Paul Finebaum: Tennessee eliminated any doubts with win over Kentucky

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On3 image — Emma Corona | Tennessee Athletics

The Tennessee Volunteers kept chugging last night with their 44-6 win over Kentucky. It was a dominant victory that pushed the Vols into a tie for No. 2 in today’s AP Poll. The way in which they won proved to Paul Finebaum that Tennessee is as real as it gets in college football this season.

Finebaum discussed last night’s win in Knoxville during a recap of Week 9 for ESPN. The defense was the only question left about the Volunteers and, with the way they put the screws on UK and Will Levis, it was all Finebaum still needed to see from UT.

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“You had to think this was a moment where maybe Tennesse was looking ahead to Georgia. And they were for about five minutes,” said Finebaum. “For some reason, once Kentucky missed that extra point, it was over. It was just like, ‘You’re not scoring again. And we’re going to score as many as we want.’ That’s what happened. It was truly remarkable. And any doubts about that Tennessee defense were eliminated.”

Kentucky answered Tennessee’s opening touchdown with a nine-play 71 yard drive that seemed to set the tone for the Wildcats. However, it did anything but. The PAT that followed was blocked and those six points were the only ones UK scored all game. The Wildcat offense followed that with five punts, three interceptions from Levis, and a turnover on downs the rest of the matchup thanks to the play of the Volunteer defense.

There have been no questions about the Tennessee offense that now ranks as the best in the nation. With that said, this was a statement game for the defense of that team. The Vols had been giving up 23.1 points per game coming into last night. Holding a then Top-20 Kentucky team to their lowest point total of the season by a significant margin is something they can hang their hat on.

As they head to Athens next weekend, it also gives analysts like Finebaum a belief that Tennessee has a real chance to make some noise down the stretch of the season.