A small Kentucky college played a significant role in UK’s victory over Tennessee
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Game day: Kentucky 34, Tennessee 7
Click below for more of the Herald-Leader’s and Kentucky.com’s coverage of Saturday’s Kentucky-Tennessee football game at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn.
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Mark Stoops was not pleased at all with Kentucky’s performance at Tennessee two years ago.
That trip, the most recent one before the Wildcats’ 34-7 victory on Saturday, ended in a 24-7 defeat, and came one week after a 34-17 loss to Georgia at home. UK’s loss to Georgia removed the Wildcats’ control over their own destiny in terms of reaching the Southeastern Conference title game; the loss to Tennessee assured it wouldn’t happen.
Stoops several times has alluded to the lead-up to that game and how UK went about its travel arrangements for the three-hour road trip, which precludes the team from flying. He thinks it reduced their energy level.
He made an adjustment last season prior to the Wildcats’ visit to Vanderbilt, a similar day of travel, which included a Friday walkthrough away from campus at the Tennessee Titans’ facilities.
UK won that game, 38-14, and nearly posted a school record single-game rushing total (that same team broke that record the next week against Louisville).
This year’s trip to Tennessee was handled much the same way except, of course, with COVID-19 protocols minded. Kentucky before reaching Knoxville on Friday made a pit stop for a practice at the University of the Cumberlands in Williamsburg, about an hour and seven minutes from UT’s Neyland Stadium.
“Fortunately it was a beautiful day, a great campus there,” Stoops said following Saturday’s victory. “I really appreciate them and their hospitality, taking care of us. Our players really enjoyed it. It broke up the day and then we cruised into Knoxville after practice and had our meetings and so on.
“It was obivously a good change-up for us.”
Jamin Davis, who recorded his second interception of the season and returned it for a touchdown to put UK up 14-0 in the second quarter, concurred.
“I think it definitely helped us get our legs up under ourselves and not feel like everything was just slowed down and robotic, and just feeling like we took this long road trip,” Davis said. “The only time we’ll be out and moving around is today, so it was definitely worth it in my opinion.”
This story was originally published October 17, 2020 at 5:16 PM.
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