Three Plays: Second quarter blunders sink Kentucky

At the end of the first quarter, Tennessee was in the red zone for the first time, but the Vols held a 7-6 lead as Kentucky was able to trade touchdowns with the No. 3 team in college football. It appeared that the Cats had eaten the first punch and were in a great position to get into a close game late in Neyland Stadium.

However, the second quarter quickly turned into a disaster as Kentucky wasted a couple of scoring chances and gave Tennessee a very short field to turn a two-possession game into a three-possession after what appeared to be a strong close to the half by the defense.

KSR’s Three Plays is here to breakdown the blunders in the second quarter that turned a close game into blowout city.

Tayvion Robinson’s drop ruins an explosive play

After Tennessee finished that red zone possession with a touchdown, Kentucky quickly faced third-and-10 on their third possession of the game. After the Vols marched 75 yards in 15 plays, the Cats needed their offense to play complementary football and move the chains.

What followed was one of the biggest plays of the game for the offense. Their senior slot receiver was unable to make a routine play.

In the third-and-long situations, Kentucky got into an empty formation and got press man coverage against Tayvion Robinson in the slot. Will Levis decides to go the veteran on the slot fade and delivers a great ball to Robinson’s back shoulder. On what should’ve at least been a 30-yard gain that could’ve turned into a touchdown with one broken tackle, the worst thing possible happened.

Instead of matching Tennessee’s touchdown, a drop served as a drive killer and put the defense in a bad spot after a long drive. That quick change would lead to another Tennessee touchdown to put Kentucky in an early two-possession hole.

Kentucky needed complementary football to win, and the offense let them down with a huge drop that was a sign of bad things to come in the second quarter.

Red zone turnover takes points off the board

After the drop led to another Tennessee touchdown, Kentucky’s offense showed some resolve on their next possession. The Cats got three plays of 10-plus yards on the first four snaps of their fourth possession of the game to set up the second scoring opportunity of the game for the Wildcats.

After a fourth down QB sneak moved the chains in the red zone, Rich Scangarello went run-heavy and that got Kentucky in an obvious passing situation on third down. Will Levis went to Dane Key in a huge spot, and Tennessee made a big play.

In his first start at cornerback, converted safety Doneiko Slaughter makes a great anticipatory play meeting the wideout at the catch point, and his hit jars the football loose. The ball falls into the hands of linebacker Juwan Mitchell, and the takeaway takes points off the board.

Kentucky’s defense responds by getting a quick stop, but the damage was done as Kentucky blew an opportunity at getting to the locker room down just one possession.

Another blocked kick leads to Middle 8 points

Despite the bad ending to Kentucky’s second red zone possession, the Cats got the ball back with just under three minutes remaining until halftime with a very big Middle 8 opportunity. Kentucky was getting the ball back after halftime and could either run the clock out or try to steal points before the break.

After a great punt started the drive inside their own 15, a huge run from JuTahn McClain gave the offense some breathing room. Kentucky then got aggressive but had to punt after a key false start on third down putting the offense really behind the chains.

Kentucky would then need to send the punt team out needing a big play from the kicking game. That did not come.

A high snap leads to a punt block as Collin Goodfellow’s attempt travels only 18 yards. Tennessee would start their possession at the Kentucky 35 and would need just two plays to score as Hendon Hooker found Jalin Hyatt for another touchdown.

The special teams blunder officially ended the game as the Cats fell behind by three touchdowns getting blitzed 20-0 in the second quarter. Tennessee’s offense is very powerful, but self-inflicted errors took Kentucky out of the game before halftime.