed by No. 3 Tennessee in 44-6 Drubbing
KNOXVILLE, Tenn.—From the get-go, No. 19 Kentucky was overmatched, overpowered and out-performed in its 44-6 loss to No. 3 Tennessee on Saturday night inside Neyland Stadium.
The Wildcats (5-3, 2-3 SEC) were held to just 205 yards of offense and one score while allowing 422 yards and six touchdowns to the Volunteers (8-0, 4-0). It's Kentucky's worst loss ever in a game where it and its opponent were both ranked entering the game.
"Not very good, we got beat by a better football team," Kentucky head coach Mark Stoops said in his opening statement following the defeat. "Eventually, it unraveled on us, and you saw the result."
The unraveling began on the fifth play of the game, as Vols QB Hendon Hooker dropped the first of three bombs to wide receiver Jaylin Hyatt, who strolled into the end zone untouched for a 55-yard score.
Hooker finished the night with 245 passing yards, completing 19 of 25 attempts, carving the resilient-yet-wilted Kentucky defense. Hyatt caught five passes, yet totaled 138 yards and a pair of scores.
The Cats' first drive was indicative of how their night would go, as offensive coordinator Rich Scangarello's group sputtered to what would be one of four 3-and-outs. UK had 12 drives on Saturday, six of which lasted three plays or less.
"We put ourselves in a bad position, and once you fall behind...it was really poor how it played out in the end," Scangarello said. "We have to fix it."
Kentucky QB Will Levis was out-dueled, as he failed to reach 100 passing yards in a game for just the second time in his career as a Wildcat. His 98 yards through the air was more than overshadowed by his three interceptions, however. It's the fourth time he's thrown multiple picks in a game.
"I felt extremely confident going into today," Levis said. "I thought we had really good energy, I thought we were ready, but we weren't. It's frustrating to think back and know that there's a few plays I could've done myself that could've changed the momentum of the game."
The interceptions were just the beginning of what have become frequent offensive issues from the Wildcats. After an okay start, the offensive line allowed four sacks, while Tennessee totaled eight tackles-for-loss.
Running back Chris Rodriguez was held to just 64 yards on 15 carries, though he notched a touchdown. He left the game early in the third quarter and did not return. Stoops noted post-game that the RB picked up an injury.
Rodriguez wasn't the only important player to get hurt, as linebacker DeAndre Square headed to the locker room after the first defensive drive of the game. He would return and finish out the first quarter and begin the second, but eventually went to the sideline again and was ruled out with an ankle injury.
The Kentucky defense was already without linebacker Jacquez Jones, who hasn't played since the Cats took on Ole Miss on Oct. 1. Being without its top-two leaders and playmakers in the middle of the park was a struggle, though defensive coordinator Brad White felt the positions were filled well enough.
"I thought both D'Eryk (Jackson) and Trevin (Wallace) stepped in and did a good job," he said. "It felt like they played solid."
Jackson led the team in tackles with a career-high 14, including four solo and one for-loss.
Cornerback Keidron Smith witnessed first hand how explosive Hooker, Hyatt and the Vols are. While the experience was a negative one for him and his defense, he never felt like the team wavered down the stretch, even when the result was already set in stone.
"That was our main point of emphasis coming out of that locker room," Smith said. "If you're gonna have your head down and everything, there ain't no need for you to be on that field, so we made sure of that."
Now the Wildcats have to keep that focus, put Saturday night behind them and get ready for its fourth and final road trip of the regular season, in Columbia against the surging Missouri Tigers.
Stoops preached "not letting one loss turn into two" after the first loss of the year against Ole Miss, but that message clearly failed when South Carolina emptied out Kroger Field a week later.
Now, the team unfortunately gets another crack at avoiding another losing streak.
"We have to respond," Stoops said. "The last time we lost a game it became two. I told the team you’re going to have tough loses in this league. We better be ready to play against Missouri."
The Wildcats and Tigers will kickoff at noon EST, 11 a.m. local time on Nov. 5 at Faurot Field. The game will air on the SEC Network.
For quick takeaways from the loss to the Volunteers, click here.
Hear what Mark Stoops had to say about the loss here.
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