Kentucky Overwhelmed in 44-6 Loss to Tennessee

No. 19 Kentucky held 11 straight opponents to 24 points or less. No. 3 Tennessee broke that streak in the first half. The Wildcats missed opportunities on offense and special teams, letting Josh Heupel’s offense run wild in a 44-6 Volunteer victory at Neyland Stadium. Tennessee remains undefeated as they drop Kentucky to 5-3 ahead of a road trip to Missouri.

As expected, Tennessee’s top-ranked offense got off to a fast start. Tempo caused confusion on the Kentucky defense, leading to an easy Jalin Hyatt 55-yard touchdown. Kentucky’s offense responded, but it was the only time Rich Scangarello’s unit showed life.

Disappointing Day for UK Offense

Chris Rodriguez rushed for 40 yards on a 9-play, 71-yard touchdown drive that ended with the Kentucky running back in the end zone. The scoring drive featured Will Levis‘ best throw of the day, a drop in the bucket to Jordan Dingle for 24 yards. It was all downhill from there.

The Kentucky offense had multiple chances to keep up with the Volunteers’ pace. Tayvion Robinson dropped a third down pass that had the potential for a 60+ yard touchdown. On the following drive UK entered the red zone. A third down pass to Dane Key was broken up by a big hit, sending the ball directly into the Vols’ hands. It was the first of three Will Levis interceptions. The Cats opened the second half with a three-and-out, followed by interceptions on back-to-back possessions.

Tennessee entered the game with the worst pass defense in Power Five football, ranked No. 130 out of 131 teams in FBS. With a future first round NFL Draft pick playing quarterback, the Wildcats completed just 16 passes for 98 yards through the air.

In the middle of that mess, Kentucky had more special teams problems. The Wildcats had another PAT blocked, and another punt should have been. The kick was shanked, leading to an easy Tennessee score before halftime. The Volunteers also returned a punt down to the UK 13-yard line.

A Different Kind of Deflating for Kentucky

Taking down Tennessee was going to be a tall task. The Volunteers have the best offense in America. They were going to score points. Kentucky needed its offense to deliver scoring drives and Rich Scangarello’s group fell flat time and time and time again.

Kentucky had a golden opportunity to ruin a rival’s spectacular season on college football’s biggest stage. Instead, they laid an egg in the worst way possible. The defeat is deflating with four games left in a season that will ultimately fall short of lofty preseason expectations.

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