'Next question': Josh Heupel opts for no answer again after Tennessee's 33-27 win at Kentucky
LEXINGTON, Ky. — Josh Heupel couldn’t say how Kentucky slowed down No. 21 Tennessee’s pass rush Saturday night at Kroger Field. Or maybe the head coach just chose not to say it during his postgame press conference, after his Vols won 33-27.
Tennessee had just one sack, only two quarterback hurries and a season-low four tackles for loss while Kentucky quarterback Devin Leary completed 28 of 39 passes for 372 yards and two touchdowns.
When Heupel was asked what Kentucky’s offensive front did to contain Tennessee’s rushers, he opted to go silent.
Heupel was quiet for 10 seconds before saying, “Ok, next question.”
Vols penalized eight times for 55 yards to Kentucky’s four for 21 yards
It was the second straight week Heupel stayed silent after a question in his postgame press conference. After the 34-20 loss to Alabama at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa last week, Heupel was asked if he felt the officiating was one-sided toward the Crimson Tide.
“Next question,” Heupel said after the long pause. “Was that long enough silence?”
Tennessee was called for eight penalties for 55 yards at Alabama, while the Tide had one flag for five yards. Saturday night at Kentucky, the Vols had eight more penalties, again for 55 yards, while the Wildcats were flagged four times for 21 yards — three false starts and one defensive offsides.
Tennessee’s defense this season has had four or more sacks five times in eight games. The Vols have had five or more tackles for loss in seven of the eight. They’re tied for second in the SEC in both sacks (28) and tackles for loss (57) this season.
Offensively, the Vols rushed 48 times as a team for 254 yards and two touchdowns while Joe Milton III completed 18 of 21 passes for 228 yards and a touchdown.
Up Next: No. 21 Tennessee vs. UConn, Saturday, Noon ET, SEC Network
Jaylen Wright ran 11 times for 120 yards and a touchdown and Dylan Sampson had 76 yards on 18 carries with a score. Jabari Small ran nine times for 32 yards and Milton carried 10 times for 26 yards.
Squirrel White caught five passes for 47 yards, Dont’e Thornton caught three passes for 63 yards and Sampson caught three passes for 39 yards.
“Proud of the fight, the competitive nature of the football team,” Heupel said to start his postgame press conference. “They played for four quarters. Didn’t play perfect, a lot of things we can do better, but they played hard. We were physical and we talked about having to win the fourth quarter. Felt like we won the fourth quarter tonight.
“That was a good job finishing the football game in all three phases. Really nice job at end by the offense. So proud of our football team answering back. Told them we gotta continue to get better too. A lot left on the back third of the season and there’s a lot of things we can control that we gotta be better at.”
