Three takeaways from Kentucky football’s loss to Tennessee
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Game day: Tennessee 45, No. 18 Kentucky 42
Click below for more of the Herald-Leader’s and Kentucky.com’s coverage of Saturday night’s Kentucky-Tennessee football game at Kroger Field in Lexington, Ky.
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Three takeaways from Kentucky football’s tough 45-42 loss to the Tennessee Volunteers on Saturday night at Kroger Field:
1. Kentucky’s defense couldn’t catch up to Tennessee
Looking at the final statistics, you had to rub your eyes. Was this real? Josh Heupel’s Volunteers scored 38 points and gained 461 yards of total offense in just 13:52 of possession. That’s nuts. The Vols struck quickly to set off a night of fireworks, scoring a 75-yard touchdown on the game’s first play from scrimmage, a sideline pass from quarterback Hendon Hooker to JaVonta Payton. Next series, the Vols scored on a 72-yard TD pass from Hooker to Velus Jones. And that was just the beginning.
Kentucky knew the Vols run an ultra-uptempo offense which led the nation in plays per minute. The Vols snap it and go, snap it and go. Over and over. Yet the Cats never found a way to slow Tennessee down. There were busted coverages, Wildcats out of gaps, or others not lined up correctly.
And Tennessee’s wide splits for their receivers gave Kentucky headaches on a couple of fronts. The Cats had a hard time using safety help to aid their struggling cornerbacks. Plus, UK found itself out of position on several long Tennessee runs.
Give the Vols credit. Heupel knows what he’s doing. The former Oklahoma quarterback, who coached with Mark Stoops for a season at Arizona under Mike Stoops, has found some quick learners with his Vols. One is Hooker, the Virginia Tech transfer who completed 15 of 20 passes for 316 yards and four touchdowns. In the last two games, Kentucky’s pass defense has allowed 51 of 59 completions. That’s an 86.4 completion percentage.
“The big plays,” said UK defensive coordinator Brad White, “those are unacceptable.”
2. Kentucky’s offense did more than enough to win
After the disappointing effort in last week’s 31-17 loss at Mississippi State, Liam Coen’s offense bounced back in a big way Saturday night. UK nearly matched the Vols in the flurry of points. Kentucky ran a ridiculous number of plays (99) and gained 612 yards. The last time the Cats gained over 600 yards of total offense was against — coincidentally — the Vols in Knoxville on Nov. 12, 2016, when UK gained 635 yards on 84 plays and lost 49-36.
After a disappointing performance in Starkville, UK quarterback Will Levis bounced back nicely. The Penn State transfer completed 31 of 49 passes for 372 yards and three touchdowns. He also ran 15 times for 47 yards, including several of his now signature leaps over defenders.
And yet, Levis made one big mistake, a bad read (according to Coen) on an out pass that Tennessee’s Alontae Taylor intercepted and returned 56 yards for a touchdown and a 38-28 Vols lead with 6:23 left in the third quarter.
Levis bounced right back from that, however, leading Kentucky on a drive that ended with a 15-yard TD pass to Wan’Dale Robinson to cut the lead to 38-35 with 1:20 left in the third quarter.
“But we didn’t get it done,” said Coen afterward. “In the end, we didn’t win.”
3. Mark Stoops’ late penalty can’t happen
No matter the circumstances, that can’t happen. And Stoops said exactly that after the game, taking the blame for his 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty after the officials missed a face-mask call against the Vols on Levis during UK’s final drive.
Stoops was flagged for overstepping his bounds in protesting the non-call. The flag set the Cats back to a fourth-and-24 on their 34. “Thank God they bailed me out,” said the coach after Levis hit Izayah Cummings with a 28-yard pass for a first down at the Tennessee 38.
Alas, four straight incompletions followed. Game over. After a 6-0 start, the Cats have lost three straight to drop to 6-3 overall and 4-3 in the SEC. A chance at the program’s first 10-win regular season since 1977 is out the window. Same for a New Year’s Six Bowl. When the AP Top 25 is announced on Sunday, it’s a good bet the Cats, who entered the game ranked 18th, will fall out of the rankings.
With Vanderbilt, New Mexico State and Louisville left on the schedule, Stoops’ next job is to pick his team back up for a strong finish. More on that later.
This story was originally published November 7, 2021 at 1:05 AM.
