Takeaways: Vols Destroy Kentucky to Stay Undefeated

Tennessee got started early in Neyland Stadium on Saturday night with a 55-yard touchdown from Hendon Hooker to Jalin Hyatt. 

The play was the fifth from scrimmage for the UT offense, and Kentucky found themselves trailing by seven less than 90 seconds into the game. 

Kentucky's second drive on offense was a thing of beauty, ending in a Chris Rodriguez rushing score. But that was the only good part of Kentucky's overall sloppy performance in the blowout loss to Tennessee on Saturday. 

The Vols move to 8-0 on the season with the 44-6 win over the SEC East rival, all but punching their ticket to being a Top-4 team when the College Football Playoff rankings come out Tuesday. 

UT's defense had arguably their best performance in the Josh Heupel era, and Tennessee's explosive offense came to play once again. 

Below are some quick takeaways from the Big Orange's blowout win. 

Vols Pass Defense Comes Up Big, Gives Will Levis Fits

Tennessee's pass defense stepped up in a major way against Kentucky, and that's something that we haven't seen much this year. 

Will Levis threw three interceptions, the most in a game for No. 7 so far this season. Brandon Turnage, Juwan Mitchell and Doneiko Slaughter were the Vols responsible for the interceptions, and you could argue Slaughter was responsible for two. 

In the first half, Slaughter delivered a huge hit on a Kentucky wide receiver, causing the ball to fling up in the air and ultimately end up in the hands of Juwan Mitchell. 

Levis' other two interceptions came on back-to-back drives, helping Tennessee salt the game away with one of their final two scores. 

Jalin Hyatt Explodes Again, Breaks Record

Jalin Hyatt faced another college football secondary on Saturday night and lit up another college football secondary. 

Hyatt broke free for two long touchdowns in the first half and 91 yards, setting a UT record in the process. 

Hyatt's second touchdown marked his 14th on the year, a new UT single-season record. Hyatt was one behind Marcus Nash for the record entering the Kentucky game. 

Hyatt nearly had a third long score in the second half, getting wide open once again. Hendon Hooker connected with what has been his favorite target as of late, but the junior wideout didn't reach the end zone. 

Hyatt ended his night with five receptions for 138 yards and two touchdowns. 

Tennessee Rushing Attack Has Impressive Outing

Tennessee's running back duo of Jaylen Wright and Jabari Small had one of their most impressive outings on the season against Kentucky. 

The run game was established early and well with Jabari Small, and the junior went on to rush for an encouraging 78 yards on 21 carries while also adding a touchdown reception. 

The biggest takeaway from the Vols' ground attack, though, was Jaylen Wright. 

Wright had many hard and angry runs on the night, including a big physical 35-yard run early in the second quarter that ultimately set up his own one-yard rushing score. 

In addition to Wright and Small, Hendon Hooker and Princeton Fant each had a touchdown rush. 

Up Next

With another excellent performance behind them, the Vols will turn their focus to the reigning national champions in Georgia. 

Currently, the Vols are No. 3 in the AP Poll and the Bulldogs are No. 1

The College Football Playoff Rankings come out on Tuesday, and all Vol fans should anticipate their team possibly being the top ranked team in the nation.