SATURDAY'S STAR
Tennessee's Darrell Taylor was a terror against the Kentucky offense Saturday, sacking Terry Wilson four times and finishing with seven tackles. One of his sacks led to a forced fumble, which he also recovered.
SATURDAY'S STAT
The 215 rushing yards were the most for Tennessee against a Power Five conference opponent this season, topping the 156 the Volunteers had against Florida on Sept. 22. They had 149 in the second half alone against the Wildcats.
TURNING POINT
The Vols were up only 10-0 late in the first half when quarterback Jarrett Guarantano dropped back, bought himself a little time and flung a 39-yard pass to wide-open Marquez Callaway in the end zone. Callaway's only competition on the play was teammate Jauan Jennings.
THE BIG PLAY
The Tennessee play calling was aggressive with offensive coordinator Tyson Helton calling a lot of first-down passes. And a 59-yard end-around by Jordan Murphy in the third quarter led to the Vols' final touchdown on a pass from Guarantano to tight end Dominick Wood-Anderson.
WHAT IT MEANS
The Vols needed wins in two of their final three games to qualify for a bowl, and this victory means they can beat either Missouri or Vanderbilt to achieve that goal. The back-to-back wins are nice, but even more so is the fact that Tennessee has defeated two Top 25 teams this season.
HOW THEY SCORED
FIRST QUARTER
UT - Brent Cimaglia 19-yard field goal, 5:09
Drive: 8 plays, 55 yards, 3:25
Key play: Tennessee wasted no time on this drive as Jarrett Guarantano hit Jordan Murphy for a 38-yard gain to the Kentucky 19. That pass immediately put the Volunteers, who have struggled on offense early in games all season, in field-goal range.
TENNESSEE 3 KENTUCKY 0
SECOND QUARTER
UT - Tim Jordan 3-yard rush (Cimaglia kick), 2:05
Drive: 6 plays, 81 yards, 2:48
Key plays: After throwing on the first play of their previous four possessions, the Vols went to the ground. Ty Chandler busted up the middle for a 29-yard run that put them in Kentucky territory. Later in the drive, the Vols used their running backs in the passing game when Guarantano found Jordan for a 34-yard gain to the Kentucky 3.
TENNESSEE 10 KENTUCKY 0
UT - Marquez Callaway 39-yard pass from Guarantano (Cimaglia kick), 0:00
Drive: 5 plays, 72 yards, 1:00
Key play: With the clock hitting zeroes on the first half, Guarantano dropped back around midfield and almost lost the ball when Kentucky linebacker Josh Allen got a hand on him. Then Guarantano stepped up and unleashed a pass into the end zone that Callaway came down with in a crowd.
TENNESSEE 17 KENTUCKY 0
THIRD QUARTER
UT - Dominick Wood-Anderson 2-yard pass from Guarantano (Cimaglia kick), 7:49
Drive: 8 plays, 85 yards, 4:14
Key play: The Vols used trickery on this drive, faking a handoff to Jordan but giving the ball to Murphy on an end-around. Murphy squeezed past two defenders and raced 59 yards down the sideline to the Kentucky 19.
TENNESSEE 24 KENTUCKY 0
UK - C.J. Conrad 19-yard pass from Terry Wilson (Chance Poore kick), 1:56
Drive: 5 plays, 60 yards, 2:04
Key play: The Wildcats' offense woke up on the drive, moving downfield quickly. Sophomore quarterback Wilson, who had struggled throughout the game, found Tavin Richardson on a 20-yard pass to the Tennessee 19, setting up Conrad's score.
TENNESSEE 24 KENTUCKY 7