By Jay King
LEXINGTON, Ky. – And just like that, Tennessee is postseason-eligible for a fifth straight season.
Lots of things have gone right for the Volunteers in the Josh Heupel era, and this is just another tally mark.
This is the first time since the Fulmer era that the Vols have made it to the postseason in five straight years.
Not only has Heupel never missed a bowl game, he has also never lost to Kentucky.
85-26-9 is now the record of this rivalry, and 56-34 is the final score in a game that broke free in the second half.
“Proud of our guys the way we competed, going on the road getting the win,” said Heupel. “It’s a team that took Texas to overtime a week ago… [I’m] really pleased with the performance.”
The offense was on a roll, as quarterback Joey Aguilar had 396 yards and completed seven passes of 15 or more yards.
Three Tennessee wide receivers, Chris Brazzell, Mike Matthews, and Braylon Staley, had over 100 yards for the first time since 2019.
“I had a lot of fun, you know, just out there dishing the wealth,” Aguilar said.
The rushing attack was great when needed, and notched four rushing touchdowns. DeSean Bishop had two, Star Thomas had one – even Aguilar got in on the action with one.
While Tennessee may have gotten plenty of big plays, Kentucky also had its fair share. Quarterback Cutter Boley had seven completions of 15 or more yards and had 330 total passing yards on the day.
What the Vols’ defense might have given up some big plays, they also had a few of their own. This included two turnovers, one of which was for a touchdown.
How It Happened
This game was an offensive shootout through and through.
This started on the opening drive of the game, where the Vols got the scoring started when Aguilar connected on a 35-yard deep shot to Chris Brazzell at 13:41.
After trading punts, Kentucky got the ball back and was looking to tie the game. Boley dropped back to pass, but safety Edress Farooq tipped the pass up, picked it off, and took it to the house.
“It’s really just instinct,” said Farooq. “Just going out there, playing hard, playing relentless, and going out there making plays.”
The Wildcats were able to respond accordingly, and on the second play of the next drive, Boley hit wide receiver Kendrick Law on a simple screen pass, and Law was able to take it 71 yards for a Wildcats touchdown to cut the Vols’ lead in half.
Tackling, especially in the first half, was a struggle for Tennessee in this game.
“It comes down to fundamentals,” said Heupel. “We just did it wrong.”
Despite the struggles, the offense was able to bounce back later in the first quarter, as Aguilar connected with Brazzell again for a 47-yard sideline catch. Star Thomas punched it in.
Kentucky got the ball back, and one of the most unusual plays in football happened. Tennessee forced a fumble, which was recovered by Kentucky, then the Wildcats fumbled the ball again, and then a third time, which led to a Tennessee recovery at Kentucky’s six to end the first quarter.
DeSean Bishop then got his first touchdown of the game at the beginning of the second quarter, to make it a 28-7 game.
Kentucky wasn’t done yet, as Boley found DJ Moore for a 56-yard touchdown on a blown coverage by defensive back Boo Carter.
The Wildcats then got a much-needed stop on defense and were able to capitalize on it with a time-consuming 8-minute drive that ended with a JJ Hester touchdown to make it a one-score game with 1:37 left in the half.
It wasn’t a one-score game for long, though, as Aguilar was able to drive down the field right before halftime and found tight end Ethan Davis on a touchdown with five seconds left, to give the Vols the 35-21 lead.
Aguilar was happy to give Davis the ball, as he has been battling an injury for most of the season.
“It’s awesome, especially for [Davis],” Aguilar said. “He’s been fighting, trying to get healthy.”
That touchdown seemed to have been a momentum shifter for the Vols, as after a defensive stop, Aguilar found Mike Matthews on a deep shot that went 62 yards on just his second pass in the half.
The defense was able to get another stop, and Tennessee scored yet again on a Peyton Lewis touchdown with 5:46 in the third. It was now 49-21, and Tennessee now had complete control.
The end of the third quarter saw a great catch by DJ Miller over Farooq, but it was too little too late, as the Wildcats still trailed 27-49.
Bishop was able to score his second touchdown of the game to start the fourth quarter to make it 56-27.
Kentucky had one final scoring drive, capped by a JJ Hester receiving touchdown with 8:12 to go.
The Vols took over and ran down the clock for all eight minutes.
Ballgame.
What’s Next?
After this much-needed bounce-back win, the Vols get to go back to Knoxville as they face off against the Oklahoma Sooners on Nov. 1 in the first Neyland at night game of the season.
Tennessee is still looking for its first ranked win of the season, and Oklahoma could be that answer, unless the Sonners fall out of the rankings completely after a home loss to Ole Miss.