Strong showing for Cutter Boley not enough to avoid blowout loss to Tennessee
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Gameday: No. 17 Tennessee 56, Kentucky 34
Click below for more of the Herald-Leader and Kentucky.com’s coverage of Saturday’s Kentucky-Tennessee football game at Kroger Field in Lexington.
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One week after a near miss in a loss to Texas, nothing about Kentucky football’s 10th consecutive SEC loss was close.
Tennessee needed just four plays to score its first touchdown of the game, and the Wildcats mounted little resistance from there. The Volunteers led by 21 less than two minutes into the second quarter. While Kentucky briefly pulled within seven, Tennessee scored touchdowns on its next four drives to turn the game into a blowout midway through the third quarter.
The Volunteers completed five passes of at least 35 yards, including four of at least 47 yards, and returned an interception for a touchdown on the way to a 56-34 victory.
If there was a bright spot for Kentucky it was continued progress from redshirt freshman quarterback Cutter Boley. Playing without star running back Seth McGowan, Boley completed 26 of 35 passes for 330 yards, five touchdowns and one interception. Freshman wide receiver DJ Miller, playing for just the second time this season after being slowed by a quad injury, enjoyed a breakout with five catches for 120 yards and two touchdowns.
Kentucky fell to 2-5 on the season and 0-5 in SEC play.
Turning point
In a sequence that could earn a spot on the all-time Kentucky football blooper reel, the Wildcats lost two fumbles on the same play just before the end of the first quarter.
Facing third-and-11, Boley hit sophomore Hardley Gilmore for a short gain. Gilmore appeared to be stopped shy of the first-down marker, but several teammates helped him gain a few more yards by pushing the pile. During that scrum, Gilmore lost the ball. UK wide receiver Ja’Mori Maclin failed to pick up the loose ball cleanly as he tried to run forward. The ball then bounced backward as multiple UK linemen tried to pick it up. Eventually, Maclin recovered the ball and tried to advance it. A Tennessee defender quickly knocked the ball out of Maclin’s hands, and the Volunteers finally ended the play by falling on the ball at the UK 6-yard line, 23 yards behind where the play was originally snapped.
Four plays later, Tennessee scored on a fourth-and-goal play at the 1-yard line for a 28-7 lead. The Wildcats have never rallied from more than 14 down to win a game in Mark Stoops’ 13 seasons as coach.
Player of the game
For as good as Boley was in the game, Tennessee quarterback Joey Aguilar was even better. He completed 18 of 24 passes for 386 yards and three touchdowns. Aguilar attempted just one pass in the fourth quarter.
Key stat
For the first time since the 2023 Gator Bowl, Kentucky scored more than two offensive touchdowns in a game against power-conference competition. Unfortunately for the Wildcats, by the time that happened they had already fallen behind by 21 points in the first half.
This story was originally published October 25, 2025 at 11:24 PM.
