Three Quick Takeaways From Kentucky's 44-6 Loss to Tennessee
Here are three quick takeaways from Kentucky's ugly loss in Knoxville to No. 3 Tennessee:
OVERMATCHED
Simply put, Kentucky was overmatched coming into this game. The Wildcats' defense was thought to be sturdy enough to somewhat contain Hendon Hooker and Jaylin Hyatt. While they held up for a majority of the game, the Cats had unforgivable miscues that led to points almost every time. On offense, there was hardly any momentum, aside from the second drive of the game.
Kentucky spoke at length this week about not falling behind and not having to try and climb out of a hole. It was a good thought, but was ultimately inevitable. The Cats fought back in the first quarter after an awful start on offense and defense, but as the night progressed it was clear that Mark Stoops' team was fighting a losing battle.
All of the things that UK knew "couldn't happen" in order to win, happened, and happened quite a bit.
PLAYCALLING
Offensive coordinator Rich Scangarello had an extra week to prepare for one of the worst passing defenses in the nation, but it didn't look that way. There were way too many first down run plays that finished right at the line of scrimmage or acquired just a yard or two. UT's weakness on defense is its secondary and passing D, yet Levis threw just 13 times in the first half. That cannot happen.
It's understandable to try and run your own tempo and chew some clock, putting together some long drives, but when that clearly doesn't work, you have to try and take some shots downfield. Kentucky became predictable offensively, chucking screens and running zones for Chris Rodriguez.
By the time Levis finally threw the ball more, the result was already set in stone, and the Vols DBs were prepared for it, as seen by two easy interceptions.
It feels like everything was off offensively tonight.
LINGERING EFFECTS FROM LOSS
Kentucky essentially saved its season with the win over Mississippi State. A loss to the Bulldogs could've been really brutal. But they won, giving the team life heading into one of the biggest games of the Mark Stoops era.
That life was quickly sucked away by the Volunteers, delivering instead one of the worst losses to the Stoops era. How does this linger into next week, when the Wildcats head to Columbia to take on Missouri, who's fresh off a huge win over South Carolina? The Wildcats have never found it easy to defeat the Tigers, so will the roster get up for another road game after getting torched in Knoxville?
Things could get ugly down the stretch if this loss takes a physical or mental toll.
Wildcats Today will have all your post-game coverage from the loss to Tennessee.
